SKYLAND CAMP & RETREATS

OUR MISSION

Skyland’s mission is to inspire wonder, joy, connection, and growth.

We believe that every conversation, every experience and every moment is an opportunity to uplift another person and inspire greatness. At Skyland Camp, we take that responsibility seriously.

Through Meaningful Moments, Creative Conversations and Inspiring Interactions, lives are transformed, inspiration ignited and worlds changed.

OUR HISTORY

More than 100 years ago, in 1917, a summer camp was born in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

In the early 1900s, Susan Courtney Harris brought her five children from the heat of Jacksonville, Florida to the Great Smoky Mountains, where they would stay at the Skyland Home Hotel in Clyde, North Carolina.

In 1917, Susan began leasing the entire property and launched Skyland Camp for Girls. In Skyland’s fourth season, Susan learned that the property that housed her beloved Skyland was to be sold at auction. The fateful day arrived, and men gathered on the front lawn to begin bidding on the parcels that were to be sold.

Susan boldly joined the bidders, observed the interactions, and then declared “I’ll give you $3000 for the whole kit and kaboodle.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. It was an extraordinary thing for a woman to do at that time; women did not yet have the right to vote!

Susan Harris soon became known as “Granny” Harris to the hundreds of girls who flocked to Skyland Camp for Girls over the next several decades. Her name is well-known to this day to alumnae and campers who spend their summers here.

The hotel Granny loved, and bought, now serves as “Skyland’s Main Lodge,” which houses 8 guest rooms and a large sleeping porch, as well as dining rooms, kitchen, health services, library and office.

Over the years, cabins have been added, as well as an array of modern-day camp activities and amenities.

Skyland’s co-owners Sherry Brown and her mother Bunny Brown.

Skyland Camp has been in the same family since Granny’s winning bid all those years ago. Initially directed by Granny and then Granny’s daughters, Helen ‘Hempy’ Harris and Frances Harris Brown, Skyland shifted in the 1970’s into the capable hands of Bunny Canaday Brown, a camper herself since 1943. As a young girl, Bunny fell in love with Skyland, and grew up at the camp, officially becoming part of the Harris/Brown family when she married Frances’ son, Tim Brown. In the early 2000s, Bunny retired, and camp operation was assumed by her twin children, Sherry and Mike.

In 2021, Skyland Camp for Girls became Skyland Camp & Retreats, expanding program offerings to adults and families, and renting the beautiful camp facilities to private events.

OUR ACCREDITATION

Skyland Camp is fully accredited by the American Camp Association,
a nationally-recognized independent accrediting organization. We are also members of the North Carolina Youth Camp Association.