So You're Wondering About the Greystone Wait List

This blog has been updated in 2026 based on our new enrollment policies.

If you have been thinking about enrolling your daughter at Greystone, or if you are a current camp family talking to another family who is interested in enrolling, the Greystone Wait List always comes up. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: “You’ll be on the Greystone Wait List forever!” But is that true? Today, we’re demystifying the Wait List, hoping to give you some clarity on how it works.

The Short Answer: If you’re looking for the quick answer, most campers wait about two years before a spot opens up at our shorter sessions (with some getting in quicker than that!). We always have spots that open in our Junior and August sessions, so when we have spots available, we are able to enroll Wait List campers into those sessions.

Want more detais, read on…

Rolling Wait List

At Greystone, we run our Wait List a little different than most other camps. At most camps, you register for a particular year (for example, hoping to register for 2026), and then if a spot doesn’t open for the 2026 season, the camp will refund your money, letting you know when registration will open for 2027. You will then register again for the 2027 season, hoping to enroll for that summer.

We do things differently. Our Wait List is ongoing and perpetual. What does that mean? We never shut down the Wait List, and instead, we roll everyone over year after year. Once you are on the Wait List at Greystone, you stay on the Wait List in that exact same spot (or order) until we have an open spot for your daughter. Why do we do this? Read on…

Registration Order

Most camps open registration in the early fall to everyone for the following summer. There is usually a priority registration order (i.e. returning campers get first dibs into camp), and a short timeframe in which registration is open for everyone. The camp will then let you know if they have a spot for your child, and if not, you’ll be added to their Wait List.

At Greystone on the other hand, we open registration to our returning campers first, meaning you can only enroll in the following summer if you were enrolled in the previous summer. Why do we do this? Once you’re a Greystone camper, we consider you our family, and we want to take care of you the very best way we know how. To do that, we give our returning campers the opportunity to register for camp first. After that, we can see which sessions have open spots.

Switching Sessions and Changing Plans

The very best thing about our registration process is that our current campers are guaranteed spots the following year, if they register during our registration period. There are no exceptions, no limitations…if you want to come, you can. Because we do it this way, almost all of our campers re-enroll.

If you’ve gotten this far, this may sound like very bad news for you (a possible new family). But, that’s not exactly true…we welcome about 350 new campers to camp each summer. How does that work?

First, campers can change sessions when they re-enroll. Most new campers start at our one-week Junior Camp or two-week August Camp. After experiencing a summer at camp, a group of those campers want to switch to longer sessions, leaving open spots in our Junior and August sessions for the following summer. We can then accept girls off the Wait List into these sessions.

Second, families change plans. Most of our campers will re-enroll in September; however, some will then realize that they can no longer attend, so they need to cancel. This opens up spots for Wait List campers as well.

So How Long Will I Be on the Wait List?

That’s a good question. We see the most availability for new campers in Junior Camp each year, as many girls will attend for the week-long session and then switch to a longer session. We hope to enroll most age-eligible girls on the Junior Camp Wait List within 2 years. Our August session also has openings for new campers, but moves slower than Junior Camp; however, we are able to enroll new campers into August every year as well.

Our June and Main Camp sessions are a little trickier. Why is this? As I mentioned above, many girls who attend our shorter sessions switch to our longer sessions the following year. Because of this, when we end our re-enrollment period in September, we are often fully enrolled in those two sessions. As we have fewer June and Main campers cancel after they are enrolled, we don’t usually have spots available for our longer sesions. This is why the June and Main Camp Wait Lists are slower to move.

So what should I do if I want (or think I want) my daughter to attend Greystone?

Apply! If you’re considering Greystone, you should apply so that your name is added to the Wait List. The earlier you apply, the higher your name will be on our Wait List, the faster you will be enrolled in camp. Make sense?

Applying and getting your name on the Wait List is a no-brainer. Our Wait List registration fee is FULLY refundable; we don’t keep any of that fee if you decide camp isn’t going to work for you (not even a processing fee!), so getting your daughter’s name on the list makes the most sense if you are even considering Greystone. When we have a spot available, we contact you and let you know. You can accept the spot (hooray!) or decide you’re no longer interested (in which point we’ll refund your entire deposit).

Do you need to enroll your daughter for camp at birth? No! As we’ve mentioned, it takes about two-ish years to get into camp, so just wait until she’s two years out from camp and then apply; you’ll be all set! If you’re wanting your daughter to attend after 1st grade, check out our Registration details to read more on when to apply before she starts Kindergarten.

Throughout the Wait List process, we’ll keep you in the loop. You can check the status of our Wait Lists online, and we email you with updates throughout the year. You can also contact us at any point to find out more about where you are on the list or how things are moving; we’re always happy to help and answer questions!

So are you telling me there is no hope for June or Main Camp?

We’ll never say there’s no hope, but we want to be honest that we haven’t been able to enroll any new campers into those sessions recently. If you’ve ever heard anyone say, “the Greystone Wait List is so long and never moves,” that person was probably talking about our June and Main sessions.

If you want your daughter to attend our June or Main sessions, the very best thing you can do is attend our Junior or August sessions first. Enjoy a summer at a shorter session (which will allow you to attend Greystone within about two years) and then after that shorter session summer, you can think about requesting to switch to a longer session.

We hope this has given you some insight into how the Wait List works here at camp, but if you still have any questions, just let us know. You can call our office or email us ( is our Wait List guru), and we will help answer any questions you may still have. We hope to see your daughter at Greystone very soon!