Travel information to North Star Camp in Hayward, WI by airplane

Traveling To North Star Camp For Boys By Airplane

Whether you’re a seasoned camp parent or sending your camper to North Star Camp by airplane for the first time, please familiarize yourself with our air travel procedures. With the help of travel partners like Delta Air Lines and Travel One, we have a plan in place to make your camper’s travel to camp as seamless as possible. On travel day, we have a large group of campers coming from different cities that we are coordinating at the same time, so we ask that you understand our travel procedures. Please make sure you read over this entire page which explains Travel One, flying as an unaccompanied minor, as well as North Star’s flight list to book to/from camp (bottom of the page).

Partnering With Travel One

North Star continues to partner with Travel One, a travel agency that works with many camps. We recommend that you utilize them to book your camper’s flights. The main benefit of Travel One is having a direct contact to the airlines if issues arise on travel days. Travel One helps to ensure a seamless process at the airport for camp families and is a great insurance policy against long wait time on hold with airlines when cancellations or delays occur.

While there is a convenience fee to use Travel One, they have access to discounted tickets through Delta Air Lines. Oftentimes, the discount will more than offset the fee. To make a reservation through Travel One, you may call (844) 803-9683 and ask for a camp advisor or email [email protected].

If you choose to not use Travel One, we ask that you select from the flights listed below.
Flying As An Unaccompanied Minor

We have full confidence in the airlines’ Unaccompanied Minor (UM) programs. While there is a fee, these programs allow you to escort your camper(s) to the airplane at the departure airport and a flight attendant will check in on them while they are on the plane. Upon arriving in Minneapolis, an airline employee will escort your camper off the plane and release them to a designated North Star staff member as they get off the jetway.

Most of our campers are coming from cities where there are other North Star campers or campers from other camps. Oftentimes families from the same city can coordinate in order to have their campers fly under one UM reservation and then split one UM fee.

Each airline has its own UM rules and fees, and they change regularly. All of this info is available on the airline’s website. Please review your preferred airlines’ rules and fees as we don’t want you to find some unexpected surprises when you show up at the airport.

Since Minneapolis is a Delta Air Lines hub, we have a strong preference towards Delta. Their UM program is most helpful and accommodating for camps and tends to be the least restrictive. Delta’s dedicated UM phone number is 800-325-8847.
Making An Unaccompanied Minor Reservation

When making Unaccompanied Minor reservations, the airline will ask for details for the chaperone who will be meeting them in Minneapolis as well as the person chaperoning them to the gate at the end of the summer. A few days before your camper’s travel date, we will email you that information. In the meantime, you can temporarily provide the following information to the airline:

Person to meet my child: Dan Lichtenstein or a North Star Camp Representative
Camp address: North Star Camp for Boys, 10970 West Boys Camp Road, Hayward, WI
Telephone: (773) 817-5647

You will need to update that info with the airline after we email you updated chaperone details.
Shipping Luggage To/From Camp

There are a variety of options for campers to get their luggage to and from camp. We recommend that camper baggage is shipped to/from camp utilizing Ship Camps. North Star has negotiated a preferred rate with Ship Camps that is often times cheaper than airline baggage check rates & fees. Please consult your airline for checked baggage fees. If you plan on checking baggage on flights, please ensure your luggage will be accepted by the airline (typically less than 80 linear inches: L+W+H, but anything over 62 linear inches is considered “excess” and may cost significantly more).
Cell Phone Policy for Campers Traveling via Airplane

We understand that you may want your camper to have their cellphone on travel day. Campers that do travel with their phone will have them collected by a camp staff member upon arriving at the airport. Phones will be stored in valuables during the summer and returned to campers, charged, for the trip home. Campers who are not flying and instead are traveling exclusively via the Chicago or Minneapolis bus are not allowed to bring their phones to camp.
Alternate Travel Dates

There may be some occasions (school, sports team schedules, etc.) where your camper needs to fly to or from camp on a day other than the start or end of session travel days.

Please contact camp at 715-462-3254 or email [email protected] to discuss options as they are handled on an individual basis and may require making alternative travel arrangements, even through other airports like Duluth International Airport.