Our Nawakwa

09/03/2026

Grief can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to walk through it alone.

Healing Heart 2026 is a day dedicated to support, healing, community, and hope for those who have experienced loss. Participants can choose from a variety of resources, workshops, and activities designed to help them move forward one step at a time. 

Register today for this workshop on Sat., September 19.

Thank you Kim Brown Helgeson and so many for choosing Nawkawa as a space to share and heal.

💜 Learn more:

Join us alongside others who have experienced loss to find support, resources, coping strategies, community and time in nature. The goal is that you leave from the day with one more strategy, one more friend, or one more resource that helps you, brings you comfort or brings you hope.

08/30/2026

🥾 National Park Week concludes with Junior Ranger Day!
Today's young hikers, campers, and explorers are tomorrow's conservation leaders.

At Camp Nawakwa, every adventure on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is an opportunity to learn about nature, discover local history, and develop a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors.

Here's to the next generation of trail stewards and outdoor enthusiasts!

08/29/2026

Nawakwa loves this annual week, which began in 2014. In many ways, the girls who attended camp during those early years and are now serving as counselors inspired Our Nawakwa's commitment to preserving camp and ensuring generations of kids can continue to experience its magic.

08/28/2026

✨ There’s a little trail magic waiting for you! 🥾🌲

Both Hike-a-Thon distances will have the chance to stop at Trail Magic Stations along the route! They will be featuring some of our favorite local brands!

✨ Great Lakes Hydration
✨ Fortune Favors
✨ Olympia Granola
✨ Driftless Provision

Because every good hike is better with a little fuel along the way. 😉

Come hike, explore, fuel up, and enjoy everything a beautiful fall day in Wisconsin has to offer. Grab your friends, lace up your boots, and join us on the trail!

📅 October 10
📍 Camp Nawakwa | Cornell, WI
🥾 Two distances • Four Trail Magic Stations • One great day on the trails

Register today and make a day of it! 🍂
🎟️: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/cJm7JVB7beswFi42jwmdBw?t=1786044678

08/27/2026

National Park Week: Thankful Thursday
🍂 It's Thankful Thursday during National Park Week, and today we're celebrating the people who help preserve and share special places like Camp Nawakwa and the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
We are especially grateful for our partners at the Ice Age Trail Alliance and the local Ice Age Trail chapter, whose volunteers help maintain our mile of trail and create opportunities for people to experience Wisconsin's unique glacial landscape.
From trail maintenance days to chapter-hosted hikes and special events like TrailTessa, these partnerships help connect people of all ages with the outdoors.
As we celebrate National Park Week, we're thankful for everyone who gives their time, talent, and passion to ensure future generations can enjoy the trail and the natural beauty of Camp Nawakwa.
What are you thankful for when you spend time outdoors?

08/25/2026

United Way Greater Chippewa Valley Day of Caring: Friday September 25
“Grab a Brush, Leave a Mark!

In our 90th year, Camp Nawakwa needs your hands and hearts to protect and improve our historic spaces to continue our mission of connecting youth with nature.

Whether you are a skilled painter or a willing beginner, your time makes a massive difference. We will paint 28 exterior doors, stain fences, seal cabin floors.

Lunch provided, bring a water bottle.
Equipment is also provided, but bring any favorite paint brush you may have."

https://www.uwgcv.org/day-caring-2026
Scroll to bottom of page when you click the link. Then touch the blue volunteer button. Our project is on the second page!

08/24/2026

The Rocks and the Door Stops

For decades at Camp Nawakwa, heavy doors were held open the same way: with rocks.
Big rocks. Small rocks. Whatever was nearby and heavy enough to keep a door from swinging shut.

The rocks worked.
Mostly.

Sometimes someone tripped over them. Sometimes a cart had to stop while the rock was kicked out of the way. Sometimes supplies had to be set down so the rock could be moved first. Over the years, the doors collected scratches and chipped paint from the rubbing and banging.

Nobody complained much. It was just the way things had always been done.

Then one day, a volunteer noticed.
Not because it was a major problem. Not because anyone had started a committee. Not because there was a grand announcement.

A volunteer simply thought, There has to be a better way.

Soon after, a drill could occasionally be heard somewhere around camp. A few screws here. A few screws there.
Most people never noticed.
But over the next several months, something quietly changed.

One door got a kick-down door stop.
Then another.
And another.

The new door stops weren't flashy. They didn't have a plaque. There was no ribbon-cutting ceremony. Most campers probably never knew they had appeared.

Yet little by little, everyone started using them.
The rocks began disappearing from doorways.
Carts rolled through more easily.
Hands carrying supplies no longer had to stop and move a rock first.
Fewer people stumbled.
The doors opened and stayed open exactly when they needed to.
Camp just worked a little better.

And that is the thing about volunteers.
Many people notice the new building. They notice the new dock, the new program, or the big fundraiser. Those things matter.

And the heart of a volunteer organization is often found in the things nobody notices.
A tightened screw.
A repaired latch.
A freshly painted board.
A kick-down door stop where a rock used to sit.

These small acts rarely receive applause. They are often completed quietly, one at a time, by someone who simply cares enough to make things a little better than they found them.

Years later, campers and staff may never know who installed those door stops. They will simply walk through the doors without thinking about it.
And perhaps that is the greatest compliment of all.

The improvement became part of camp itself.
The lesson is simple: meaningful service is not always about doing something big. Often it is about seeing something small, taking responsibility for it, and making life better for everyone who comes after you.

At Nawakwa, volunteers do everything.

Sometimes they build the future with grand projects.

And sometimes they change camp with four screws, a drill, and a simple belief that there must be a better way.

The rocks worked.

But a volunteer made things better. And that is how Nawakwa continues to grow. One quiet act of service at a time.