Visiting Day season starts this weekend, and I have a confession that probably isn’t going to win me any awards in the camp world: I don’t love it.

I know. I know. I’m supposed to love it. It’s the day you get to see your camper, hug your camper, watch them show off their bunk and their friends and their tan lines. Everyone posts about it like it’s the best day of the summer.

And for a lot of families, it genuinely is. But if you’re standing in that parking lot this weekend feeling more dread than excitement, I want you to know you’re not the only one.

Here’s the honest version

Visiting Day interrupts the thing that’s actually working. Your camper has found their rhythm. They’ve settled into camp life, made their people, figured out where they belong. And then for one day, you show up and pull them halfway back into a world they’ve been away from — only to leave them there again a few hours later. That’s not always easy, for them or for you.

It’s also just… a lot. The travel, the crowds, the trying to make the most of a few hours while your camper is half-present because they also want to be with their friends, not just you. The forced small talk with staff you’re meeting for the first time. The goodbye at the end, which never gets easier no matter how many summers you do this.

None of that makes you a bad camp parent. It makes you honest.

Not loving Visiting Day doesn’t mean your heart isn’t fully in it. It just means the day itself can be a lot to get through, even when you’re genuinely happy to be there.

Why I still think it’s worth doing anyway

Even on the years I’ve dreaded it, I’ve never regretted going. Because underneath all of that discomfort is something real — a look at who your camper is becoming when you’re not the one shaping every moment of it. That’s uncomfortable sometimes. It’s also the whole point.

So if you’re not looking forward to this weekend, that’s fine. A few things that actually help:

Keep expectations low. This isn’t the day for a big reunion moment. It’s a few hours, split between you and everyone else your camper wants to see. Go in expecting that, and you won’t be disappointed.

Let your camper lead. Don’t plan the day for them. Follow them around to their favorite spots and let them decide what they want to show you.

Skip the “do you miss me” questions. They put your camper in an awkward spot and rarely get you an honest answer anyway. Ask what they’ve been doing instead.

Don’t linger at the goodbye. A quick, warm exit is easier on both of you than a long, drawn-out one. Save the emotional processing for the car.

And give yourself permission to feel however you feel about the day itself — dread, exhaustion, whatever it is. It doesn’t take away from how much you love your camper, and it definitely doesn’t mean you won’t be there.

You don’t have to love Visiting Day for it to matter.