The First Step into the After Hours Experience
After Hours 1 is where the 20-year-old Gretna Glen nighttime tradition begins. This program is built for 12 and 13 year olds who are ready to step into the After Hours community for the first time. The schedule flips. Mornings are slower. Bedtime pushes later every night. And the programming peaks when the sun goes down and the rest of the world starts winding down for the day.
Glow-in-the-dark games. The climbing tower after sunset. Late-night challenge courses. Camp classics, all run under headlamps and tiki torches. Campers get age-specific programming all week, with occasional large-group experiences shared with After Hours 2 and After Hours 3. It is the right entry point for teens who want the After Hours experience at their own pace, with their own age group.
Camp, Rewired for the Night
The classics you know, re-staged under starlight, headlamps, and torchlight.
Glow-in-the-Dark Games
Capture the flag, kickball, tag, and group games you have played a hundred times, now running on glow sticks and black light. It sounds small until you are in it, and then it is the highlight of the week.
The Climbing Tower at Night
Harness up and take on the Gretna Glen climbing tower after dark. Trained staff, full lighting, and a view from the top that hits different when the rest of camp is a sea of cabin lights.
Late-Night Challenge Course
Team-building challenges that push you and your cabin to work together in ways daytime programs never quite get to. Headlamps on, problem-solving mode engaged.
Paramount Sports Trip
One night, the whole program loads up for an evening trip to Paramount Sports Complex in Palmyra. Jumping, bouncing, climbing, and a sunrise return to camp with a hearty breakfast waiting.
Why After Hours Has Lasted This Long
After Hours works because it respects where teens actually are. The schedule lets campers sleep in. The programming runs when their energy peaks. The community is built around shared experiences most of the world never gets to have, because most of the world is asleep for the best parts.
After Hours 1 is the on-ramp. First-timers get a version of the experience that is paced for 12 and 13 year olds, with bedtime extending a little further each night rather than flipping all at once. By the end of the week, campers have earned every bit of the After Hours tradition and are ready to come back for AH2 next year.
WHERE YOU'LL STAY
Campers stay in cabins on Gretna Glen's main campus. Cabins feature bunk beds, a changing area, and a modern shower house built in 2018. A counselor is assigned to every cabin. After Hours 1 is a mainsite program, so meals are in the Dining Hall alongside the other After Hours groups.
WHAT PARENTS SHOULD KNOW
After Hours 1 runs primarily at night. Bedtime gradually extends across the week, so campers ease into the later rhythm rather than flipping all at once. Staff are trained for nighttime programming, and lighting, supervision, and safety protocols all reflect that.
Gretna Glen is ACA-accredited, meeting over 300 health, safety, and quality standards. Staff are Ministry Safe and UMC Risk Management trained. The Paramount Sports trip is fully supervised, with return transportation and breakfast back at camp included in the program cost.
WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR
- Teens 12 to 13 ready to step into the After Hours community for the first time
- Returning Gretna Glen campers graduating into the youth programs
- Night owls who have been waiting for a camp week built for their energy rhythm
- Youth group members who want a shared After Hours experience with peers their age