Best New Mexico Leadership Camps Summer 2025 Directory

CAMP FACILITIES: Our beautiful rustic facilities help create the unique experiences for our campers - many of whom have not spent time away from electronics and "civilization."

Our great hall and most of our cabins were built in the 1920's and 30's. Our cabins have a 1/2 wall in the front - letting our campers feel like they are sleeping in canopy of the ponderosa pine forest.

We also have equestrian facilities, an archery course, an Arts and Crafts center, and areas for campfires and cooking outdoors.

Because we are adjacent to the Lincoln National Forest, we have access to remote wilderness for our hiking and camping activities.

CAMP PROGRAM INFO: Camp Mary White was founded in 1927 as one of the first Girl Scout camps in the country. Since then, countless girls and women have had the opportunity to experience the beauty, and challenges, of the outdoors. We strive to create programming that encourages community-building and risk-taking so that our girls leave camp feeling connected and empowered.

Our staff is trained in camper management, outdoor skills, and team-building. All of our staff are certified in 1st Aid/CPR, and members of our staff are also certified in Wilderness First Aid. We have an RN on site who handles day-to-day and minor health needs and a partnership with local emergency response teams if needed.

CAMP LEADERSHIP CIT/LIT PROGRAMS: CIT I (First Year Counselor in Training)
CIT's participate in all camp activities while also receiving training in leadership, camp traditions, outdoor skills, emergency procedures, etc. The CIT's have a chance to practice their leadership skills by planning special events for the younger campers.

CIT II (Second Year Counselor in Training)
CIT's are assigned to a unit of campers and function as "junior counselor" under the supervision and guidance of the Unit Leader and the CIT Director.

CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS OR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: We currently have camp scholarships, given by a private donor, for any girl living in Eddy County, NM.

Don't let lack of funding keep your girl from coming to camp. We often have other scholarships available. Please contact us for more information.

CAMP SESSION DATES & FEES:
SESSIONS
Campers can register for 1 or 2 weeks.
1st Session: July 7-14
2nd Session: July 15-22
UNITS
Pathfinders - grades 4-5 $375/week
Explorers - grades 6-8 $375/week
Adventurers - grades 9-10 $375/week
Trailblazers - special 2-week unit for grades 6-10 $650/week
CIT (Counselor in Training) 2-week session
1st year CIT - 11th grade $650/week
2nd year CIT - 12th grade $550/week

SUMMER CAMP JOBS:
UNIT STAFF: work as a team to plan programming for and supervise units of campers
Unit Leader (age 21+) $300/week
Unit Counselor (age 18+) ​$250/week

TRIP GUIDE: plans, coordinates, and leads hiking and camping excursions into the surrounding forest. $250-$300 depending on experience and qualifications

CAMP FACILITIES: We have both online art camps/workshops and in-person camps for our 2021 summer art program. Go to Our Camp Website Link: IchenArtAcademy.com for more information.

CAMP PROGRAM INFO: Becoming an Ichen Art Academy student means that you have the opportunity to learn from the best art school with a long proven record of success to develop your creativity, foundational skills and artistic talents that will propel you to reach your full potential.

Best Quality Art Program
Since its inception in 1997 (formerly known as Ichen Art Studio), Ichen Art Academy has been putting relentless focus on developing high-quality art programs, reflected through its students’ artworks and measured by its students’ achievements. Many of its art-major students have now gone on to renowned art colleges and most prestigious majors such as CalArt’s Character Animation, ArtCenter’s Entertainment Design and Rhode Island School of Design. Some art-major students from early years have found employments in high-tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Netflix. Similarly, its non-art-major students have been accepted by nation’s top universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and MIT with the help of submission of a strong supplemental art portfolio. By consistently winning large numbers of national level awards in art competitions, Ichen Art Academy students’ skill levels and artworks are among the best in every age group.

Systematic and Comprehensive K-12 Art Education
Ichen Art Academy offers systematic and comprehensive art education to K-12 students and adults. All of its instructors are highly accomplished artists with many years of teaching and industry experience. Currently the following programs are offered
(Click the respective link to view students' artworks from that age group):

--Children’s Creative Art (Ages 5 to 8)
--Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (Ages 8+)
--Drawing and Sketch Level 1-Basic (Ages 8 to 10) Level 1 (Ages 10-11), 2 and 3 (Ages 12+)
--Oil Painting and Watercolor (Ages 12+)
--Digital Art for Beginner (Ages 9+), Intermediate and Advanced Levels (Ages 12+)
--Cartoon, Manga and Character Design (Ages 11+)
--AP Art Prep (Ages 14+)

Art Consultation Service for College Applications
The art counselor team at Ichen Art Academy specializes in helping art-major students prepare strong college art portfolios and apply for top art colleges and majors in the US. The team is also responsible for helping non-art-major students develop robust supplemental art portfolios for applying top private universities.

CAMP LEADERSHIP CIT/LIT PROGRAMS: We partner with Youth Art Foundation, a non-profit organization to help our students develop leadership and utilize their art talents and skills to make positive contributions to their communities.

YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMS: Ichen Art Academy provides comprehensive and systematic art education for K-12 students on a yearly basis. Please check our curriculum webpage for a detailed description:

Our Camp Website Link: www.ichenartacademy.com

OTHER CAMP INFO: Oil Painting, watercolor, Portrait/Figure Drawing, Illustration, Chinese Painting, Drawing and Sketching, AP Art Boot Camp, Open Studio, Fashion Design, UI/UX Design, Architectural and Interior Design, Animation and Game Design, Digital Art, Creative Comic Books, Manga and Anime, Cartoon and Character Design, Perspective Drawing, Graphic Design, 3D Modeling and much more.

CAMP SESSION DATES & FEES:
Art Camps for kids ages 5-9:
Our Camp Website Link: www.ichenartacademy.com

Digital Illustration Art Camp for ages 9+:
Our Camp Website Link: www.ichenartacademy.com

Summer Art Workshops for ages 11+:
Our Camp Website Link: www.ichenartacademy.com

CAMP FACILITIES: At our Base Camp we have 10 rustic cabins, a mess hall, a variety of other buildings for ecology, art, and archaeology, outdoor pool, outdoor oven, and organic garden.

CAMP PROGRAM INFO: Explore the Wilderness of the Southwest: This is an adventure� and true expedition �through the Wild Lands of New Mexico. Backpacking, hiking, river trips, and rock climbing are at the core of everything we do.

Discover the Culture of the Southwest: We take you on world-class backpacking excursions, but the Gulch is much more than that�we also use our hands to explore Southwestern art, archaeology, reptiles, dinosaur bones, and the Native American culture that makes this land so unique.

Create your own Legacy: What sets the Gulch apart from other adventure programs (in addition to our setting in glorious New Mexico) is that we give you the chance to CREATE your own legacy project. Our professional staff will help you silversmith your own turquoise bracelet, make a star chart of the night sky, restore burrowing owl habitat on our prairies, reconstruct an 800-year-old pot with our archaeologist, or build a new chicken coop for our organic farm.

CAMP LEADERSHIP CIT/LIT PROGRAMS: Leadership Program.

CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS OR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Scholarship applications are available upon request.

FAMILY CAMP SESSION(S): Family Camp.

CAMP SESSION DATES & FEES:
Our programs are 2-6 weeks in length, and run from June 23-August 5. You can find a summary of all our summer expeditions at the following link: Our Camp Website Link: www.cottonwoodgulch.org