A Place for Everyone

On a summer evening at YMCA Camp Northern Lights, the sounds are familiar.

Children race toward the waterfront with towels over their shoulders. Families linger on cabin porches after dinner. Laughter drifts through the trees as strangers become neighbors around a campfire.

It feels like camp has always felt.

But for many families, simply arriving at a place like this is anything but ordinary.

For generations, the outdoors and the traditions of camping have often felt inaccessible to many communities because of historical barriers, lack of representation, and experiences that left people wondering whether they truly belonged. STEPS — Supporting the Transformation of Equity and Power in Outdoor Spaces — set out to change that. Several years in, the initiative is no longer just opening doors at Camp Northern Lights; it is transforming what happens once families arrive and reshaping the culture of camp itself.

The program began in 2020, when Camp Northern Lights’ summer staff gathered in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and asked a difficult but necessary question:

"What can we do to make sure camp is a space where people of all backgrounds, especially those whose identities have faced barriers, feel safe, welcome, and valued?"

That conversation quickly turned into action.

Six years on, that action has scaled: STEPS now reserves over half of the cabins across four family camp sessions for participants identifying as BIPOC, with one session specifically welcoming LGBTQ+ families. What began as a question about access has become a question about transformation — for the families who come, and for the camp that welcomes them. The demand has been overwhelming, with long waiting lists for each session.

Beyond Access, Learning To Build Trust

For program director Jenessa Carlisle, the popularity of STEPS is both encouraging and revealing.

“Camp is already a multicultural place, but there is still a divide,” she shared. “There’s a huge waitlist for STEPS. The question I keep asking is, how can STEPS families feel safe attending every session? As a person of color, I understand why families want to come to a STEPS session, and I want to know what we can do to make sure that feeling exists every session.”

That vision reaches far beyond reserving cabins.

Carlisle describes the work as “moving at the speed of trust.”

Building trust means creating a culture where families don’t simply receive an invitation; they know they belong. It also means ensuring campers see themselves reflected in the staff who welcome them, mentor them, and help shape their experience.

“The main priority is getting folks of color ingrained in our Leadership Development Program and on staff,” Carlisle said. “I can’t emphasize the importance of diversity enough.”

To make that happen, she has expanded recruiting efforts well beyond traditional channels. She visits colleges, partners with diverse student organizations, works alongside BIPOC Outdoors, a Twin Cities community connecting people of color through outdoor recreation, and leads BIPOC winter retreats, continually seeking out communities that may not have previously considered camp a place for them.

The work is intentional, but it is also personal.

“Legacy is awesome,” Carlisle said. “Having generations of campers is amazing. But because Camp Northern Lights is still growing, we have the opportunity to intentionally shape our culture.”

That flexibility allows staff to continually ask how traditions can evolve so every family feels they are helping create them, not simply participating in someone else’s.

Where Belonging Becomes Tradition

The impact of that work is best understood through the families who return year after year, not because they were invited once, but because they found a place where they truly belong.

For camper Mercedes Yarbrough, that feeling was immediate.

She, her husband Mack, and their four children have attended Camp Northern Lights for the past four years. This summer, they arrived with a group of fourteen friends and relatives, turning camp into a family reunion surrounded by towering pines and sparkling lake water.

Last summer, Mercedes climbed into a kayak for the first time.

“It looked scary,” she admitted. “But because there were counselors to guide us, I tried it.”

Now, kayaking has become her favorite part of camp.

“I love to kayak into the middle of the lake and meditate with my hands in the water. Water is healing and powerful. I let everything flow out through my hands and release.”

That sense of peace surprised her and carries extra meaning.

“Being a Black family going up north can sometimes be a scary experience,” she said. “But I’ve never felt that way at camp. It is safe and peaceful.”

She hopes more families discover what hers has found.

“Camp is for everyone,” she said. “A lot of people think camping is for white people. But this is a fun, safe place for families that’s welcoming to everyone.”

Her husband Mack, who didn’t know how to swim when they first came to camp, was hesitant to participate in water activities. Today, he’s eager to join in.

“It reminds you that you’re capable of more than you think,” Mercedes said. “And it’s healing.”

For her family, camp offers something many people don’t realize they’re missing.

“Now more than ever, we need that disconnect,” she said. “We need space away from technology that gives you time to heal and recharge your mind, body, and soul.”

A Sky Full of Possibility

That reflection reminded Mercedes of one of her favorite camp memories.

It was the final night of their first summer. Her family was busy packing up when Mack stepped outside to take out the garbage. Moments later, he hurried back inside.

“Come outside right now!”

She followed him into the darkness.

Above them stretched a sky unlike anything she had ever seen.

There were just millions of stars,” she recalled. “I’ve never experienced anything like it. They were shining with so much energy. It felt magical.

Years later, she still thinks about that night.

Perhaps that’s the true impact of STEPS.

It isn’t measured only by cabins reserved or waitlists filled. It’s found in first kayak rides. In friendships that continue long after summer ends. In families who return each year knowing they belong.

Moments of courage.

Moments of connection.

Moments of healing.

Because every family deserves the chance to look up at a sky full of stars and know the outdoors belongs to them, too.