Each year, more and more students are discovering the summer camping experiences that Youth For Christ’s Prairie River Camp just north of Bricelyn has to offer. Youth for Christ purchased the property in 2000.

Greg Gudal, director, said this year, the camp has had more campers than ever. The first camp of the summer, middle school camp for grades six through eight on June 14-18, had 63 participants. The second middle school camp the following week had 20 participants. Running concurrently with the second middle school camp was horse camp for girls in fifth through 12th grade. That camp was filled to capacity with a waiting list.

Grade school camp, for grades three through five, runs this week. Eighty students are expected, Gudal said.

Next year, he said some camps may be offered into July. For this year, family camps will be offered in July and August, along with opportunities for families to come out and camp on their own.

Horse camp has been offered for five years, said Corrine Owens, one of the coordinators. While some of the girls taking part brought their own horses, the majority of the horses are on loan from area horse enthusiasts. Horses are screen for compatibility with beginning riders.

“We have some great horses out here,” she said.

She said she is grateful local horse owners feel the horse camp is a worthwhile ministry.

The week is spent learning to groom and feed horses, play games, ride trails and take part in devotions.

“Kids are assigned a horse and do everything,” Owens said.

Prairie River Camp is 62 acres is size, and a neighbor also allows horse camp participants to ride trails on his property.

At night, horse camp participants sleep in covered-wagon bunk rooms.

At the end of the week, there was a demonstration for parents.

Horse campers come together with other campers each evening for activities.

The new bunkhouse, known as River Lodge, had its first guests the week of June 14. By raising an existing building and adding a first floor, the camp can now sleep 42 upstairs. There is also a handicap-accessible room that sleeps two on the lower level, as well as showers and the camp office.

“This took a lot of volunteer hours,” Gudal said, adding many businesses and individuals worked to make the bunk bends and cabinets.