Falling Creek Fun Facts

FCC Fun Facts

Ready for some quick facts about camp? If you’re new to Falling Creek, these 16 facts will help you get “in the know” quickly. Even if you’re returning, some of these facts might be news to you!

Want to know more? We’ll share links for each of these facts so you can read more details.

• 1.) Falling Creek was founded in 1969 by Jim Miller, who also owned nearby Camp Greystone at the time. He wanted to start a boys’ summer camp for the brothers of his Greystone campers. Falling Creek’s first session had 110 boys who stayed for 7 weeks. 2026 will be our 58th summer! You can read more about camp’s history here.
• 2.) We are located on over 900 private mountaintop acres in Tuxedo, North Carolina, and much of this land is in a conservation easement. We’re also in close proximity to DuPont State Forest, Pisgah National Forest, and other wilderness areas for our extensive outdoor adventure trips. You can learn more about what to do in Western North Carolina here.
• 3.) We have four summer camp sessions, ranging from one week to four weeks long. There are also four Father/Son Weekends, three in May and one in August.
• 4.) Did you know that Yates was a camper himself before he became camp director? Yates and his brothers went to camp for years before returning on staff as a paddling counselor. In 1989, Marisa joined him on staff as head of the waterfront while they were in college together. Yates and Marisa Pharr bought camp in 2005 from the McGrady Family. Learn more about the camp leadership team here.

• 5.) Falling Creek’s purpose is “to shepherd the journey of personal growth through love and adventure.” You can learn more about our mission and values on the “about us” page.
• 6.) We start every Campfire with a staff member reciting Psalm 133:1 to the group. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.” Often during games, campers or staff will shout, “Behold!” to end a huddle. Watch a video about Campfire here.
• 7.) Every weeknight we end the day with Evening Program, which is often a fun game! On Saturdays we play a huge “all-camp-game” with the main part of camp as the big game map. Learn more about these weekend games in this blog post, or about Evening Program here.
• 8.) After Morning Assembly, Associate Director Frank Tindall started a “push-up club” tradition where everyone can do a specific number of push-ups together on the porch before heading to activities. The number starts at 1 on the first day of the camp session, and increases by one push-up each day. Want to join “push-up porch” this summer? You can watch a video about Morning Assembly here.

• 9.) If you want to join our morning bible study, come to the “Goody Shack” on the landsports field before the wake-up bell rings. This is called “Morning Spark,” and it happens every weekday morning. Read more about Morning Spark in this blog post.
• 10.) Falling Creek was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine for their August, 2007 issue! The story was called “The Myth About Boys” by David Von Drehle.
• 11.) Our oldest campers participate in the FLINT and STEEL programs for rising 11th and 12th graders. FLINT stands for Forging Leaders INTentionally, and STEEL stands for Summer Training Encouraging Emerging Leaders. You can learn more about these leadership programs for boys here.
• 12.) Every day you’ll hear announcements about upcoming Outdoor Adventure Trips that you can join. Counselors will end their announcement with different cheers, which you’ll learn on the first day of camp. There’s one for mountain biking, rock climbing, paddling, and backpacking (as well as all the cheers for different activity announcements too.)

• 13.) Ready to challenge yourself in activities? Falling Creek’s camp-wide progression system gives campers the opportunity to build confidence as they advance through five levels in each activity. These levels are Scout, Explorer, Challenger, Ranger, and Warrior. Learn more about the progressions system here.
• 14.) Speaking of progressions, if you earn Warrior (the highest level) in at least 3 activities, you’ll become a Journeyman and be eligible to earn the rank of Keeper of the Flame. This is the highest level attainable at Falling Creek, and only those who complete all aspects of the journey will become Keepers.
• 15.) We live by the Falling Creek Code, which has 4 parts: Warrior Spirit, Servant’s Heart, Positive Attitude, and Moral Compass. Read our blog series, highlighting some of the amazing Falling Creek alumni who continue to “Live by the Code,” modeling these values in their daily lives.
• 16.) Falling Creek is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), and all our outdoor trip leaders are certified as Wilderness First Responders. ACA is the only nationwide accrediting organization for year-round and summer camps. This is a voluntary third-party peer review process, with 350+ standards on program quality, health, safety, and risk management that camps must follow in order to maintain their accreditation. You can learn more about safety at camp on this page.

See You This Summer!

Now that you’re equipped with all this “camp knowledge,” we hope you feel even more excited to join us on the mountain this summer!

As always, if you have any questions before the summer, please reach out to us so we can talk through them together. We’re looking forward to helping you have the best summer possible!