Mazzy just returned from sleep-away camp on Saturday. She was gone for five weeks. Every time I mention that on Instagram, people think that’s a crazy amount of time. Which is funny because one reason we picked her camp is because it offers shorter sessions, starting at two weeks. I wanted Mazzy home for at least half the summer.
I went to both a church camp called camp Chanco one summer, and a girl scout one called camp Darden another summer in VA. Both are still there surprisingly. I went for 2 weeks and got homesick. I was a shy only child and never liked being around a lot of people. There were fun arts and crafts moments, and canoeing that I enjoyed. We legitimately sat around the camp fire singing kumbaya at church camp.
I think this question is more for Pam, but where would you suggest a parent starts when wanting to look for a camp? Especially a west coast camp? Thanks.
I went to day camp for more than 10 years and was a counselor at the same camp for 5 years. I absolutely LOVED every minute of it. I was just a bridesmaid for my camp best friends wedding!
That being said, I so wish my parents had sent me to sleepaway camp. Where I lived it wasn't common and I don't think my parents knew enough about it to consider it. I wish they had the resources we do now to look into it more, and at least let me see what my options were!
Thank you so much for your post! Being an anxious mom and also coming from a different country this post makes me more comfortable on doing more research and next year getting this experience for my daughter.
How crazy that you went to Buck’s Rock! I came over from Australia and was a counsellor at Buck’s Rock in 2004!! It was my very first trip to the US and I was 20!
My 8 year old granddaughter went to a 2 week sleep away camp in NC called Seafarer. I believe it is run by the Y. She had a fabulous time and can’t wait to go for 4 weeks next summer. Apparently kids from all over attend.
Thanks Ilana! I'm so happy to start this conversation about giving your kids the gift of sleepaway camp! I'm glad to answer all kinds of general questions here, but I can't recommend specific camps without speaking directly with the family. If you want me to recommend camps for your children, please email me and we'll set up a call.
I’ll be dropping my daughter at Camp Mohawk in Litchfield, CT for the first time. Thank you for the recommendations, as a rookie I chose a 2 week session but if she enjoys it, I will consider 4 weeks next year.
Thank you for this post - I'm in CA and just researched some sleep-away camps, and I found one that looks amazing, and a few others to research more as well. I only ever did a week at a local camp with my 6th grade class, but this seems so much better than that. My kid is not old enough to be that independent yet (she's 6), but maybe in 5 years or so...
You should also mention ‘tripping’ camps— some camps include more hiking/backpacking than others. The one that I went to (Wavus in ME) was so focused on backpacking and canoeing that by the end of your time as a camper you weren’t at camp at all and on a backpacking trip the whole time. The trips get longer and harder the older you get, I went right after 4th grade and my backpacking/canoe trip was six days long (I loved it though)! I also went to Waukeela in NH and they had optional backpacking type hiking trips campers could sign up for.
I find this all fascinating coming from Australia where our summer breaks are only 5-6wks long. No sleep away camps here but the school camp business my husband managers' often lose staff that go to America to work on summer camps!
My best friends are from my sleepaway camp experience, and my parents and I agree that it was singlehandedly the best thing they did for me growing up. Yes, it will result in you potentially yelling at your husband about the "correct" way to hold a canoe paddle many, many years later, but it's given me so much on so many levels. I was only a camper for 5 years (which was not a lot at my camp... a lot of people started earlier and I wish I would have!), and then a counselor for 3 years after that. By my third year as a camper, I was begging my parents to extend my 3.5 week session to the 7 week one. They caved the next year, thank goodness! Camp friends made up 5/7ths of my bridesmaids, and just recently I celebrated my 40th birthday with a dozen of them. I know it's not an accessible opportunity for everyone given the cost, but I know at least my old camp (Camp Oneka! Grace Kelly went there!) offers scholarships through a foundation alumni set-up. I'm so thankful for my camp experience every day!
I love this! My mom is also a camp lady in the Chicago area. There are many camps in the Midwest, although kids tend to go all over the country. Camp was the very best gift my parents gave me and I am thrilled to be able to do the same for my kids!
This must be a regional or coastal thing? I'm in the midwest - WI - and I haven't heard of such long sleepaway camps, at least not in my area. Most camps around here are day camps or for one to two weeks that are usually run by the local YMCA or Girl/Boy scouts. My kids are 10, 8 & 4 and I'm hoping next summer my oldest will want to go to some sort of camp. Altho he tends to be introverted and already told me he's NOT EVER going to go to camp.
I have always wanted to send my son to summer camp. I had a 2-3 week experience between 6th and 7th grade (which is where he is now) that as much I hated, I loved. While I can't remember my bunkmates, I do remember the white water rafting and horseback riding.
Our problem is that we're on the West Coast and "all the good camps" are, like Pam said, on the East Coast. And I worry that we're getting beyond the age frame of when kids go to camp.
I have been so excited for my boys to go the camp I went to as a child but the only thing is it's in Canada. I wanted to ask your camp expert if she had any camps a wee bit closer that had the same vibe as where I went. Camp Arowhon in Algonquin Park, Ontario (It's amazing, but might be too far for them. I think I was MUCH braver).
I went to both a church camp called camp Chanco one summer, and a girl scout one called camp Darden another summer in VA. Both are still there surprisingly. I went for 2 weeks and got homesick. I was a shy only child and never liked being around a lot of people. There were fun arts and crafts moments, and canoeing that I enjoyed. We legitimately sat around the camp fire singing kumbaya at church camp.
I think this question is more for Pam, but where would you suggest a parent starts when wanting to look for a camp? Especially a west coast camp? Thanks.
I went to day camp for more than 10 years and was a counselor at the same camp for 5 years. I absolutely LOVED every minute of it. I was just a bridesmaid for my camp best friends wedding!
That being said, I so wish my parents had sent me to sleepaway camp. Where I lived it wasn't common and I don't think my parents knew enough about it to consider it. I wish they had the resources we do now to look into it more, and at least let me see what my options were!
Thank you so much for your post! Being an anxious mom and also coming from a different country this post makes me more comfortable on doing more research and next year getting this experience for my daughter.
How crazy that you went to Buck’s Rock! I came over from Australia and was a counsellor at Buck’s Rock in 2004!! It was my very first trip to the US and I was 20!
My 8 year old granddaughter went to a 2 week sleep away camp in NC called Seafarer. I believe it is run by the Y. She had a fabulous time and can’t wait to go for 4 weeks next summer. Apparently kids from all over attend.
Thanks Ilana! I'm so happy to start this conversation about giving your kids the gift of sleepaway camp! I'm glad to answer all kinds of general questions here, but I can't recommend specific camps without speaking directly with the family. If you want me to recommend camps for your children, please email me and we'll set up a call.
I’ll be dropping my daughter at Camp Mohawk in Litchfield, CT for the first time. Thank you for the recommendations, as a rookie I chose a 2 week session but if she enjoys it, I will consider 4 weeks next year.
Thank you for this post - I'm in CA and just researched some sleep-away camps, and I found one that looks amazing, and a few others to research more as well. I only ever did a week at a local camp with my 6th grade class, but this seems so much better than that. My kid is not old enough to be that independent yet (she's 6), but maybe in 5 years or so...
You should also mention ‘tripping’ camps— some camps include more hiking/backpacking than others. The one that I went to (Wavus in ME) was so focused on backpacking and canoeing that by the end of your time as a camper you weren’t at camp at all and on a backpacking trip the whole time. The trips get longer and harder the older you get, I went right after 4th grade and my backpacking/canoe trip was six days long (I loved it though)! I also went to Waukeela in NH and they had optional backpacking type hiking trips campers could sign up for.
I find this all fascinating coming from Australia where our summer breaks are only 5-6wks long. No sleep away camps here but the school camp business my husband managers' often lose staff that go to America to work on summer camps!
My best friends are from my sleepaway camp experience, and my parents and I agree that it was singlehandedly the best thing they did for me growing up. Yes, it will result in you potentially yelling at your husband about the "correct" way to hold a canoe paddle many, many years later, but it's given me so much on so many levels. I was only a camper for 5 years (which was not a lot at my camp... a lot of people started earlier and I wish I would have!), and then a counselor for 3 years after that. By my third year as a camper, I was begging my parents to extend my 3.5 week session to the 7 week one. They caved the next year, thank goodness! Camp friends made up 5/7ths of my bridesmaids, and just recently I celebrated my 40th birthday with a dozen of them. I know it's not an accessible opportunity for everyone given the cost, but I know at least my old camp (Camp Oneka! Grace Kelly went there!) offers scholarships through a foundation alumni set-up. I'm so thankful for my camp experience every day!
I love this! My mom is also a camp lady in the Chicago area. There are many camps in the Midwest, although kids tend to go all over the country. Camp was the very best gift my parents gave me and I am thrilled to be able to do the same for my kids!
This must be a regional or coastal thing? I'm in the midwest - WI - and I haven't heard of such long sleepaway camps, at least not in my area. Most camps around here are day camps or for one to two weeks that are usually run by the local YMCA or Girl/Boy scouts. My kids are 10, 8 & 4 and I'm hoping next summer my oldest will want to go to some sort of camp. Altho he tends to be introverted and already told me he's NOT EVER going to go to camp.
I have always wanted to send my son to summer camp. I had a 2-3 week experience between 6th and 7th grade (which is where he is now) that as much I hated, I loved. While I can't remember my bunkmates, I do remember the white water rafting and horseback riding.
Our problem is that we're on the West Coast and "all the good camps" are, like Pam said, on the East Coast. And I worry that we're getting beyond the age frame of when kids go to camp.
I have been so excited for my boys to go the camp I went to as a child but the only thing is it's in Canada. I wanted to ask your camp expert if she had any camps a wee bit closer that had the same vibe as where I went. Camp Arowhon in Algonquin Park, Ontario (It's amazing, but might be too far for them. I think I was MUCH braver).