Frequently Asked Questions
Camp Pillsbury is located in Owantonna, Minnesota, 45 minutes south of Minneapolis in the heart of Owatonna.
Both actually. In the summer, we are a Camp, and in the winter, we are a Boarding School for campers who want camp year round with high academic standards.
All campers sleep in comfortable dorm rooms. There will be two to three campers in a room. There are bunk beds and a single bed in each room.
You can request a friend. If you do not request anyone, you will be placed in an age appropriate room.
The weather is very comfortable. During June, July and August, the daily temperatures are in the low to mid 80’s and evening/overnight temperatures in the low to mid 60’s.
A full packing list can be found on your parent portal and is available for viewing after registration. Please log into to your parent portal and click on the tab “forms”. You can then print off a pdf file of the packing list. Think casual and bring summer clothing suitable for the type of activities you would like to get involved in.
On “Adventure Day” all campers are taken offsite to a fun, adventurous venue. This gives campers the chance to build life-long friendships in a non-scheduled, exciting atmosphere. Campers take a chaperoned trip to somewhere fantastic, like Mall of America, Valley Fair Amusement Park, Tubing, Major League Baseball, pre-season Vikings game, etc. Camp Pillsbury covers the cost of Adventure Day activities, transportation, and meals for the day.
Laundry at camp is available to campers who stay longer than a 2 week period. If your camper is staying with us for 2 weeks, laundry services are not available and you should pack accordingly.
US Mail, FedEx, and UPS come six days a week. The US Mail gets posted from our camp office six days a week.
Campers are free to email from our computer lab at designated
Dorms have WiFi access in the common rooms. WiFi is only available in designated areas and times on campus.
We allow cell phones in the dorms only. Cell phones are not permitted during activities or meals.
The youngest camper’s curfew is 9:30 p.m. and the latest curfew is 11:00 p.m.
Wake up is 8:30 a.m. weekdays and a chance to sleep in a bit on the weekend.
Our staff will be at the airport waiting for you when you arrive. They also will wait until your plane leaves the ground when you depart.
It takes about 45 minutes.
You will select all of your activities on Sampler Day, which is the first Monday of each session. All campers will be introduced to each activity and have the opportunity to participate in activities of their choice on Sampler Day. At the end of the day, campers will choose their majors. If your first day of camp is outside of normal session dates, a camp staff member will introduce the activities to your camper and assist them with their choices.
At the end of every session, we have a parents’ day when parents, relatives and family friends are welcome to join us for a day of performances and exhibitions. All sessions are from Sunday to Sunday and Performance Day is the last Saturday before the session ends. The day begins at 12:00 and ends mid-afternoon.
Parents always ask us the same question concerning tipping of counselors, “Do we tip and how much”? Most of our counseling staff are college students and look forward to Performance Day when they get tips to supplement their summer incomes. Being acknowledged by parents for their hard work is extremely well received. We suggest $25 per counselor session.
While most costs are covered by camp tuition, costs such as snacks at the movie theater, snacks at the water park, spending money for Adventure days at the mall or at the amusement park are not covered by the camp. You can add cash to your campers account during registration when you arrive in camp by bringing money to be turned into the camp staff. For safety purposes, campers are not allowed to keep money on their person during camp. It will be safely stored by camp administrators.
We have First Aid certified staff members onsite and a Doctor on call and the Mayo Clinic (Hospital) nearby.
Our rules are “common sense” rules and consistently enforced. When campers arrive, campers are introduced to the rules during orientation.
If a camper is found in possession of, or in the presence of tobacco, narcotics, liquor, vaping devices, or any other intoxicants or non-prescription drugs, they will be dismissed from camp without refund.
As stated in our registration agreement, if you cancel before April 1, all monies except the agreed upon $300 administration fee will be refunded. After April 1, there are no refunds.
