Home / Cost
What does camp cost?
What follows is each price line we could read on an operator’s own page, copied exactly, with a label for the year that page prints. We give no average, because no survey we could read supports one.
Listed, not checked. We have not visited, inspected, rated or endorsed any camp named on this page, and a camp being named here says nothing about how it is run. Each fact is the operator’s or the agency’s own wording, with a link to the page it came from. Read the questions to ask and put them to the camp yourself.
What do operators print?
| Camp | The line on the operator’s page | Year printed | Our note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, full day | “Full Day Camp (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Member: $269 Non-Member: $298” clevelandmetroparks.com | no year in this line | The page’s registration line prints the coming season’s year; this line does not. |
| Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, half day | “Half Day Camp (9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) Member: $189 Non-Member: $209” clevelandmetroparks.com | no year in this line | |
| Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, before care | “Before Care (early drop-off begins at 7:30 a.m.): $38” clevelandmetroparks.com | no year in this line | The zoo’s answer on the same page: The purchase of Before Care or After Care provides the use of this extended care option for the full week of camp for one camper.(clevelandmetroparks.com) |
| Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, after care | “After Care (late pick-up ends at 6:00 p.m.): $42” clevelandmetroparks.com | no year in this line | |
| YMCA of Greater Cleveland, day camp | “Weekly Rate Member: $245/week Non-Member: $250/week” clevelandymca.org | no year in this line | |
| YMCA of Greater Cleveland, registration fee and tuition deposit | “There is a $25 registration fee per child. Each week of summer day camp requires a $25 deposit, which is applied towards tuition. Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable.” clevelandymca.org | no year in this line | |
| Hiram House, day camp (two-week session) | “1 Session (2 Weeks) $885” hiramhousecamp.org | no year in this line | The section heading prints the coming season’s year; the price line does not. |
| Hiram House, day camp (one-week first session) | “A $100 non-refundable deposit is required per camper, per session. Session 1 Only (1 week) is available for $500.” hiramhousecamp.org | no year in this line | |
| Hiram House, overnight week | “One Week Session $900” hiramhousecamp.org | no year in this line | As above: under a dated heading, no year on the line. |
| Hiram House, before and after care | “The cost for Before & After Camp Care is $15.00 per hour.” hiramhousecamp.org | no year in this line | |
| Great Lakes Science Center, grades K-2, 3-6 and 4-6 | “Grades K-2, 3-6, 4-6: $350 per week ($325 members).” greatscience.com | no year in this line | The page’s title and dates print last season’s year. |
| Great Lakes Science Center, grades 6 to 8 | “Grades 6-8: $400 per week ($375 members)” greatscience.com | no year in this line | |
| Cincinnati Museum Center, five-day camps | “5-Day Camps Members: $335; Non-Members: $360” cincymuseum.org | no year in this line | The page’s grade line prints last season’s year. |
| Cincinnati Museum Center, four-day camps | “4-Day Camps Members: $285; Non-Members: $310” cincymuseum.org | no year in this line | |
| Cincinnati Museum Center, premium camps | “5-Day Premium Camps Members: $385; Non-Members: $410” cincymuseum.org | no year in this line | |
| Great Parks of Hamilton County, before and after care | “Before and after care are available for Operation Outdoors camps at Miami Whitewater Forest for $30 per week, per camper.” greatparks.org | no year in this line | |
| Beaumont Scout Reservation, unit deposit | “August 2026 – January 31, 2027 Reserve your unit's place at Beaumont for Summer Camp 2027. $200 unit deposit required.” beaumontscoutreservation.org | the line prints 2026 and 2027 | |
| Beaumont Scout Reservation, per Scout | “February 1 – February 11, 2027 A $100 non-refundable deposit per Scout is due.” beaumontscoutreservation.org | the line prints 2027 | |
| Recreation Unlimited, paper registration | “If you prefer to fill out and mail in a paper registration and application, a one-time, annual registration fee of $45 will be required.” recreationunlimited.org | no year in this line | |
| Flying Horse Farms | “A Medical Specialty Camp That Provides Experiences At No Cost For Kids With Serious Illnesses To Find Joy, Hope & Belonging” flyinghorsefarms.org | no year in this line | The home page headline. Who is eligible is on pages we could not find. |
Scroll the table sideways on a phone. “No year in this line” means the quoted line prints no year. A year printed elsewhere on the same page is not assigned to it; where one sits in a heading above, our note says so.
Why is there no year on the zoo’s prices?
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s page prints 2027 Summer Day Camp Registration opens February 1, 2027!
(clevelandmetroparks.com) and Age groups are based on the camper's age as of June 7, 2027
(clevelandmetroparks.com). It also prints All prices are for the full week, Monday through Friday, unless otherwise noted:
(clevelandmetroparks.com) and the price lines, with no year. We label only what is printed, so the table says no year, and this paragraph says why.
What is missing from the table?
For Columbus Recreation and Parks, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, YMCA Camp Kern, YMCA Camp Willson, Akron Zoo, Camp Christopher and Cleveland Metroparks’ nature camps, no weekly fee was in the page text we read. That is a gap in this table, not a sign that those camps cost nothing. Each operator’s entry on the metro pages links to its own page.
What other charges and payment terms should you check?
- Registration fees, and deposits that count toward tuition. YMCA of Greater Cleveland:
There is a $25 registration fee per child. Each week of summer day camp requires a $25 deposit, which is applied towards tuition. Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable.
(clevelandymca.org) - Before and after care. Great Parks:
Before and after care are available for Operation Outdoors camps at Miami Whitewater Forest for $30 per week, per camper.
(greatparks.org) Hiram House:The cost for Before & After Camp Care is $15.00 per hour.
(hiramhousecamp.org) Cincinnati Museum Center, last season:We will not be offering before or after care for the summer of 2026.
(cincymuseum.org) - Late pick-up. Columbus:
A $15 fee applies for pick-ups between 5:30-5:45 p.m., with an additional charge of $1 per minute for arrivals after 5:45 p.m.
(columbusrecparks.com) Cleveland Metroparks:a late fee of $5 per camper for every 15-minute interval past the pick-up time may be charged to your account.
(clevelandmetroparks.com) - Non-resident fees. Columbus:
Residents are those who live within the municipal boundaries of Columbus. Non-residents must pay additional fees.
(columbusrecparks.com) - Membership. Cincinnati Recreation Commission:
A CRC center membership is required for all camp participants.
(cincinnati-oh.gov)
Is there a national average?
Not one we can show you. We did not find a cost survey on any page we read, and none of the lines this site quotes from the American Camp Association is about cost. If you want a benchmark, the table above is Ohio operators in their own words. For ways to bring the cost down, see help paying and taxes.