Opening Day

Opening Day is always an exciting time at camp, and this year, we are expecting it to feel just as fun…only in a new way! We will greet your family at your car, tell your daughter her cabin assignment, help move her luggage, and then take your daughter to meet her counselor and cabinmates. It is going to be a wonderful first day at Greystone!

Watch our Opening Day video to see the check-in process in action and get a sense for what will happen when you arrive:

Key Details about Opening Day

• We will have staggered drop-off times between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. for each age group during your session. You can see the list of drop-off times below.
• When you arrive at camp, you will wait in one of our car lanes until we can process your car. Everyone in your car, including your camper, needs to be wearing a mask.
• You will enter through our back staff entrance just like always.
• Parents and campers will stay in your vehicle. When you reach the front of your car lane, we will send a team of staffers to your car to greet you and process your car.
• You will need to have your daughter’s negative PCR test or her vaccination card, and your completed Health Log with you in order for your daughter to exit the car. We will also take your daughter’s temperature before she leaves the car.
• We are sending luggage tags (with details on how to attach them) prior to your session so that your luggage can already be tagged. These will be mailed 3 weeks prior to the start of your session. Read more about these luggage tags below.
• We are asking that campers only bring 2 large pieces of luggage with them to camp. This could be 1 trunk and 1 large duffel or 2 duffels. We cannot accommodate a large quantity of luggage this year due to CDC guidelines. We need to keep cabins clutter-free due to COVID cleaning protocols. We know that our campers love to “bring it all,” but please limit all of the extras this year!
• When campers exit the car, they can carry a backpack and their pillow. Our staff will be very busy processing all of the cars, and we will not be able to help girls carry any extra things to their cabin. Please make sure your daughter only has a backpack and pillow when she exits the car. Please remember that if your daughter needs to take medication every day while she is at camp, you must have those medicines filled by Whitley Drugs. Medicines must be sent to Whitleys ahead of time. If your daughter has emergency medicines or medication she only takes as needed, she should have them in a Ziploc bag, in her hands, so that she is ready to check in with the nurses as soon as she gets out of the car. Please make sure these emergency and as needed medications are listed on your daughter’s online Health Form. Please fill out this Medication Details Form to include in the bag so the nurses know the instructions for the medicines. Like always, if we have any questions about your daughter’s medications, we will contact you.
• After we process your car, we will take your daughter to meet her Group Leader, and the Group Leader will take her to her cabin to meet her counselors and her cabinmates!
• We plan to complete all of the necessary Opening Day check-in procedures in less than 3 minutes once we reach your car. It will be a quick process! Because we have to move quickly to process all cars, we will not have time to answer specific questions (about medical issues or cabin friend details) when we are processing your car. Please reach out before your daughter’s session if you have any questions or concerns. We will be sharing cabin details with you on Opening Day after you leave (including information about your daughter’s counselor, her fellow cabinmates, and her schedule).
• If your daughter has a fever or if there are any other health concerns during check-in, we will have a place for you to pull over (before your daughter exits the car) to talk to a nurse and make a plan.
• On your way out of camp, we will have one more stop for parents. You will pick up some Opening Day information, and if you have any pre-written letters, you can drop these at the same time (dropping letters is optional; feel free to send letters through the mail ahead of time!). For these letters, please make sure that they have your camper’s first and last name clearly written on the envelope as well as the day they should be delivered (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, etc.). If you have a birthday girl during the session, feel free to leave your daughter’s birthday gift at this last parent stop as well. We will send a birthday label for this birthday package three weeks before your session begins.

Once your daughter exits the car and is escorted to her cabin, the fun really begins! Her counselors will be ready to greet her with a big hug and her nametag. Campers will find their bunks and can start getting settled. Luggage will begin arriving right away, and our staff will bring your daughter’s trunk and duffel to her cabin. Once your daughter has her luggage, the counselors will help each camper unpack, make her bed, and settle into her space.

We have so many fun activities planned for the campers the rest of the day!

Luggage Tags

Three weeks before your session, we will send your daughter luggage tags for her two large bags. Please attach these luggage tags on the handles of your bags with the zip ties we will provide before pulling in the gates on Opening Day. Make sure that your bag can still open even with these luggage tags attached. If your bag doesn’t have handles, feel free to use clear tape to attach the tag. Make sure your bags fully close and are not “open” totes or shelves; we can only transport fully closed trunks and duffels to your daughter’s cabin.

When you are putting the luggage in your car for Opening Day, please make sure the tags are facing out towards our staff in the back of your vehicle so that we can easily find them. Separate your camper’s luggage from any other luggage that may be in the back of your car (we don’t want to accidentally unload your personal bags!). Our staff will add your daughter’s cabin number to the tags when we are processing your car, and then we will transport your daughter’s bags to her cabin.

Along with the luggage tags, we are also sending a car name tag for your vehicle. Please put this name tag in front of the driver before you pull into camp. Keep this name tag, as you will need it again for Closing Day!

Traveling to Camp

We know that many of you will be traveling from far distances to bring your daughter to camp. We have staggered drop-off times for each age group between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.; however, if you can drive in the morning of Opening Day, please do so, even if you miss your drop-off window. We have moved our Opening Day times to later in the morning so that more families can drive to camp on Opening Day. If this means that you can avoid staying in a hotel, please drop off your daughter at a later time in our 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. drop-off window (you do not need to let us know if you will be coming later).

If you do need to stay in a hotel prior to arrival, please make sure you are continuing to follow our pre-camp quarantine guidelines so that your daughter is not exposed on her way to camp! Only visit public spaces if absolutely necessary (like going to the bathroom on your road trip), and please remember to distance and wear a mask. Continue to avoid any activities before camp, such as eating in a restaurant or going to a public landmark or sightseeing location. We want to limit as much travel-exposure as possible so that everyone can arrive healthy!

We encourage you to drive to camp with only your immediate family members. Everyone in your vehicle will need to be wearing a mask when we process your car on Opening Day.

Campers can still fly to camp, and we plan to pick up girls from the airport like usual. In order to adhere to our pre-camp guidelines, we ask that all flyers follow mask and distancing protocols in the airports and while on the plane.

This summer, all campers will need to arrive on Opening Day (not at a later date) so that we can “close” our camp bubble and keep our campers safe.

Sister Arrival

If you have more than one camper that you are dropping off at camp, you can choose which of the drop off times suits your family.

Our recommendation is to choose the later drop off time (so that one of your girls isn’t waiting for her friends to arrive for a long period of time), or to consider still dropping off each camper in the originally assigned drop off time. We plan to process your car very quickly, so we anticipate that this would not be a problem. Within 1 minute of camp is the Tuxedo Park which has a wonderful paved walking trail. If you do plan to drop off during both arrival times, we would recommend stopping at the Park as a place to stretch your legs between these drop off times (please just remember to stay distanced from other people).

Arrival Times

Below you will find the arrival times for each session. We are asking all campers to arrive between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. You can come anytime in your daughter’s assigned arrival time window for her particular grade. If you are running late and will miss your arrival time, do not worry! Just come when you can, and we will be ready to greet you when you arrive. The only exception is if you will miss our 11:30 a.m. cut-off time; if you will not make it to camp by 11:30 a.m., please call our office and let us know.

The Rest of Opening Day

After your daughter unpacks with her counselor, the cabin will take a camp tour and stop to get a head check, where we will make sure your daughter is lice-free. The cabin group will then stop by our Kitchen tent for an Opening Day scone! Girls will continue settling in throughout the morning and then will enjoy a picnic lunch with their cabin group.

After lunch, we will have our first Rest Hour, but this is a more relaxed time, as girls will meet their Group Leader, go over cabin details, and play some get-to-know-you games. After Rest Hour, we will welcome all campers with our first camp assembly! The afternoon will be filled with some of our normal Opening Day activities including the swim check and cabin photo. We will then enjoy our first dinner together in the Fort (spaghetti, of course!) and then all gather for our first Evening Program of the summer. It will be a fun-filled day at Greystone!

Preparing for Opening Day

As you are preparing for Opening Day this summer, make sure you have watched our Opening Day video with your daughter so that she knows what to expect. You can read more details about what happens when you arrive at your cabin on Opening Day and how to Pack for Unpacking. Also, make sure to check out our most recent blog on How to Say Goodbye on Opening Day. Remind your daughter that camp drop-off is going to feel a lot like school drop-off, and most of our campers know how that feels. We can’t wait for a great Opening Day this year!