Location: SailStar Marina, 741 Sailstar Dr NW, Cass Lake, MN.

Parking: There is a free parking lot at the marina. However, cars have been vandalized in the open parking lot in the past. Locked, indoor car storage is available at the marina for a fee of $14.00 for the week.

Pontoon: The marina operates a covered, Coast Guard-approved pontoon to take campers to UniStar. The cost is included in your camp fee. Boat times will be communicated to campers via email the week before you attend. The first boat usually leaves at 2:30 PM, so arrive by 2:00 to get your car unpacked and parked, sign up on all your household on the marina boat list,  and your luggage on the boat. Call camp if you miss the boat or need a personal boat towed. A donation is requested for unscheduled boat trips. Some campers protect their belongings in plastic garbage bags.

Private Boaters: Please do not arrive at camp before 3:30 PM on Saturday.

Upon arrival, you will be met by the Camp Director, who will give you your housing assignment and answer any last-minute questions. Campers are encouraged to enjoy taking a break from electronics while at camp. If you need to use your cell phone you will likely be able to get a signal. No washers or dryers are available, but there are outdoor clothes poles with pegs. The tenting area, cabins, and lodge are shared living spaces. Housekeeping is a shared responsibility (not done by staff).

Cabins and Lodge: The lodge and all cabins have H/C water, a shared bathroom with a sink, tub, and toilet, a small kitchen with dishes and utensils, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a mouse-proof metal cabinet for food storage. Campers are to bring their own towels, pillows, blankets, sheets, or sleeping bags; and mattress pads if desired. Let us know in advance if you need a crib (the camp has one ‘Pack ‘n’ Play’).

Tenting Area: Tenting platforms are near the shore with space for five tents. Nearby is a small gazebo and a washhouse with toilets, showers, a bathtub (with a wonderful view), and a small kitchen area with dishes and utensils, a refrigerator, a microwave, and cabinets.

Camp staff provides certain necessary services. These include lifeguarding and care for the beach, dock, and boats; first aid; food service; building and equipment maintenance. Beyond these, Camp UniStar is a “Do It Yourself Camp.” This means that campers are expected to supervise their children, share housekeeping tasks, and plan and organize their own activities with other campers. Staff are happy to assist campers with activity suggestions and instruction but do not normally initiate activities for campers. Camper activities may include hiking, swimming, sunbathing, reading, napping, playing cards or other table games, sailing, dancing, and meditating at sunrise and sunset. Campers may want to plan social campfires, talent shows, music evenings, ping-pong, volleyball, or horseshoe tournaments. Games and puzzles and some children’s toys and books are available.

Canoes, kayaks, and sailboats are available for campers free of charge. Fishing licenses are available in Cass Lake. A donation of $40 is requested for a camp-provided boat ride to or from the marina. If you would like to rent a motorboat, we encourage you to contact SailStar Marina at (218) 335-2316.

UniStar works hard to provide many meal options, including gluten-free items, almond and soy milk, and vegetarian and vegan dishes. We also accommodate many food sensitivities and allergies. In order to both reduce waste and make sure all campers are well fed, we need your cooperation in following the diet options indicated on your registration form at every meal. (No “sometimes vegetarian,” etc.) If you need to change your diet preferences, please contact the Registrar at least a week before you arrive at camp. If you have complex food needs, bring enough supplemental food to ensure the comfort and health of you and your family for the entirety of your week.

Camp staff is trained in first aid, but the Cass Lake Clinic or the Bemidji Hospital are used if additional medical attention is needed for injury or illness. The camp will provide transportation if needed. Deer ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease have been found at UniStar and confirmed cases of the disease have been reported. We suggest bringing DEET insect repellent and/or clothing pre-treated with Permethrin, an effective long-term repellent.

Note: If your party includes a child under 18 for whom you are neither parent nor legal guardian, you must bring a signed emergency medical treatment release form with you to camp. The clinic and hospital require a release signed by the parent/guardian for treatment. Request a form from the Registrar or Camp Director.

For a safe, healthy, relaxing week at camp, we ask your cooperation with the following:

• • • • • • • Illegal drugs and underage substance use are not allowed.
            • Parents are responsible for their children at all times.
            • Pets are not permitted. Please notify the Registrar if you intend to bring a service animal.
            • Electronic devices such as cell phones and music players must not disturb other campers, and may not be used in common spaces, including the lodge, the dock, the beach, sidewalks, and porches. Our suggestion: use them as little as possible and enjoy the camp community.
            • Smoking/vaping is permitted outdoors but not in the tenting area. We ask that you be considerate of other campers by finding a private and safe space to smoke. Please dispose of smoking materials appropriately.
            • Quiet time is observed after 10:00 pm.
            • Canoes, sailboats, and kayaks are available – Life jackets are required when in any boat. Campers may also bring their own boats, but no jet-skis may be brought to camp
            • First aid is available at camp. Medical emergencies are taken to the Cass Lake Clinic or North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji.

On the last day of your week, the Pontoon arrives around 9:00 AM to return campers to the mainland. If you travel to the mainland in your own boat, please depart camp prior to 9:30 AM.