July 14 - 19, 2025
Since 1990, Spirit Camp has provided a supportive and educational camp experience for children diagnosed with spina bifida. The camp is designed to help kids develop their self-confidence, improve independence and have fun – all with other kids who share their diagnosis.
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You can rest easy knowing your child is having fun while never being far from the care they need. Our Spirit Camp team includes doctors and nurses who are specially trained to work with children with spina bifida. We can meet all our campers’ medical needs.
Medical supervision is available 24 hours a day. If more medical attention is needed for our campers, the Sanford Health Watertown Clinic is 15 minutes from camp.
Registration for 2025 begins February 1 and closes May 1.
Sanford Children’s Camp Programs requires all campers to have a physical exam by their primary licensed medical provider within six months of the camp’s starting date. Please print the medical evaluation document, have your child’s provider complete and sign it, and then return it to Sanford Children’s Camps.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Shane Hamilton at (605) 312-1029 or shane.hamilton@sanfordhealth.org.
All children diagnosed with spina bifida between the ages of 7 and 17 are eligible.
After a camper is deemed eligible, they must have the following information submitted before the communicated deadlines:
Registration will close once we hit our capacity of 48 campers. Campers who attended Spirit Camp the year before are given preference. Any remaining spots will be given to those on our waitlist. Due to our limited capacity, we can’t guarantee that a child on the waitlist will get the opportunity to attend camp before they surpass the camp’s age range.
We’re located at Joy Ranch. It’s about eight miles northwest of Watertown, South Dakota.
We recruit people who demonstrate responsibility, compassion, accountability and maturity. We also screen our team members through applications, interviews and background checks. Many of our hires are professional educators.
We keep our staff-to-camper ratio to around 1:8. At night, we require each cabin to have a trained team member present at all times.
Our programs are staffed by trained and licensed medical professionals. Our medical team includes a medical director and camp nurses. Our medical staff-to-camper ratio is about 1:15.
Each day of camp is filled with activities ranging from archery and paintball to swimming and fishing. We even offer horseback rides, camp dances and educational opportunities.
Every day will end with songs, skits and companionship around a traditional campfire.
We also offer meals tailored to each camper’s specific diet and allergies.
Campers should bring everything they need for a full week of overnight camp.
We recommend bringing hygiene products, clothing, swimwear, towels, bedding, a pillow, and all their medical equipment and medications. We ask that campers bring medications in the original bottles they received them in from their doctor or pharmacist.
We understand it may be difficult for parents and campers to be away from each other, especially if this is a camper’s first time away from home. We recommend parents and guardians write letters to their campers. This helps campers stay excited about camp and decreases their chances of homesickness.
From experience, we know that one of the best ways to manage homesickness is to prohibit cell phones at camp. No cell phones are allowed at camp.
If there are any concerns or emergencies at camp, our team will reach out to the contact we have on file as soon as possible. If families need to communicate with their camper, they can call the camp at (605) 312-1029.
We don’t allow visitors at camp except during emergencies. In such cases, parents or guardians must first contact our camp coordinator before their arrival.
The only exception to our visitor rule is a special parent program scheduled on the last day of camp for families of graduating senior campers. This program is a ceremony to celebrate our graduating campers’ achievements.
