The CCC is proud to celebrate the completion of the Recreation Hall at YMCA Camp Cherokee — a dynamic, multi-purpose facility designed to support camp life, strengthen staff operations, and expand opportunities for community use year-round.

Thoughtfully designed to meet both current and future needs, the Recreation Hall brings together program space, administrative offices, a modern health center, and full-time staff housing under one roof. This facility now serves as a central hub for connection, care, and community at Camp Cherokee.

A Welcoming and Flexible Gathering Space

The front of the Recreation Hall features an all-access ramp, a spacious front porch, and abundant windows that fill the building with natural light. The main floor offers a large (6,000 square ft.!), flexible indoor space that supports a wide range of programs and events, including:

-Daily camp activities and all-camp gatherings

-Camp dances, rainy-day programming, and evening events

-Weddings, conferences, retreats, and other forms of offseason rentals

To ensure comfort and functionality throughout the year, the Recreation Hall is equipped with modern HVAC and WiFi, making it an ideal space for both camp programming and guest events. The main floor also includes office space for camp staff, large multi-stall restrooms, ample storage, and a welcoming fireplace for campers and guests to enjoy.

Expanded Facilities: Health Center & Staff Housing

As the building transitions into a two-level design, the lower level allows Camp Cherokee to provide essential care and housing directly on site.

The lower level of the Recreation Hall includes a fully equipped Health Center featuring:

-A large open space for medication distribution and camper care

-Four individual camper sleeping areas

-Two nurse bedrooms

A laundry room, multiple restrooms, and extensive storage for medical supplies and camper medication.

This Health Center provides a comfortable, private, and efficient space to care for campers, improving safety, response time, and overall well-being.

Also on the lower level of our Recreation Hall is lodging for full-time staff, complete with a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and restroom. This on-site housing allows key staff to live at camp year-round, increasing supervision, responsiveness, and continuity of care for campers and facilities.

Offseason Programming & Rentals

The Recreation Hall significantly expands Camp Cherokee’s capacity for year-round, offseason programming and rentals. With a large, climate-controlled indoor space, modern amenities, and WiFi, the facility is well-suited for weddings, corporate retreats and meetings, holiday gatherings, and weekend or day rentals. The space also supports environmental education field trips, providing a comfortable base for learning and group activities, as well as staff training events and professional development sessions. These offseason uses not only extend the impact of Camp Cherokee beyond the summer months, but also create sustainable programs that help support camp year-round.

The Impact of Your Support

Because of the generosity of our donors and supporters, the Recreation Hall is now a cornerstone of Camp Cherokee’s daily operations and long-term sustainability. Your investment has created a space where campers gather, celebrate, and grow; where staff collaborate and lead; and where guests and community members come together for meaningful experiences.

From summer camp dances to weddings, from daily health care to year-round staff presence, the Recreation Hall ensures Camp Cherokee can continue fulfilling its mission — providing safe, inclusive, and impactful camp experiences for generations to come.

One of the primary capital improvements identified by the CCC and leadership of YMCA Camp Cherokee was the PV Shower House.

Following a grant obtained by the YMCA Camp Cherokee leadership and some matching funds, the shower house will be completely re-done and ready for the 2019 summer resident campers.

The overhaul of the PV Shower House will benefit both the summer resident program and off-season programming at Camp Cherokee. The Upper Palmetto YMCA Corporate Board played  a major role in seeing this project was funded while allowing much of the CCC funding to remain in place for the eventual Recreation Hall.

You can see from the pictures below that this enhancement is a major improvement.

Thank you to the members of the CCC, the leadership of YMCA Camp Cherokee, and the Upper Palmetto YMCA.

The Office Renovation at Camp Cherokee was completed in July 2016.

The office renovation was a major accomplishment for us, and transformed the underutilized "office" into a beautiful home.

In this process, the office was not only brought up to code and made livable, but walls were moved, a kitchen and bath were installed, an addition was placed on the front, and a deck was built onto the back. The previously vacant building now serves as adequate housing for our year-round staff at Camp Cherokee. 

**don't worry, all evidence of your teenage camp crushes have been preserved within the new walls**

The progression of work is shown in these photos.

Thanks to funds raised by the CCC and a YMCA of the USA matching great, the Erosion Control Project at Camp Cherokee was completed in April 2016.

Trails across Camp were updated in a manner that will keep them intact for years to come. Old trails were cleared, mulched, and repaved. Necessary drainage was also installed to resist erosion in the future.

In addition, a brand new waterfront trail was created, and numerous trees were planted along the trails.

The progression of work is shown in these photos.