That Island Treehouse Magic Isn't Just for Kids

When Executive Director Georgia Wagner describes YMCA Camp Icaghowan’s treehouses, she gets tears in her eyes.

Every single person reacts when they see it for the first time. While campers start to play right away, you can see the adults pause and remember, says Georgia.

Summer camp is a magical place that is just slightly removed from real life. A place where intentional spaces inspire wonder and awe, and allow both kids and adults to learn, grow, imagine, and dream.

Considering the 115-year history of Camp Icaghowan, the treehouses are relatively new, having been built in 2008 and 2011. But since that time, they have become an iconic symbol of camp, and Bob Gagner is the reason they are part of camp.

The origin of these treehouses doesn’t begin at Camp Icaghowan, rather, in a backyard in Roseville. When Bob talks about his childhood, his eyes twinkle and his words paint a vivid picture of carefree summer days. He was 7 when he and his friends built their first treehouse.

“It was our private club house, like in ‘The Little Rascals.’” His smile lights up the room as he talks about running through the woods, gathering supplies,
and his dad’s willingness to keep buying hammers as he lost “at least 12 of them” in the building process.

Bob has a warm smile and passion that pours out of him when he talks about camp. Bob was the executive director of Camp Icaghowan from 2006-15, and before that, spent 25 years at Camp Many Point and 3 years directing day camps. His career is impressive, but it’s his enthusiasm and love for camp that make him so fun to talk to.

When Bob became the director of Camp Many Point in 1981, his joyful memories of that first treehouse, and those that followed throughout his childhood came back to him. When he realized that his own children had never been in a treehouse, nor had many of his campers, he wanted to make that part of camp.

In 2002 Bob went to Oregon to meet Michael Garnier, a well-known treehouse builder, to learn more about the engineering that goes into large, safe, permanent
treehouses. Back at camp, Bob scouted the land and looked at the trees and found the best location for a treehouse.

This one was built differently than those of his childhood, even meeting local building codes. They included special hardware that allowed the trees to sway in the wind but not move the tree house. Additionally, the construction didn’t damage the trees. Because of its popularity with the campers, he would go on to build a second treehouse a few years later.

When Bob came to Camp Icaghowan, he knew camp had a long history and beautiful legacy nearly 97 years strong (at that time), but he also wanted to give camp something of a “wow factor."

Like with his previous treehouses, Bob explored the island, searching for the perfect set of trees. Once he found the location on a ridge overlooking the lake, he had an arborist come out to check the health of the trees, created the design to fit those trees, found a builder, and the Eagle’s Nest Treehouse (named after the eagles that circled the area during the construction) was complete in 2008. A second treehouse, named Otter’s Lookout after the otters that played in the lake near the site was completed in 2011.

Bob’s vision of invoking a sense of adventure, fantasy and creative play came to life the instant the first campers saw the treehouse. Georgia, then serving as program director for Bob, remembered listening to Bob describe the treehouse before it was built.

“Bob has the ability to see the world through a child’s eyes, and then make the imaginary adventure tangible. When he talked about it, he could make you feel how magical it would be,” says Georgia..

The treehouses are currently used for a variety of programming during the summer and year-round. During the summer, all campers go on an overnight adventure. The youngest campers stay in the treehouses — Eagle’s Nest is closest to camp and an easy hike. Otter’s Landing is a short canoe ride away (or can be hiked to if that’s a better fit for the group. As campers get older, they progress to yurts, platform tents, tents, and longer trips. The treehouse is the first step in helping campers progress through camping experiences.

Icaghowan now has that “wow” Bob sought to create. Georgia, relaying this story, smiles. “And then to watch the campers see it for the first time. It’s amazing. They run to the treehouse. They grab the ropes, they climb. They immediately know how to engage with it and play. Icaghowan’s tree houses ignite a camper’s spirit of adventure and willingness to try something new and will provide those summer camp memories for a lifetime.