Description
The North Texas camp, located on the beautiful shores of Possum Kingdom Lake since 1949, dates back to 1922 when the Dallas YMCA opened Camp Crockett near Granbury. CGS has three individual camp sites on a total of 635 acres. Each site includes a dining hall, waterfront, corral and rental cabins/tents and offers a wide variety of programs from horseback riding to waterskiing, sailing, archery and arts and crafts. Over the years, CGS has evolved from a traditional summer camp program to a year-round experience. Annually, over 23,000 people participate in various programs including Outdoor Education, Adventure Guides, Family Camp, Summer Camp, Conference and Retreats.
Camp Grady Spruce has always served as the weekend campout for the Indian Guides and Princess program of the YMCA. Many fathers have strengthened their relationships as well as shared many memories with children on these campouts. Today, the Y Adventure Guide Program continues this tradition.
Outdoor Education became a major program in the 90's. Approximately 6,000 school children (primarily 5th graders) spend a week at camp putting into practice the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills taught in schoolbooks.
Most importantly, we are the primary care givers for our summer campers who develop trust, courage, and confidence by working together as a cabin group and achieving goals as a team. Each person contributes to the camp community and learns what it means to be dependable and to depend on others. And they have loads of fun! The brochures give you an idea of how many different activities there are.
Campers learn strength of character because the programs are structured around six basic values: responsibility, caring, trustworthiness, citizenship, fairness and respect. We demonstrate how these values can be incorporated into everyday life. Daily chapel sustains the focus on maintaining a Christian environment. The Character Counts values and putting Christian principles into practice, are the foundation for all our activities. This is a comprehensive method for affecting each aspect of a young person's life: personal development, socialization, and education. Camping is a 115-year old program in the YMCA. It has thrived as a favorite activity for children and families because it is a safe yet adventurous learning experience from which to draw life skills.
