What’s new this summer? Become an AO! Assistant Trip Leader!

What is an AO! Assistant Trip Leader?

AO! Assistant Trip Leaders are AO! participants that have been invited into a special role. Their job will be to support the AO! Trip Leaders in their goal of providing a spiritually rich environment that capitalizes on planned adventures for God’s glory in the hearts of fellow participants and leaders alike. Assistant Trip Leaders’ primary responsibility is to support the group leaders as needed, with a special focus on mentoring and encouraging the young men and women alongside them in their personal walk with Christ. Spiritual maturity, a servant’s heart, and a desire to pray are crucial aspects of someone aspiring to serve in this capacity.

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The AO! mission is “to challenge teenagers to develop their very own personal knowledge of God by modeling Christ in real life situations, and by facilitating an environment in which they must exhibit personal responsibility, work with others, and rely on God.” AO! is our six-day high school adventure program for rising 9th graders to just-graduated high school students. The group size is around 10-15 teenage guys and girls, two college counselors and an adult counselor (usually a retired or active duty officer) which gives us about a 5:1 camper to counselor ratio. We hire spiritually mature counselors, and require them to go through our two-week training program.

Throughout the week, AO! enjoys activities such as white water rafting and canoeing, high and low ropes course, backpacking, climbing, and more! Devotions, campfires, and great food are guaranteed, and God dictates the weather.

All Allegheny Outback! weeks have the same drop-off time of 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Heritage House portico. AO! has a closing ceremony at 11:15 a.m. Friday before campers are dismissed to parents at noon. Friday lunch is NOT included in camp.

Logo for Allegheny Outback! at OCF

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2024 Rates & Dates

There are two rates for camp: military and non-military, and there is no wait list for non-military. All registrations are first come, first served. Military campers are defined as children of active duty service members, reservists, or retired military families. In the ever-changing life of the military child, kids put down roots and pull them up again as fast as the military moves your family. It is our privilege to be a constant home for the many military children that attend our camps, so we’ve created lower pricing to make it easier to get your kids here. The military rate does not cover the full cost of your child’s camp experience, but if you would like to choose to pay the full cost for camp, your gift will greatly help our camps thrive. Thanks!

Deposit fee and refund policy: A $100 deposit is required at the time of registration. The remainder of the fee is due upon check-in. The $100 deposit is fully refundable if you need to cancel more than 30 days prior to arrival date. Within the 30-day window, your registration fee is not refundable.

Special discount opportunity: Parents dropping off or picking up campers receive 20% off their stay. Offer valid for up to 2 nights in the hotels. This discount is not automatic, so please select the “Camp drop-off/pick-up” discount when completing your registration!

2024 Military rate Non-military rate
Allegheny Outback! Week Rates $481 $581
Concurrent Summer R&R Session
AO! Session Dates
Create a vacation the entire family will love by picking a Summer R&R session with the right youth programs.
Summer R&R #1 (June 7-14) AO! #1: June 8-14
Summer R&R #2 (June 14-22) AO! #2: June 15-21
Summer R&R #3 (June 22-June 28) AO! #3: June 22-28
Summer R&R #4 (June 28-July 5) AO! #4: June 29-5 July
Summer R&R #5 (July 5-12) AO! #5: July 6-12
Summer R&R #6 (July 12-19) AO! #6: July 13-19
Summer R&R #7 (July 19-26) AO! #7: July 20-26
Summer R&R #8 (July 26-August 2) AO! #8: July 27-August 2

Allegheny Outback! FAQs

The AO! Closing Ceremony is a time at the end of camp for parents to have a quick snapshot of what the campers’ week was like. You will get to hear their verse, what they learned, and a few other surprises. Campers will be dismissed to parents at the end of the ceremony. Ceremony will start at 11:15 a.m. Friday at the Heritage House lawn. A shuttle will depart from the Camp Caleb Basecamp for parents also attending the Camp Caleb ceremony, and another shuttle will leave from the Heritage portico. Both AO! and Camp Caleb will end by noon Friday. If you want to stay for lunch, please contact the front office by the Wednesday before camp ends. Friday lunch is NOT included in the AO! or Camp Caleb registration.

Wilderness Voyagers (the company we use for white water rafting) requires everyone to fill out an online waiver one week prior to camp. You will receive an email from [email protected] one week prior to the start of camp, with instructions on how to fill out the online waiver. That same email will also have instructions on how you can access the camp photos (Waldo Photos) and a packing list. Before you arrive at check-in please make sure you have: proof of online waiver completed (printed copy of email or waiver), any medications (in the original containers), all gear.

All Allegheny Outback! weeks have the same drop-off time of 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Heritage House portico. AO! has a closing ceremony at 11:15 a.m. Friday before campers are dismissed to parents at noon. Friday lunch is NOT included in camp.

Similar to your experience at Heritage House, your camper will be provided with plenty of food. Due to allergies and safety reasons, we cannot have additional snacks in backpacks or tents (raccoons have destroyed bags to get to food). Please do not send snacks with your camper. Please call the camp prior to registration if you feel you may need to bring food to camp.

Campers may borrow a Bible, frame pack, sleeping bag, or camping pad from our program. While we offer these items for camper use, we greatly appreciate campers using any personal gear they have to extend the longevity of White Sulphur Springs’ items.

The majority of time AO! will not be on WSS property. While you may randomly see them coming back to camp at the end of the week, the time for parents to join is at the closing ceremony at 11:15 a.m. on Friday.

The first and last night of camp will be spent on WSS property in the AO! Village (large wooden shelters near Buckingham Field). Campers will spend remaining nights camping in tents in the Ohiopyle area.

While male and females participate in AO! activities together through the week, campers sleep in separate areas based on gender. On the trip there is an adult leader as well as a male and female college age trip leader.

We hire college age staff who are spiritually mature and extensively trained prior to AO!. One male and one female counselor will lead the trip. A volunteer adult leader will also attend to provide additional safety during activities and life experience during discussions.

Questions? Call us at (814) 623-5583 or email us.

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