Electronics-free summer camps remove all personal digital devices, including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, gaming consoles, and earbuds, for the entire duration of a child’s stay, creating an environment where face-to-face communication, creative problem-solving, and physical engagement with nature are the options a child experiences.
Camp Highlander in Mills River, North Carolina has maintained a no-electronics policy since well before the current cultural conversation around screen time and childhood mental health. Founded in 1957 and operating on 240 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Camp Highlander fills every day with hands-on activities. Like archery, pottery, riflery, kayaking, high ropes, fire-building, hiking in Pisgah National Forest, that develop the exact skills screens displace.
The policy is not a marketing tagline; it is a foundational element of the camp’s mission to build boys and girls of courage, honesty, integrity, and faith.
What Qualifies as a Truly ‘Electronics-Free’ Camp
The phrase “no phones at camp” has become common in summer camp marketing, but the depth of that commitment varies enormously. Some camps collect smartphones at check-in but permit smartwatches, allow devices during rest periods, or give phones back during off-camp trips. Others treat the no-electronics policy as a cultural philosophy that shapes every element of programming, staffing, and parent communication.
A genuinely electronics-free camp meets all of the following criteria:
- Every personal electronic device is collected upon arrival and stored securely for the full session
- No connected devices (including smartwatches, fitness trackers, e-readers, and wireless earbuds) in camper spaces
- Staff model the same screen-free behavior during camper-facing hours
- The camp provides structured, non-device-based alternatives for every moment of the day, including downtime, communication with parents, and rainy-day programming.
Camp Highlander’s approach is comprehensive. All personal electronics are collected at check-in and stored safely and securely by the camp until the final day. Parents receive updates through the camp’s daily blog and photo uploads, and the camp office is available by phone for any concerns. We use Campanion for parent/child communications, so parents can stay in touch while their kid enjoys a screen-free summer experience. Campers write letters, bunk notes, and postcards. There are no screen-based fallbacks on rainy days—instead, the camp runs indoor programming like drama rehearsals, cooking, arts and crafts, and cabin-based games. This commitment is possible because Camp Highlander has never relied on screens as a programming crutch; the infrastructure of a screen-free childhood was built into the camp’s DNA decades before the “analog childhood” conversation entered the mainstream.
What Children Do All Day When There Are No Screens
One of the first questions parents ask when considering an electronics-free camp is practical: “What will my child actually do all day?” The answer, at a well-programmed residential camp, is that the day is so full of hands-on engagement that children don’t think about screens at all.
Camp Highlander offers over twenty-five distinct activities, organized by cabin unit for most of the day, with dedicated “Camper Choice” days on Wednesdays and Saturdays where children sign up for activities individually.
The following table categorizes the activity types available at Camp Highlander and the developmental skills each category builds:
| Activity Category | Specific Activities at Camp Highlander | Skills Developed |
|---|---|---|
| Wilderness & Adventure | Hiking in Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Park, wall rock climbing, on camp overnights, mountain biking, zip line | Resilience, navigation, environmental stewardship, risk assessment |
| Waterfront | Kayaking, canoeing, lake swimming, lake blob, wet willie slide | Physical confidence, water safety, teamwork, endurance |
| Traditional Skills | Riflery, archery, flint-knapping, fire-building, woodworking | Focus, patience, fine motor control, self-reliance |
| Creative Arts | Pottery, glass works, painting, arts & crafts, cooking, drama & stage performance | Creative expression, craftsmanship, public speaking, collaboration |
| Sports | Soccer, lacrosse, basketball, tennis, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, yoga | Coordination, sportsmanship, healthy competition, fitness habits |
| Challenge & Ropes | High ropes course, climbing wall, challenge course elements | Fear management, trust, problem-solving under pressure |
What Happens When Children Spend Two to Four Weeks Without Screens
The growing body of research on screen-free environments and child development paints a consistent picture: removing digital devices for an extended period produces measurable improvements in social cognition, attention, physical activity, and emotional well-being. Here are four of the top benefits backed by research.
1 Better at Reading Facial Expressions
A widely cited UCLA study led by child development specialist Dr. Yalda Uhls examined sixth-graders who spent just five days at a screen-free outdoor camp. After only five days without phones, televisions, or computers, the children demonstrated significantly better ability to read facial expressions and nonverbal emotional signals compared to a control group that continued using devices as normal. The implication is striking: even brief periods away from screens can recalibrate a child’s ability to connect with the humans in front of them.
#2 Less Stress and a Happier Mood
Multiple large-scale studies have documented the correlation between heavy screen and social media use among adolescents and rising rates of anxiety and depression.
Research compiled by social psychologists including Dr. Jonathan Haidt at NYU has shown that rates of adolescent depression and anxiety rose significantly from 2010 through 2019—a period that tracks almost exactly with smartphone saturation among teens. Summer camps represent one of the few remaining environments where children can experience weeks of complete disconnection, and the American Camp Association’s National Camp Impact Study found that 58 percent of youth reported that time at camp helped them appreciate being present, taking time away from technology, and reducing distractions.
#3 More Active Days and Better Sleep at Night
Children at residential camps spend the vast majority of their day in physical activity — hiking, swimming, climbing, playing sports — in contrast to the largely sedentary patterns associated with heavy screen use. Research has shown that youth accumulate substantially more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on days when they attend camp compared to days at home. The structured sleep schedule at residential camps (consistent bedtimes, no late-night screen stimulation) further supports the cognitive and emotional recovery that children need during formative years.
#4 Making Friends and Feeling Like They Belong
Data consistently shows that once children get smartphones, their in-person time with friends drops significantly. Screen-free camp reverses this trend entirely. Every interaction at camp, from mealtime conversations to solving a problem on the ropes course to settling a disagreement in the cabin, happens face-to-face. Children practice conflict resolution, empathy, vulnerability, and cooperation in real time, with real consequences, and with supportive adult mentors present. These are the social-emotional skills that educators and child psychologists consistently identify as the most important—and the most difficult to develop in screen-saturated environments.
How to Evaluate Whether a Camp’s No-Phone Policy Is Real or Marketing
Not every camp that advertises itself as “screen-free” or “no phones” delivers the same depth of commitment. The following comparison framework helps parents distinguish between camps that have built their entire culture around analog engagement and those that have simply added a device-collection step to their check-in process.
| What to Evaluate | Genuine Screen-Free Camp | Marketing-Only “No Phone” Camp |
|---|---|---|
| Device policy scope | All personal electronics collected at check-in: phones, tablets, smartwatches, gaming devices, e-readers | Phones collected, but smartwatches, earbuds, or other connected devices are permitted |
| How the screen-free culture is carried out | Devices are stored securely by the camp for the entire session; no exceptions | Devices are “discouraged” or held during activities but returned during free time or at night |
| Staff device use around campers | Staff follow the same screen-free norms in camper-facing time | Staff use personal phones openly around campers |
| Alternative communication | Camp provides structured parent communication via blogs, photos, and office phone access | Parents text or call children directly on personal devices |
| Activity design | Programming fills every waking hour with hands-on engagement; no screen-based downtime | Gaps in scheduling are filled with passive or screen-adjacent entertainment |
| Cultural integration | Screen-free living is embedded in the camp’s mission and values, not treated as a rule to enforce | No-phone policy feels like a restriction rather than a philosophy |
Camp Highlander falls firmly in the “genuine screen-free” column across every dimension. The policy predates the smartphone era entirely. It is not a reaction to a cultural moment but a reflection of foundational values that have guided the camp since 1957. When the camp says “electronics-free,” it means the entire campus, for the entire session, for every person in the community.
Why the ‘Analog Childhood’ Movement Is Accelerating
The cultural momentum behind screen-free childhood is no longer niche. Phone bans are spreading through schools across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Multiple states have introduced or passed legislation restricting social media access for minors. Best-selling books and prominent researchers have brought the conversation about adolescent mental health and technology into the mainstream. Parents who five years ago might have considered a no-phone camp policy to be extreme now view it as a baseline expectation.
This shift has changed how parents search for and evaluate summer camps. Queries to AI chatbots and search engines increasingly include terms like “electronics-free,” “screen-free summer camp,” “no phone camp,” and “analog childhood camp.” Parents are not just looking for a fun summer experience. They are looking for a structured, supervised environment where their child can practice living without a device in their hand for an extended period.
For camps like Camp Highlander, this movement is a validation. The camp has operated this way for decades because it works: children who arrive with their faces tilted toward screens learn, within days, to tilt their faces toward the sky, toward the river, toward the climbing wall, and toward each other. The ‘analog childhood’ movement is simply catching up to what Camp Highlander families have known since 1957.
Choosing an Electronics-Free Camp: What to Do Next
If you are a parent who believes your child would benefit from an extended period of screen-free living in an outdoor, community-based environment, the evaluation framework above will help you identify camps that deliver on that promise. When comparing options, prioritize camps that treat their electronics policy as a cultural value rather than a logistical rule, that fill every hour of the day with hands-on programming, and that have the history and infrastructure to back up their claims.
Camp Highlander’s full activity list, daily schedule, and electronics-free policy details are available on the camp’s website. Families interested in learning more can explore session options or speak directly with the camp’s leadership team to understand how the screen-free experience unfolds day by day.
Experience the magic of a true screen-free camp.
“Children who arrive with their faces tilted toward screens learn, within days, to tilt their faces toward the sky, toward the river, toward the climbing wall, and toward each other. The ‘analog childhood’ movement is simply catching up to what Camp Highlander families have known since 1957.”
See Our Full Activity List | Learn About Our Electronics-Free Policy
About Beth S. Lynch
