Major improvements come to Camp Colton as capital campaign breaks ground.
The “Home Comfort” wrought iron range, manufactured in St. Louis in November 1881, has three parts – a metal door in the middle with a firebox for loading wood, two little oven doors on either side for baking and three cast-iron griddle tops for cooking.
“It’s a beast,” said Executive Director Ari Wilder, of the nonprofit Friends of Camp Colton, which since 2001 has existed to support Camp Colton. “It weighs a ton. It was brought out of a mining operation. I don’t know how they got it in here!”
The Wilson Lodge is one of several buildings remaining in their original state and dating back more than 50 years. The old stove is the heart of the antiquated kitchen, presenting a daunting challenge to cooks to learn how to operate it and to work in multiple shifts to produce all the meals for countless campers.
It’s been an exhausting job for the old stove as the Camp Colton experience has given more than 48,000 young people in the greater Flagstaff community the chance to explore their local natural environment. Soon, a modern stove, located in a new 6,517-square-foot wood lodge with a modern kitchen, will take over duties of cooking meals for the young campers.
The new lodge will be an important part of Phase 1, ($6.7 million), in a master plan that is being funded through a capital campaign launched by Friends of Camp Colton and the Flagstaff Unified School District School Bond passed by voters in 2022.
“We want to preserve the history of the existing lodge, restore it and use it for staff and kids to meet,” Wilder said.
More than doubling the capacity of the Wilson Lodge, the new lodge, (roughly $4 million of the total cost for Phase 1), will provide “a big open space where everyone can gather, eat together and even dance,” she added.
The new lodge will also have staff sleeping quarters, including a room for the cook. Currently, there is no dedicated staff housing.
Launching the master plan, more than seven years in the making, comes just in time,
as camp programs are at capacity and unable to meet the growing demand. “We do have weeks when there are 100-plus kids up there,” said Wilder. “Construction will stop with the snow and the goal is that it’s done by next fall.”
Earth-moving equipment started work in July inside a fenced area preparing for the pouring of the foundation for the new lodge. Kinney Construction Services (KCS) of Flagstaff is handling the project. The beginning of this new chapter for the camp will be marked by an official groundbreaking ceremony, scheduled for 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 7, at Camp Colton.
Other elements of Phase 1 include a parking lot, school bus turnaround, a welcome ramada, and various systems, such as septic, water and photovoltaic ($2.7 million).
“These improvements will ensure that the Camp Colton tradition continues,” Wilder said. “We’re so excited to see our plans become reality.”
Located in Hart Prairie at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet, the camp is in an ecologically significant and scenic off-grid setting where students are immersed in nature and sustainable living. Winters are daunting, so Camp Colton operates from May through October.
Camp Colton began when local philanthropists Dick and Jean Wilson deeded a 33-acre off-grid property and camp facilities to FUSD. Teachers moved their classrooms outdoors to the western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks for environmental education. The school district renamed its outdoor program, from Project LIFE to Camp Colton.
Today, planners look toward Phase 2 and a possible Phase 3, depending on funding.
The completion goal for the expansion project is summer 2026, with an estimated total cost of $4 million.
Improved cabins for staff and campers ($1.75 million) are planned for additional phases. “Two years ago, the snow destroyed two of the platforms,” Wilder said.
There will also be a new bathhouse ($1.25 million), an outdoor amphitheater with a fire pit and an astronomy area, an archery range, nature play area, low ropes course, and a remodel of the existing Wilson Lodge ($1 million).
In as many ways as possible, camp systems and construction will be a model of sustainability and low-maintenance systems, including passive solar design, natural lighting with clerestory windows, a wood-burning stove for heating, propane as a secondary system, use of local natural materials and energy conservation, said Wilder.
“We really want to make these sustainable systems visible and understandable for kids – where water comes from, how solar electricity works, how to conserve energy.”
Camp Colton serves more than 1,200 students each year. The biggest program is the traditional 6th grade program, where students from the greater Flagstaff area visit for four days and three nights.
“Last year, we had a 6th grade classes from 14 different schools come to camp. This happens during the school year when camp is not closed for the winter.”
Day expeditions for 1st and 2nd grade classes also are offered during the school year and in the summer, there is the STEM Environmental Enrichment and Discovery (SEED) Summer Experience for 7th and 8th graders (6 days and 5 nights) and the Colton Adventure Camp, a week-long day program for 4th and 5th graders.
The camp also is rented out to various groups, such as FUSD sports teams in the summer. “You go up to camp and it’s the best there is,” Wilder said. “The kids are so much fun. They are so full of energy and want to learn about things.”
One 6th grade camper wrote, “Camp Colton helped me discover new interests and use those interests to make the world a better place.” FBN
By Betsey Bruner, FBN
Courtesy Photo: Friends of Camp Colton Executive Director Ari Wilder, in front of the Wilson Lodge, envisions a successful capital campaign to fund improved and expanded facilities where young people are immersed in the natural world.
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