Traverse City, Conservation District Team Up to Revive Hickory Hills Summer Day Camp

Hickory Hills Recreation Area could host its first summer day camp in years this summer, with Traverse City and the Grand Traverse Conservation District set to ask city commissioners Monday for approval of an eight-week partnership program for children ages 7 to 11.

Under the proposed arrangement, GTCD would manage day-to-day operations and hold the program license through the State of Michigan, while Traverse City retains the site license for Hickory Hills. The camp would run Monday through Thursday, eight hours a day, with a maximum of 40 campers per week. The Monday-through-Thursday schedule was chosen deliberately: City Manager Benjamin Marentette says it allows the city to "fully leverage" weekends for weddings and other rentals, which represent a key revenue stream for the park.

The program is modeled on GTCD's established Nature Day Camp at the Boardman River Nature Center, expanding that nature-focused curriculum to the Hickory Hills site. Marentette brought the proposal to the full City Commission rather than authorizing it himself, citing the high level of community interest around Hickory Hills from the board.

Kpachavi, who works with GTCD, framed the arrangement as a natural extension of an existing relationship, calling it a "partnership that really makes sense because of all the work we've been doing with the city over the years," and pointing to a "strong need for this kind of programming" in the community. The initiative is also tied to a broader city policy goal: the Strategic Action Plan identifies expanding available child care as a mechanism to support workforce participation in the region.

Financially, the structure is designed to cost the city nothing net. GTCD will receive a $12,000 administrative fee for its services, and that fee will be folded into participant registration costs. Camp fees are anticipated to run $425 to $450 per week, in line with GTCD's existing Nature Day Camp price of $425. Marentette described the resulting arrangement as "net neutral" for the city.

Operating a full-day camp five days a week inside the Hickory Hills Lodge does require a facilities upgrade. Parks and recreation superintendent Michelle Hunt recommended bumping cleaning services from one day per week to five. "Cleaning services will need to increase to five days per week to adequately support daily operations and maintain appropriate health and safety standards," Hunt said. The city is seeking a contract amendment with Universal Cleaners capped at $15,000 to cover the expanded weekday schedule, with funding drawn from the Hickory Hills Fund.

GTCD and the city are still working through state licensing approvals before the program can launch. The commission's March 16 vote would clear the primary municipal hurdle for a camp the community has been pushing to see return to the hills west of downtown.