Session Name
Who It’s For
Dates
Tuition
Early Bird Price
(for returning campers, siblings, and 2026 waitlisted campers)
5-day starter
June 13 – June 18
July 11 – July 16
(5 days)
$995
$995
2-Week Rookie
June 13 – June 25
(13 days)
$3,395
$3,295
First Session
June 13 – July 8
(26 days)
$6,345
$6,145
Second Session
July 11 – July 29
(19 days)
$3,995
$3,845
First Session
+ Israel Trip
New and returning campers
(current 10th-11th grade)
Camp: June 13 – July 8
Israel: July 13 – August 3
$4,845 (camp tuition only)
$4,845 (camp tuition only)
Full Season
June 13 – July 29
(47 days)
$8,495
$7,995
Returning campers, siblings, and waitlisted campers from 2026 are eligible to register during our early bird window. All early bird registrants will receive:
A shorter camp experience perfect for first-timers.
A fun-filled experience that sparks creativity, cabin bonding, and confidence in first-time campers and graduates of our 5-Day Starter Session.
The classic Camp Ben Frankel Experience – rich with tradition, deeply immersive, and full of community.
Beginning in mid July, our Second Session has many similarities with First Session, with the exciting addition of Specialty Tracks! Additionally, it’s a bit shorter than first session.
The complete summer experience with total immersion into the program rated #1 in Parent Satisfaction amongst Jewish overnight camps annually since 2022.
Since 2024, we have welcomed Israeli campers as part of our respite program. Israeli campers can come for our First or Second Session. They are in cabin groups with American campers of their same age and participate in our full camp program. Our Israeli camper respite program provides our Israeli campers a chance to be away from the stressful realities of war at home and to just be kids. This chance for respite has been an important touchstone in our campers’ lives over the last three years and many of our respite campers have returned to Camp Ben Frankel. It also provides important cultural exchange opportunities between our American and Israeli campers and we have been thrilled to see deep friendships develop between our campers.
Campers in our 5-Day Starter and 2-Week Rookie Session are able to extend to the complete First or Second Session. We guarantee space for their entire session so families can choose to extend during camp. After a successful first few days of camp, our camper care team will call families to discuss the possibility of an extension and share their recommendations. The process is individualized and our goal is always for campers to have a successful stay at camp, regardless of the length.
Campers in our First Session may extend to our Full Season if space is available. We are unable to guarantee space in our Full Season for all First Session campers, so we recommend signing up for the Full Season when you register!
A discount is available for each sibling after the first and are contingent upon meeting the payment deadlines below and having no open balance from prior years. The discounts available are as follows:
To request a financial aid application from Camp Ben Frankel, please contact ben@campbenfrankel.org.
Our camp staff are extraordinarily hard-working and passionate about providing incredible experiences for their campers. Our staff gratuity fund helps provide recreational programming and supplies to boost morale and express gratitude for their incredibly hard work.
You may opt-out of the staff gratuity by contacting our office.
Campers can travel to and from Camp Ben Frankel the following ways:
Camp bus/shuttle from St. Louis or Chicago
Arrival or departure at Lambert St. Louis International Airport (STL)
Drive to/from Camp Ben Frankel’s campsite in Makanda, IL
We have many campers from Israel and have made special travel arrangements for campers to travel to camp as a group for First Session and Second Session. Selecting Israeli transportation includes the following: