Eliot Institute Camps

Eliot Institute creates and supports an intentional, inclusive community of celebration, friendship, and joy with opportunities for exploration, spirituality, and growth for Unitarian Universalists, their families and friends.

Eliot Institute has been presenting camps and conferences since 1947, and currently sponsors four camps each year at Seabeck (July, August, Creative Arts, and Winter). 

We gather for a variety of reasons -- to make new friends or to see old ones, for intellectual stimulation, spiritual renewal, artistic expression, to share ideas, to relax and to have fun. You're invited to become part of this unique community.

The Camps

July Eliot and August Eliot are seven nights; Creative Arts Eliot and Winter Eliot are four nights. Learn more about typical camp activities on our Program page. For details about this year's camps, click on a camp name on the right sidebar of this page (or scroll down if you're on a mobile device).

Or check out this introductory video:

Who Comes to Camp

People young and old come to Eliot, from infants to seniors. Here's the breakdown in age from a recent July Eliot as an example: 

Most campers are from Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. But we have people come from across North America, and beyond. (At any camp, 10 - 20% or more are Canadian.)

Our mission statement says we are a camp for "Unitarian Univeralists, their families and friends." People of other liberal faiths are also welcome, as are those without spiritual beliefs. More than half of our attendees do not list a UU church affiliation. 

Over the past 7 years, the churches with the most representatives at camp have been: First Unitarian, Portland, OR; University UU, Seattle, WA; Northshore, W Vancouver BC; UU of Vancouver BC, Unitarian Church of Vancouver, WA; Shoreline UU, WA; East Shore, Bellevue WA; UU Church of Eugene, OR; Bellingham Unitarian, WA; and Northlake Unitarian, Kirkland, WA. We've also had 10 or more people from West Hills in Portland, OR; UU of Corvallis, OR; Westside, Seattle WA: South Fraser, Surrey BC; Eastrose, Portland OR, First U of Victoria, BC; Unitarian Fell. or Salt Spring Island, BC; UU of WA County, OR; Olympia UU, WA. There are 46 congregations that have had 1 - 10 people attend Eliot.

Some people come as singles, some couples, and some small families. Some people come in multi-generational extended family groups of a dozen or more.

July and August usually have around 240 participants and can be as high as 40% children and youth. Winter Eliot has about 120 attendees, about 20% kids. It is especially popular with young adults. Creative Arts has about 120 attendees, mostly adults.  

Many campers are old-timers, having come for years or even decades. Newcomers are also a welcome and important part of our community. Newcomers may (upon request) be paired up with returning campers who give support and answer questions while serving as a "Newcomer Buddy."

The Eliot community values safety, fun, and diversity. It is the policy of the Eliot Board to make every attempt to provide inclusivity and accessibility to all Eliot facilities and activities for all campers. (Learn more: Information about accomodations for disabilities. And read our Sex and Gender Diversity Policy Statement.)

To learn more about the daily activities at camp, read The Eliot Program.