Maine Summer Camps
It?s not too early to begin planning your child?s summer in Maine.
Water-skiing, hiking, archery, and staying up later than you're supposed to. For many kids, summer camp is a time to explore the outdoors, learn about nature, and have fun with other children from Maine and elsewhere. This directory, from the Maine Youth Camping Association and organized alphabetically by camp name, lists many of the summer camps in the Pine Tree State.Acadia Institute Of Oceanography, Seal Harbor
Coed. Founded 1975. The Acadia Institute is a summer program in marine studies for students ages twelve to eighteen. 207-276-9825. Off-season: 800-375-0058. www.acadiainstitute.com
Agassiz Village, Poland
Coed. Founded 1936. Agassiz Village is located on Thompson Lake and welcomes children (ages eight to seventeen) from all over New England. Its program focuses on community development, with all campers playing a role in making the community a safe, fun, and positive place to be. 207-998-4340. Off-season: 781-860-0200. www.agassizvillage.com
Camp Agawam, Raymond
Boys. Founded 1919. Camp Agawam is a traditional, values-oriented program located on 115 lakeside acres, featuring an extensive range of sporting and artistic activities with an emphasis on tennis and sailing. 207-627-4780. Off-season: 781-826-5913. www.campagawam.org
Alford Lake Camp, Hope
Girls. Founded 1907. Resident program options include tennis, sailing, riding, and swimming, as well as fine arts, wilderness experiences, and extended trips. 207-785-2400. Off-season: 207-799-3005.
Camp All-Star, Kents Hill
Coed. Founded 2001. Camp All-Star is an overnight sports camp located at Kents Hill School, where girls and boys ages nine to fifteen can participate in more than twenty-five land and water sports featuring ice hockey, basketball, soccer, baseball, and softball. 207-685-7242. Off-season: 800-283-3558. www.campallstar.com
Camp Androscoggin, Wayne
Boys. Founded 1907. Owned and operated by the Hirschs since 1963, Camp Androscoggin offers a balanced program that stresses skill development and instruction in both land and water activities as well as other programs. 207-685-4441. Off-season: 914-835-5800. www.campandro.com
Camp Arcadia, Casco
Girls. Founded 1916. Camp Arcadia is an educational camp offering close guidance and an extensive program of twenty-two activities, and has been operated by the same family for four generations. 207-627-4605. Off-season: 203-655-2267. www.camparcadia.com
Artrek Portland Museum of Art, Portland
Coed. Founded 1994. The Portland Museum of Art's summer day camp offers children ages six to fifteen the opportunity to view original works of art and to participate in activities relating to the museum's collection. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org
Camp Beech Cliff, Mount Desert
Coed. Founded 1954. At Camp Beech Cliff, located on the shores of Echo Lake, the focus is on the physical, social, and emotional development of the campers by engaging them in fun and challenging activities. 207-244-0365. www.campbeechcliff.org
Berwick Boys Foundation, Milbridge
Boys. Founded 1949. This summer camp on a 750-acre island emphasizes leadership training and projects that challenge boys to learn valuable skills in outdoor living, forestry, carpentry, seamanship, mechanics, cooking, first aid, and construction. 207-546-7375. Off-season: 508-586-0059. www.berwick.org
Bethel Camp for the Arts, Bethel
Coed. Founded 2005. Located at Gould Academy, this new non-competitive camp for ages eight to fourteen offers an elective program of creative activities and individual sports. 561-865-4330. www.maineartscamp.com
Birch Rock Camp, Waterford
Boys and coed. Founded 1926. Located on Lake McWain, Birch Rock is guided by its motto "Help the Other Fellow" and offers structured in-camp activities, as well as wilderness adventure and overnight canoe-mountain excursions. 207-583-4478. Off-season: 207-741-2930. www.birchrock.org
Camp Bishopswood, Hope
Coed. Founded 1961. Located on the shores of Lake Megunticook and administered by the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, Camp Bishopswood welcomes campers of all religious affiliations. 207-763-3148. Off-season: 207-772-1953 ext. 27. www.campbishopswood.org
Blueberry Mountain Bible Camp & Conference Center, Weld
Coed. Located near beautiful Webb Lake and Mount Blue State Park, Blueberry Mountain's summer camp allows youths to experience nature while introducing them to Christian beliefs. 207-585-2410. www.blueberrymountain.org
Camp at the Eastward, Farmington
Coed. Founded 1960. This fifty-acre camp is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, a national group striving to encourage and develop a continuing growth in the Christian faith. 207-778-4705. http:// horeb.pcusa.org/pccca/maine.htm
Camp Caribou for Boys, Winslow
Boys. Founded 1922. Camp Caribou develops recreational skills, fresh methods of expression, warm friendships, and a sense of personal accomplishment. 207-872-9313. Off-season: 508-358-5050. www.campcaribou.com
Camp Cedar, Casco
Boys. Founded 1954. Camp Cedar offers a structured, individualized program with an emphasis on a strong camp spirit, longstanding traditions, and a balance of sports and individual activities. 207-627-4266. Off-season: 617-277-8080. www.campcedar.com
Center Day Camp, North Windham
Coed. Founded 1948. Located on more than twenty-seven acres of Sebago Lake waterfront and woodlands, Center Day Camp welcomes children from the greater Portland area and from summer homes in the Sebago Lake region in a Jewish camp environment. 207-892-4101. Off-season: 207-772-1959. www.mainejewish.org
Camp Chewonki, Wiscasset
Boys, girls, and coed. Founded 1915. Located on a 400-acre coastal peninsula, Chewonki offers three separate programs: a traditional boys' resident camp, a girls' wilderness canoeing program, and a variety of coed wilderness expeditions for teens. 207-882-7323. www.chewonki.org
Chop Point, Woolwich
Coed. Founded 1967. Located on the Kennebec River, Chop Point combines a strong residential camping program with the excitement of an adventurous trip program. 207-443-5860. www.choppoint.org
Camp Cobbossee for Boys, Winthrop
Boys. Founded 1902. Cobbossee is an exceptional boys' sports camp known for its excellent facilities, professional instruction, friendly atmosphere, and tremendous spirit. 207-933-4503. Off-season: 914-533-6104. www.campcobbossee.com
Darrow Wilderness Trip Camp, Grand Lake Stream
Coed. Founded 1957. Starting at a remote base on West Grand Lake in Down East Maine, campers learn traditional ways of canoeing, backpacking, kayaking, camping, and cooking, with a focus on low-impact, low-tech living in the woods. 888-854-0810. www.darrowcamp.org
DaVinci Experience: Science & Arts Camps, Greater Portland
Coed. Founded 1999. Dedicated to inspiring wonder and curiosity about the world through hands-on experiments, this science and arts camp offers week-long summer day camps in Falmouth, Freeport, South Portland, York, and on Yarmouth's Cousins Island. 207-878-7760. www.davinciexperience.com
Camp Encore/CODA, Sweden
Coed. Founded 1950. This music camp offers daily musical instruction in classical, popular, and jazz styles through private lessons, small and large ensembles, theory and ear-training classes, additional music electives, sports, and a variety of concerts and performances. 207-647-3947. Off-season: 617-325-1541. www.encore-coda.com
Camp Fernwood, Poland
Girls. Founded 1921. Campers and staff live together in a beautiful, rustic setting with many opportunities for friendships, expert learning in all activities (including gymnastics, rock-climbing, and English riding), and play. 207-998-4346. Off-season: 610-695-0169. www.campfernwood.com
Fernwood Cove, Harrison
Girls. Founded 1999. Fernwood Cove provides campers with a complete traditional camp experience in a half-season session with weekly focus activities. 207-583-2381. www.fernwoodcove.com
Flying Moose Lodge, East Orland
Boys. Founded 1921. At Flying Moose Lodge, all boys go on camping trips each week -- from Acadia National Park to Baxter State Park and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway -- returning to the lodge for traditional camp activities. 207-288-3088. www.flyingmooselodge.com
Camp Forest, Brooks
Coed. Founded 2003. Camp Forest, a wilderness day camp, offers activities such as shelter building, outdoor safety lessons, tracking, hiking, portage, plant identification, and navigation for boys and girls from seven to twelve years old. 207-722-3708. 888-760-7943. www.campforestmaine.com
Friends Camp, South China
Coed. Founded 1953. Friends Camp, owned by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), welcomes all youth, regardless of race or religion, to an international, ethics-centered community where campers choose the elective programs that are offered each day. 207-445-2361. Off-season: 207-873-3499. www.friendscamp.org
Gander Brook Christian Camp, Raymond
Coed. Founded 1956. Associated with the Churches of Christ in New England, Gander Brook seeks to provide a positive summer experience of fun and of seeing Christianity modeled. 207-998-4369. Off-season: 603-623-5559. www.ganderbrook.org
Great Adventures, Jackman
Coed. Founded 2005. Great Adventures at Moose River Outpost is a new Christian camp where campers explore more than 7,000 acres of woods, streams, and lakes. Activities include water-skiing, wake-boarding, mountain-biking, hiking, jet-skiing, knee-boarding, swimming, white-water rafting, fishing, orienteering, canoeing, sailing, campcraft, and archery. 207-668-4878. Off-season: 603-875-3600. www.moose-river-outpost.org
Hart-to-Hart Farm Day Camp, Albion
Coed. Founded 1998. This organic dairy operation sells certified raw milk and farmstead cheese and operates a farm day camp in the summer for seven to twelve-year-olds. 207-437-2441.
Camp Hawthorne, Raymond
Coed. Founded 1919. Camp Hawthorne is situated on two-and-a-half miles of shorefront on Panther Pond and emphasizes sailing, waterskiing, canoeing, and waterfront activities. 207-655-5069. Off-season: 207-363-1773. www.camphawthorne.org
Hidden Valley Camp, Freedom
Coed. Founded 1946. A leader in progressive international camping, Hidden Valley Camp offers individualized attention to campers ages eight to thirteen in a peaceful, farm-like community on 300 acres with a private lake and heated pool. 800-922-6737. www.hiddenvalleycamp.com
Hoop Basketball Camp, Casco
Coed. Founded 1970. Hoop Camp is in its thirty-sixth year of providing top-notch basketball training on the beautiful shore of Pleasant Lake. Its staff consists of outstanding Maine college and high school coaches, assisted by well-qualified college ballplayers. 207-627-4932. Off-season: 207-784-1587. www.hoopcamp.org
Indian Acres Camp for Boys and Forest Acres Camp for Girls, Fryeburg
Founded in 1924. Indian and Forest Acres actively seek an international and national geographical distribution of campers. Modern facilities include indoor basketball and gymnastic facilities, a fitness center, heated Olympic swimming pools, twelve tennis courts, art centers, high- and low-element adventure ropes course, hockey, golf, archery, mountain biking, drama, lacrosse, sports programs, and a professional horseback riding program. 207-935-2300. Off-season: 954-385-3545. www.indianacres.com
Camp Jordan, Ellsworth
Coed. Founded 1908. Camp Jordan is a traditional resident camp operated through the Bangor YMCA and located on 200 acres on beautiful Branch Lake. It focuses on the four values of honesty, caring, respect, and responsibility, delivered through creative and fun activities. 207-667-8708. www.campjordan.org
Camp Kawanhee for Boys, Weld
Boys. Founded 1920. "Fun with a purpose"; "Learn to do by doing"; "Finish what you start" have been Kawanhee slogans for the past eighty-five years, and offerings include waterfront activities, shop, team sports, lake- and deep-sea fishing, nature, archery, riflery, wrestling, campcraft, Junior Maine Guide, life-saving, lapidary, tennis, and water-skiing. 207-585-2210. Off-season: 207-846-7741. www.kawanhee.com
Camp Ketcha/Camp Fire USA, Scarborough
Coed. Founded 1964. This day camp provides youths ages four to fifteen with the opportunity to experience hiking, archery, drama, and music, as well as specialty camping topics. 207-883-8977. www.campketcha.com
Camp Kieve, Nobleboro
Coed. Founded 1926. Camp Kieve is located on three miles of pristine lake frontage on a peninsula in Damariscotta Lake. Operated by the Kennedy family since it was founded in 1926, it offers a traditional, noncompetitive, diverse in-camp program. All boys and girls participate in its progressive wilderness-tripping program designed to inspire and challenge campers through beauty and teamwork. 207-563-5172. www.kieve.org
Kingsley Pines Camp, Raymond
Coed. Founded 1984. Kingsley Pines on Panther Lake offers three-week sessions in development skills such as leadership, decision-making, and independence. 800-480-1533 or 207-655-7181. www.kingsleypines.com
Kingswood, Bridgton
Coed. Founded 1948. Camp Kingswood is the resident camp of Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston. Located on a hundred acres of towering pines bordering Woods Pond, Kingswood provides a broad athletic, creative arts, and cultural program. 207-647-3969. Off-season: 617-558-6528. www.kingswood.org
Kippewa, Monmouth
Girls. Founded 1957. This lakeside camp, with on-site horse farm, offers mature, experienced staff with a three-to-one camper-staff ratio. 207-933-2993. Off-season: 781-762-8291. www.kippewa.com
Kamp Kohut, Oxford
Coed. Founded 1907. Kamp Kohut is surrounded by spectacular Lake Thompson, lush woods, and fields. More than fifty different activities provide a balanced focus on land and water sports, arts, media, adventure, and nature-oriented day and overnight trips. 207-539-0966. Off-season: 888-465-6488. www.kampkohut.com
Camp Laughing Loon, East Waterboro
Coed. Founded 1920. Located on beautiful Little Ossipee Lake, Camp Laughing Loon offers children the chance to paddle, hike, learn arts and crafts, and meet new friends. 207-247-6329. Off-season: 207-499-2295. www.camplaughingloon.org
Camp Laurel, Readfield
Coed. Founded 1949. Camp Laurel is a seven-week residential children's camp for children ages seven to fifteen on 2,000 feet of shoreline along Echo Lake. Outstanding instructional soccer, baseball, and basketball. 207-685-4945. Off-season: 201-750-0515. www.camplaurel.com
Camp Laurel South, Casco
Coed. Founded 1921. Laurel South is a four-week residential coed children's camp for children ages seven to fifteen. It features top-quality instruction in athletics, waterfront activities, tennis, adventure, horseback riding, theater, and more. 207-627-4334. Off-season: 352-331-4600 or 800-327-3506. www.camplaurelsouth.com
Maine Audubon Camps, Falmouth
Coed. Founded 1972. Maine Audubon's day camps and residential programs offer more than forty different programs for youth, families, and adults to have fun and explore the natural world. 207-781-2330. Off-season: 207-529-5148. www.maineaudubon.org
The Maine Conservation School Summer Camps, Bryant Pond
Coed. Founded 1956. Located on Lake Christopher, bordering Maine's White Mountains. Programs include wilderness survival, first aid, shelter building, canoeing, kayaking, archery, nature art, primitive skills, and hands-on conservation and ecology lessons. Lodging in log-cabin bunkhouses, cabins, tents, or self-made shelters for advanced programs. 207-665-2068. www.meconservationschool.org
Maine Golf and Tennis Academy, Belgrade
Coed. Founded 1907. Daily professional instruction and play, including golf and tennis inter-camp competition. Traditional activities include water-skiing, sailing, canoeing, ropes, basketball, Pilates, theater, and white-water rafting. 800-465-3226 or 207-465-3226 (outside the U.S.). www.golfcamp.com and www.tenniscamp.org
Maine Outdoor School, Clifton
Boys. Founded 1986. Designed for boys looking for adventure and outdoor skills, Maine Outdoor School teachers sheltering, fire-building, orienteering, and wilderness survival, among other outdoor skills. 207-843-7929. www.maineguide.org
Maine Teen Camp, Porter
Coed. Founded 1985. Programs include specialty areas of music (rock and rap), professional tennis instruction, water-ski/wake-boarding, arts, adventure programs, academics, water sports, and trips. 800-752-2267 or 207-625-8581. Off-season: 800-752-2267 or 610-527-6759. www.teencamp.com
Camp Manitou, Oakland
Boys. Founded 1947. Campers individually choose among team sports, waterfront sports, and creative areas such as animation, clay-mation, computer animation, and more. 207-465-2271. Off-season: 800-326-1916. www.campmanitou.com
Camp Mataponi, Naples
Girls. Founded 1910. Camp Mataponi offers the full range of camp activity, highlighting the waterfront where every girl learns to water-ski, as well as sailing, kayaking, and canoeing. 207-787-3221 or 888-684-2267. Off-season: 561-748-3684 or 561-748-5125. www.campmataponi.com
Camp Matoaka, Smithfield
Girls. Founded 1951. Programs include water-skiing, tennis, swimming, boating, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, English riding, team sports, gymnastics, dance (hip hop, tap, jazz, ballet), arts and crafts, photography, sewing, theater, music, voice, video communications, radio broadcasting, archery, ropes, mountain biking, and computers. 207-362-2500. Off-season: 508-655-5955. www.matoaka.com
Camp Mechuwana, Winthrop
Coed. Founded 1948. Camp Mechuwana offers a wide variety of camps for all ages and grades, as well as specialty camps for moms, grandparents, and special-needs adults. It also offers special programs in music theater, soccer, field hockey, basketball, canoeing, hiking, swimming instruction, earth stewardship, Native American studies, and creative arts. 207-377-2924. www.mechuwana.org
Med-O-Lark, Washington
Coed. Founded 1923. The Med-O-Lark experience emphasizes the arts in a non-competitive environment. An all-elective program features multiple dance courses in four studios, six theater productions each season, and fifteen crafts shops. 207-845-2555. Off-season: 800-292-7757. www.medolark.com
Medomak Camp, Washington
Family. Founded 1904. Medomak Camp is a place where adults and children alike can enjoy traditional camp activities such as canoeing, archery, fishing, arts and crafts, and campfires. It creates an oasis for adults to relive their summer camp days and for children to develop an appreciation for the out-of-doors. 207-845-6001. Off-season: 301-854-9100. www.medomakcamp.com
Camp Micah, Bridgton
Coed. Founded 2001. Camp Micah is a coed Jewish overnight summer camp on secluded Peabody Pond. It offers a full range of camp activities. 207-647-8999. Off-season: 617-244-6540. www.campmicah.com
Camp Modin, Belgrade
Coed. Founded 1922. Situated in the pristine Belgrade Lakes region, Modin is the oldest Jewish camp in New England, offering instruction in sixty athletic, waterfront, creative arts, and outdoor activities. 207-465-4444. Off-season: 212-570-1600. www.modin.com
Camp Nashoba North, Raymond
Coed. Founded 1922. Camp Nashoba North offers crystal-clear water for swimming, sailing, water-skiing, windsurfing, canoeing, and kayaking. 207-655-7170. Off-season: 978-486-8236. www.campnashoba.com
Camp Natarswi, Millinocket
Girls. Founded 1936. Camp Natarswi, a summer camp for girls, is located inside Baxter State Park in the shadow of Mount Katahdin. Girls can hike the Appalachian Trail, canoe the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, swim, kayak, sail, mountain bike, learn archery, photography, or even how to become a Maine Guide. 207-723-4156. Off-season: 207-989-7474. www.campnatarswi.org
Camp Neofa, Liberty
Coed. Founded 1957. Camp Neofa is sponsored by the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs of the Northeast Odd Fellow Association. It consists of thirty-five acres of open fields, woods, and pine groves, and 2,300 feet of waterfront on True's Pond. It has twelve camper cabins, a mess hall, recreation and art and craft buildings, nursing facilities, and two directors' buildings, as well as a baseball field, volleyball court, and paved sports court. 207-589-4133. Off-season: 603-352-0061. www.ioofme.org/neofa.html
New England Camp Cherith, Alfred
Girls. Founded 1945. Located on 130 acres of mostly wooded land with frontage on beautiful Lake Bunganut, Camp Cherith is an evangelical Christian camp for girls, offering a traditional camp program with a Christ-centered perspective. 207-247-5251. www.cherith.com/necc
New England Music Camp, Sidney
Coed. Founded 1937. The New England Music Camp blends high-quality and intensive musical education with popular sports and recreational activities. Campers design their own programs to develop their musical talents, recreational abilities, and social skills in a warm, stimulating, and supportive community environment. 207-465-3025. Off-season: 860-767-6530.
Nichols Day Camp and Scamp Camp, Sedgwick
Coed. Founded 1963. Owned and operated by the Blue Hill Society for Aid to Children, this day camp has operated on an eight-acre piece of land on Walker Pond in Sedgwick for the past forty-three summers. 207-374-5548.
Camp O-At-Ka, Sebago
Boys. Founded 1906. Traditional values, an integral part of camp life, are reinforced at O-At-Ka by a superb staff through group living and daily camp gatherings, all helping to build a solid foundation for life, which stresses values, skills, friendships, and fun. O-At-Ka is located on a half-mile beach on Lake Sebago. 800-818-8455. www.campoatka.com
Oceanwood Camp and Conference Center, Ocean Park
Coed. Founded 1975. Oceanwood is a Christian camp that offers nine sessions for youth and seven sessions for adults with special needs. Campers live in cabins and under direct supervision of trained and caring counselors. Activities are planned by Oceanwood's resource staff and may include archery, volleyball, canoeing, horseback riding, crafts, field games, and music. Chapel, Bible studies, and devotion times are a daily celebration at the camp. 207-934-9655. Off-season: 978-448-5763. www.oceanwood.org
Omni Camp, Poland Spring
Coed. Founded 1989. Omni Camp offers quality creative and performing arts, outdoor challenges, and sports in a caring and non-sectarian community. 207-998-4777. Off-season: 207-865-2266. www.omnicamp.com
Outward Bound Wilderness, Newry
Coed. Founded 1964. For more than forty years, Outward Bound has been the leader in wilderness-based education -- teaching technical wilderness skills along with leadership and teamwork. Activities include backpacking, canoeing, rafting, rock-climbing, dogsledding, cross-country skiing, ice-climbing, and snowshoeing. 866-467-7651. www.outwardboundwilderness.org
Camp Peregrine, Eastbrook
Boys. Founded 2004. At Camp Peregrine, boys have the opportunity to build character, self-confidence, and leadership abilities while learning outdoor skills in a pristine natural setting just twenty-five miles inland of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. 207-565-2195. www.campperegrine.com
Pilgrim Lodge, West Gardiner
Coed. Founded 1956. Pilgrim Lodge, owned and operated by the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ, is a seasonal retreat center and summer camp located on Lake Cobbosseecontee. During the summer months Pilgrim Lodge is the central location for the youth ministry program of the Maine Conference. The program also includes several trip camps at other locations. 207-724-3200. www.pilgrimlodge.org
Camp Pinecliffe, Harrison
Girls. Founded 1917. Pinecliffe's emphasis is not only on developing girls' skills, but also on teaching good sportsmanship and stressing the development of fairness and consideration. 207-583-2201. Off-season: 614-236-5698. www.pinecliffe.com
Camp Pinehurst, Raymond
Boys. Founded 1946. Situated on the sandy shore of Crescent Lake, Camp Pinehurst is a traditional boys' summer camp that emphasizes skill development, outdoor adventure, and teamwork. 207-627-4670. Off-season: 603-880-6287. www.camppinehurst.com
Pine Island Camp, Belgrade Lakes
Boys. Founded 1902. Pine Island Camp occupies a small island in a big, clean lake, and the boys and their counselors live in platform tents without electricity. Each day, boys choose two activities. 207-465-3031. www.pineisland.org
Pine Tree Camp, Rome
Coed. Founded 1944. For more than fifty years Maine children and adults with disabilities have been coming to Pine Tree Camp, where through loving encouragement and peer support each camper is challenged to become all he or she can in each program area. The camp's fully accessible setting allows campers to swim, fish, go boating, play athletic games, make arts and crafts projects, and camp overnight around a roaring fire, regardless of their disability. 207-397-2141. Off-season: 207-443-3341. www.pinetreesociety.org
Pondicherry, Bridgton
Girls. Founded 1970. Each of Pondicherry's three camps has its own personality and all offer basic resident camp experiences that include nature, campcraft skills, arts and crafts, sports, and waterfront activities. 207-647-5575. Off-season: 207-772-1177. www.gskc.org
Robin Hood Camp, Brooksville
Coed. Founded 1928. The only Maine camp on both a freshwater lake and the shore of Penobscot Bay, Robin Hood Camp offers diverse programs catering to novice up to championship levels. 207-359-8313. Off-season: 831-659-9143. www.robinhoodcamp.com
Camp Runoia, Belgrade Lakes
Girls. Founded 1907. Camp Runoia, under the fourth generation of Cobb family camping leadership, promotes intentional learning with sincere guidance from adults. 207-495-2228. Off-season: 617-547-4676. www.runoia.com
Camp Samoset, Casco
Boys. Founded 1944. At Camp Samoset, located on beautiful Pleasant Lake in southern Maine, building self-esteem, making lifelong friends, and having fun are three important goals for each camper. 207-627-4275. Off-season: 866-726-6738. www.campsamoset.com
Seeds of Peace, Otisfield
Coed. Founded 1993. Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict around the world by helping develop the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence. 207-627-7202. Off-season: 212-573-8040. www.seedsofpeace.org
Camp Skylemar, Naples
Boys. Founded 1949. Camp Skylemar provides a structured program to an enrollment limited to 170 boys who come from many parts of the United States and several foreign countries for individual activities and a tradition of warmth, human relations, ego-building, and guidance. 207-693-6414. Off-season: 410-329-3775. www.campskylemar.com
The Summer Camp, Washington
Girls. Founded 1986. The Summer Camp's mission is to provide inner-city and rural girls from economically disadvantaged families and foster homes with a comprehensive residential camping experience. 207-845-2050. Off-season: 800-979-9896. www.thesummercamp.org
Camp Sunshine, Casco
Family. Founded 1984. Camp Sunshine is a year-round retreat that provides respite, support, joy, and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families during various stages of a child's illness. The program is free of charge to all families, and includes twenty-four-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. 207-655-3800. www.campsunshine.org
Camp Susan Curtis, Stoneham
Coed. Founded 1974. Camp Susan Curtis has been providing tuition-free camping for economically underprivileged children of Maine for the past thirty-two years. Through activities such as creative arts, backpacking, environmental studies, and traditional camp activities, Camp Susan Curtis strives to offer the positive experiences and environment that many economically disadvantaged children need to gain self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and achievement. 207-928-2955. Off-season: 207-774-1552. www.susancurtisfoundation.org
Camp Takajo, Naples
Boys. Founded 1947. Three completely decentralized camps, with a program that includes small craft activities, team sports, individual sports, extensive backpacking, canoeing, and rock climbing. 207-693-6675. Off-season: 914-273-5020. www.camptakajo.com
Tanglewood 4-H Camp, Lincolnville
Coed. Founded 1982. Tanglewood 4-H Camp was established as an affordable, environmentally focused summer camp for Maine youth where people of all ages can develop effective leadership skills, accept and celebrate diversity of culture, and gain a global perspective through local identity. The camp overlooks the Ducktrap River and is situated within a beautiful, secluded, 830- acre forested section of Camden Hills State Park. 207-789-5868. www.tanglewood4h.org
Camp Tapawingo, Sweden
Girls. Founded 1919. Lasting friends are made at this close-knit, spirited camp, which features tennis, swimming, horseback riding, sailing, water-skiing, and other activities on one mile of lakefront and 200 wooded acres in the foothills of the White Mountains. 207-647-3351. Off-season: 973-275-1139. www.camptapawingo.com
Camp Timanous, Raymond
Boys. Founded 1917. Camp Timanous was founded by Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, and 90 percent of the fifty counseling staff members are former campers (eleven are teachers). Offerings include a strong waterfront and trip program, woodshop, soccer, tennis, basketball, team sports, riflery, archery, climbing wall, and sailing. 207-655-4569. Off-season: 508-485-8020. www.timanous.com
Trailmark Outdoor Adventures
Coed and girls. Founded 1984. Trailmark Outdoor Adventures is an adventure travel and community-service program ideally suited for students ages eleven to sixteen. Campers are grouped closely by age and travel by van with adult leaders for fifteen to twenty-one days, camping each night in either established or wilderness campsites. 845-358-0262. www.trailmark.com
Tripp Lake Camp, Poland
Girls. Founded 1911. A traditional, uniform camp with a structured program, Tripp Lake offers a well-rounded and skill-oriented program of sports and arts. Campers are from all parts of the country, with diverse interests. 207-998-4347. Off-season: 914-273-4065. www.tripplakecamp.com
Camp Vega, Kents Hill
Girls. Founded 1936. Camp Vega offers crafts, drama, figure skating, gymnastics, horseback riding (English), ice hockey, land sports, photography, pioneering, sculling, tennis, and waterfront activities. All counselors are twenty years old and older, and there are three counselors to a cabin of ten to twelve girls. 207-685-3707. Off-season: 617-424-9919.
Camp Walden, Denmark
Girls. Founded 1916. Walden's program blends tradition with contemporary thinking to develop girls' self-esteem, confidence, and leadership. The campers have an effective council in which all age groups learn to support each other. Individualized programming balances camper interests with needs for growth and challenge. 207-452-2901. Off-season: 434-293-3730. www.campwalden.com
The Wavus Camps, Jefferson
Coed. Founded 1922. The Wavus Camps offer a coed traditional resident camp for ages nine to fifteen and a coed wilderness expedition for ages twelve to fifteen. It supports and encourages individuals with responsibilities, courage, kindness, and respect. 207-549-5719. Off-season: 207-563-5172. www.wavus.org
Camp Wawenock, Raymond
Girls. Founded 1910. Wawenock's program is designed to give maximum attention to the individual girl with an emphasis on personal development through group living. Continuity in instruction for the seven-week program allows for the development of confidence and skill during four daily sessions in the activities of her choice. 207-655-4657. www.campwawenock.com
Camp Waziyatah, Waterford
Coed. Founded 1922. Waziyatah offers campers the magic of relationship, personal growth, and belonging in a beautiful natural setting. Its campers develop physical skills, leadership, independence, creativity, and responsibility for themselves and others. Campers live with counselors in rustic cabins equipped with running water, toilets, and electricity. 207-583-6781. Off-season: 508-668-9758. www.wazi.com
Camp Wekeela, Hartford
Coed. Founded 1922. Camp Wekeela offers a complete summer camp experience for however long a family's vacation plans allow. Every individual is given attention while the needs of the group and of living together are emphasized. The camp has more than seventy activities in sports, outdoor adventure, and the arts, with team play and individual development in both intensive and non-intensive competition. 207-224-7878. Off-season: 614-253-3177 or 800-959-3177. www.campwekeela.com
West End House Camp, Inc., Parsonsfield
Boys. Founded 1908. West End House Camp comprises 135 acres of land, includin
