Swim Camp

Registration opens on February 13, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. Please read this ENTIRE page of information and submit your registration form after that time. There are multiple changes, so even if you are a long-time attendee, I need you to read this page and the instructions on the registration form carefully.

We will be holding the 21st Annual Homeschool Swim Camp June 3 – June 7 at Downata Hot Springs which is located 93 miles south of Idaho Falls.

You can read about Downata on their website. There is a swimming pool, water slides, cafe, swings, horseshoes, basketball, volleyball, and more. Best of all, the lovely, clean locker rooms have individual dressing rooms, multiple toilets, and multiple warm showers. It is a beautiful facility and the last ten years there have proved to be lots of fun!

Swimming lessons are $70 per student and include the student’s daily swim pass. We will have space for approximately 150 students in swimming lessons (dependent on how many teachers I am able to hire). Those registrations that exceed our teacher/student ratio will be put on a waiting list. Lessons are available for students age 5-100. Students in Levels 1-3 will have four one-hour lessons. Students in Levels 4-6 will have six one-hour lessons. This will better meet the developmental needs of both groups of children as the younger children often get too worn out with six lessons and the older children need more time with stroke refinement and endurance building. Lessons will be one hour long and students will have either one or two lessons per day, depending on the day of the week and their lesson schedule. 

A swim/slide pass for those not in lessons is $9.00/day and 2-year olds and younger are $3.00/day. 

Camping prices can be found on Downata’s website under Rates and a map of the campground is located here. I also have all the rates and options on the Registration Form with the 6% sales tax and 2% lodging tax already included if you would rather look there. I’m sad to say Downata has raised their camping rates by 33%. We are planning on camping in the teepees, Cowboy Hangout, RV spots 1-42 and 48-64 with tents being in spots T1-T16, Group Area 2, Group Area 4, and Tent Areas 7, 8, 9, and 10. All RV sites will accommodate up to 32 foot RV’s. Sites 20, 30, 32-39, and 48-57 will accommodate up to 40 feet. Each camping spot is allowed one car. If you have additional cars there is a $10.00/night fee.

Camping this year will be a four-night package, Monday morning – Thursday night with a Friday departure. You will pay based on the rate of your campsite times four nights. It is incredibly hard to organize camping when families leave on Thursday and then their camping spots in the middle of our group are able to be filled by strangers for that last night. So this year, the spots will be ours until Friday which will preserve the group feeling and comfortableness for our group and will not place a poor, unsuspecting camper in the midst of our fun when they were, most likely, looking for a calmer experience. About half of our campers the past few years have chosen to arrive on Sunday – this is still totally fine –  just add one more night to your payment and check Sunday night along with Monday-Thursday night on the reservation form.

I need to pay for our complete camping fees upfront. Please fill out the Registration Form linked at the bottom of this page and then immediately send your camping total plus registration fee of $5.00 to me through PayPal using the Friends and Family option. This is essential because of changes to IRS rules that will greatly impact our taxes – if I receive more than $600 in Paypal payments that are listed as Goods and Services instead of Friends and Family, I will be sent a 1099 and have to report it as income. There are detailed instructions on the registration form and I BEG you to follow them. If you have any questions about how to pay, please call me and I will walk you through it. You need to pay for your camping now, but you can pay for your lessons now or by April 1.

There are many things to do at Swim Camp besides swim. Planned activities include a Potluck Dinner on Monday, Tuesday evening is Skit Night, and Wednesday evening is a Family Dance Party. Volleyball is pretty much an every day activity. Every evening I will hold storytime at my fire pit. If you would like to head up a different activity, let me know and I’ll see if we can make it work!

Cancellation Fees

If you cancel your camping spot, there is a $10 cancellation fee. If you cancel your swimming lesson spots and I can fill them, there is no cancellation fee. If I cannot fill them (unlikely, but possible, particularly with last minute cancellations), you are responsible for $34 of the $70 lesson fee. The $5 registration fee is non-refundable.

If there is not space for your family at Swim Camp, you will be refunded without a cancellation fee.

Ready to register? Please go to the registration form and let the instructions at the top load, then read them carefully, then fill out your form.

Here is the registration form.