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Nature by the Numbers: A Summer Camp Legacy in Transylvania County

In Brevard, Camp Memories are Family Heirlooms

Last Updated February 23, 2026

Summer camp is about nature. But in the case of Brevard-area summer camps, it’s natural to consider numbers, too. Transylvania County alone is home to 16 overnight camps, and when combined with sleepaway camps in the neighboring Henderson County, the number is one of the highest concentrations of camps in the US. 

You can’t get away from the legacy numbers, either. Celebrating an incredible 110 years in operation this summer, Keystone Camp in Brevard—which bills itself as being founded “by girls for girls”—is the queen of the castle (or the forest, as the case may be). Since they’ve had more than a century to develop their curriculum, Keystone offers a particularly vast range of activities: everything from ziplining to musical theater, ropes courses to origami. 

Nearby Camp Rockbrook for Girls turns 105 in 2026, Camp Carolina for Boys will be 102, and Eagle’s Nest Camp reaches 99. Faith-based camps Kahdalea and Chosatonga were both founded in 1963, and Green River Preserve, while it’s the baby of the bunch at a mere 38 years old, stands out for its ethos of challenging outdoor immersion (the property even boasts cave-exploring opportunities).

The common denominators here are the woods and the water. Transylvania County, part of the Appalachian temperate rainforest, is covered one-third by Pisgah National Forest in particular. The county has 250 named waterfalls, and this lovely pocket of the Blue Ridge Mountains is tightly laced with pristine rivers, lakes, and creeks. Camps here don’t have to underscore nature; they are nature. Even vintage Dolly’s Dairy Bar in Brevard sits charmingly at the entrance of the forest. The go-to ice-cream stand for generations, Dolly’s serves up custom treats named in honor of the county’s summer-camp heritage.

Gwynn Valley, one of the older camps (ca. 1935), stands out for having been co-ed from its inception, decades before most summer camps blended boys and girls on the same campus. Namesake founder Mary Gwynn was a visionary who emphasized a simple, natural “child’s world” with shared experiences in a noncompetitive environment. 

Located on a protected land trust, Gwynn Valley includes a working farm. Since the beginning, says Camp Director Anne Bullard, “Gwynn Valley has been a place where children move beyond the grocery-store mindset to truly understand where their food comes from.” 

Consider these numbers: “We operate a working farm that raises 60% to 70% of the food we consume, nearly 25,000 pounds of vegetables every summer,” says Bullard. “While our staff handles the spring planting and weeding, the campers are right there for the harvest, digging for potatoes and picking corn that goes straight to our kitchen.”

She adds, “Whether they’re bottle-feeding a calf or collecting eggs, campers are witnessing a level of care and interaction that can only be taught through experiential education.” Bullard also notes Gwynn Valley’s exceptional 1:3 ratio of counselors to children, meant to enhance physical and emotional safety. “We place an emphasis on the quality of our staff because we know that when [campers] feels truly ‘seen’ and supported by a caring mentor, they find the courage to step outside their comfort zone.”

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