A group of children out on a canoe adventure had to pack up camp after a man allegedly threatened them with an airsoft gun.

A 37-year-old man was charged with assault on Aug. 3 after an encounter on an island at Lake of the Woods, Ontario Provincial Police said.

The 10 kids and two instructors from Camp Stephens, a YMCA-YWCA Winnipeg camp located on the lake near Kenora, Ont., were on a two-day canoe trip.

The campers paddled their canoes up to the island, about 400 metres from the actual home base of the camp, said Mike Whalen, vice-president of health, fitness, aquatics and camping at the YMCA.

"When they arrived at camp they realized a person had trespassed onto our island," Whalen said.

The group noticed that someone had left behind some belongings at the campsite, Whalen said. As they began to set up their camp, a man returned and told the YMCA campers to leave.

"The gentlemen did have an airsoft gun that was white and looked very different from a regular gun, and he actually had the butt — the non-shooting end — pointed at one of our councillors," Whalen said, adding that he doesn't believe the councillor was hit.

Not wanting to escalate the situation, the campers and councillors packed up their tents and gear before paddling back to their home base where they called police.

A man was charged with assault and Ontario police said it appears alcohol was involved. He will appear in court in September.

It's not unusual that someone sets up camp on the YWCA's island but it's not common for it to become confrontational, Whalen said.

"People understand they just don't know necessarily where they are and they leave peacefully," Whalen said. "So issues like this do not happen very regularly."

Once the children returned to the main camp, they were debriefed and parents were told about what happened on the outdoor excursion, Whalen said.