Quick Facts

Sam and Susan Torn, owners, have dedicated their lives to serving today’s youth through the incomparable experience that is Camp Ozark. Sam and Susan are actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Camp Ozark, along with their 3 adult children Scott, Chris, and Angela.

Each camper has the opportunity to select from over 150 Morning Activity classes and will receive a unique, individualized schedule. Morning Activities are primarily designed for campers to learn or improve upon a skill from one day to the next. Each scheduled Morning Activity generally meets once daily, Monday through Thursday, with a total of three activity periods each day.

Only 15% of camps to receive the important American Camping Association accreditation. Camp Ozark is proud to receive this accreditation. 

For eight years Camp Ozark has received the ACA Award of Excellence.

At Camp Ozark, it is our goal to create a secure environment for your child. Camp Ozark goes to great lengths to ensure our staff is properly screened during the application and interview process and then thoroughly trained so that your child will be surrounded by the finest young Christian role models that colleges around the country have to offer. From the over 2,200 applicants from over 100 college campuses around the country, 750 are chosen during our highly selective interview process. Each new applicant is required to submit at least 4 references. We run a criminal background check on each staff member every year.  

Your child’s safety is our number one priority while he or she attends Camp Ozark. While Camp Ozark cannot completely eliminate the possibility of a child becoming ill or being injured while at Camp Ozark, we do recognize that before the “camp experience” can be anything else to the child, it must be a secure environment for the child to learn and grow. That is why we, at Camp Ozark, thoroughly train our staff and employ stringent safety and health standards.

Consistent evaluation of our compliance with all of the American Camp Association standards regarding safety, health, and operations. Camp Ozark has achieved a perfect score on all of our accreditation visits by the American Camp Association which means we have been in compliance with over 300 standards and sub-standards.

Two complete Health Centers, staffed by as many as ten registered nurses. (Susan Torn is a registered nurse who has practiced camp nursing for over 25 years). Systematic, regular evaluations and inspections of activities, equipment, facilities, and modes of transportation to ensure that they are functioning in compliance with our standards. All summer staff are trained and certified by the American Red Cross in CPR/First Aid. In addition, staff are trained to handle and operate AED’s (Artificial Electronic Defibulators).

Every session is staffed by a licensed, on-site Physician and up to 10 Registered Nurses who live in one of our two Health Centers. The Physician is available for any illnesses or emergencies that might occur. Should your child become ill or injured while at Camp Ozark, parents will be timely notified at the sole discretion of the Camp Ozark Medical Staff, if such notification is warranted. The nursing staff administers routine medications, treats minor illnesses and injuries, and promotes preventative measures at the Camp Ozark Health Centers. 

The Camp Ozark Health Center is equipped to handle most minor emergencies. If necessary, emergency assistance is available from a clinic in Mount Ida, Arkansas, and CHI St Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  All campers who are off-site are accompanied by a staff member. All summer staff are trained and certified by the American Red Cross in CPR/First Aid.

Campers who have any type of allergy, whether food, drug, environmental or other, must notify Camp Ozark via the Health Section on their My Ozark Dashboard before the camper’s session begins. The Allergy Section of the Health Registration must be completed indicating the allergen, the reaction, and the treatment if exposure occurs. If the camper has a potentially life-threatening allergy, a black band will be placed on their wrist upon their arrival, identifying the allergy on the band. Campers with food allergies will receive a yellow band with the food allergen listed.  Food allergies must be discussed with the Food Services Director in advance of the session to plan alternatives. Supplemental foods may be requested to be provided by the camper’s parent.

Camp Ozark facilitates the mandatory service of pre-packing campers’ medication in preparation for camp. The nurses dispense the medications at all meal times and at bedtime. For exceptions, please contact us or send us an email.

All two-week campers are screened during the middle weekend for any health issues that may need attention. The medical staff checks the campers for general cleanliness, sores or rashes that need attention or referral to our Camp Physician for further investigation and treatment.

One week campers 10 years old or younger have their health check during the latter part of their stay at camp. The medical staff checks the campers for general cleanliness, sores or rashes that need attention or referral to our Camp Physician for further investigation and treatment.

Campers may opt out of the Health and Wellness Check upon a parents written request, however, in that case the medical staff may not know if the camper has a health issue that needs immediate attention.

Camp Ozark firmly believes all campers deserve to have an “incomparable” camp experience, and, while rare, any camper behavior that negatively affects the experience of others should be addressed in a decisive and timely fashion. Camp Ozark has developed a system of Camper Monitoring designed to prevent, identify, and resolve camper behavior issues.

Annually, the Red Cross certifies more than 100 summer staff as lifeguards at Camp Ozark. All Waterfront and Lake activities are monitored by certified lifeguards. All campers are required to wear life jackets while participating in most water activities at Camp Ozark, with the exception of controlled lap swimming and some Waterslides. 

Camp Ozark serves a well balanced, kid friendly menu that features “scratch cooking” at all three meals. In addition, a breakfast, lunch, and dinner Market Fresh line consisting of healthy food options is available for those campers not choosing the main hot food line. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fresh fruit, and garden salads are also available during most meals.

The Camper Care Program is an integral part of camp and is designed to help make the Ozark experience truly incomparable for campers and their families. Among the many facets of Camper Care is the Camp Mom team. Camp Moms serve as a mom away from home and help make the transition from home to Camp as smooth as possible.

Camp Ozark offers fully staffed luxury charter bus service from several cities in a six state area (Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi). Several of our camp families take advantage of this extremely economical and convenient travel option. Also, it is a great way to kick-off the camp experience as campers meet new friends and connect with the Ozark staff on the trip. View options from a city near your on your My Ozark dashboard.

With 124 flight arrivals and departures each day, the Little Rock airport provides non-stop jet service to 16 national/international gateway cities. Many campers arrive from around the country and from international departure points. Parents may book flights in conjunction with Camp Ozark’s pick-up and drop-off windows. Upon arrival, all campers are greeted by Camp Ozark Staff and escorted to our fully-staffed charter bus for transport to Camp Ozark. Camp Ozark offers fully-staffed charter bus service to and from the Little Rock Airport. Camp Ozark luggage personnel are on hand to load luggage into the luggage bays once identified by each camper at the baggage claim.

For camp families arriving via private aircraft, both Hot Springs (KH03, Runway Length 6595 ft.) and Mount Ida (Bearce Airport 7M3, Runway length 4000 ft.) offer convenient options for arrival and departure. Camp Ozark offers shuttle service for all camp families arriving at the Mount Ida Airport for arrival and departure. For families who choose to land in Hot Springs, most major rental car companies provide options for travel to Camp Ozark. For more information on these options, log in to My Ozark.

Parents have the ability to set up email packages to allow email communication to their camper. Emails will be printed and delivered to the camper’s cabin mailbox through this one-way messaging system. 

Postcards from your camper and his or her counselor will be sent electronically to your My Ozark dashboard. Turn on notifications for the Camp Ozark Go app to learn when they are available for viewing. 

In order to fully experience Camp Ozark, campers are not allowed to bring cell phones or other mobile communication or transmittable devices (like iPads, iPods, Apple watches, etc.) to camp, nor are campers allowed to receive or make telephone calls, text, or email while in attendance at Camp Ozark. Parents should feel free to contact a Camp Mom if they need to discuss something related to their child or contact the camp office or Camp Director in case of emergency.