Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or tarp, or no shelter at all. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or an educational experience. Spending the night away from home distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camps are known as campers. Summer school is usually a part of the academic curriculum for a student to make up work not accomplished during the academic year.
Camp Timanous is a historic boys' summer camp in Raymond, Maine, United States. It offers a "traditional" program of land and water activities, aimed at developing "Body, Mind, and Spirit". Camp Timanous is both a progenitor of the Maine sleepaway camping tradition and industry and is one of the oldest continually operating summer camps in America. Across Maine in a typical summer, some 40,000 children participate in youth summer programs, mostly at one of Maine's 200 licensed summer camps, such as Camp Timanous.
Frost Valley YMCA is a camping, environmental education, and conferencing center located in Claryville, New York, part of the Catskill Mountains. Founded in 1901 as Camp Wawayanda, the camp moved to its present location in 1958.
Camp Sealth is owned and operated by Camp Fire, a non-profit youth organization, and located on Vashon Island, Washington. Sealth hosts resident and day camp during the summer, environmental education for school groups during the spring and fall, and is a year-round conference and retreat center. Camp Sealth is accredited by the American Camp Association.
Camp Merrie-Woode is a non-profit residential camp for girls ages 7–17 in the western hills of North Carolina with a history started in 1919. The camp resides beneath Old Bald and alongside Fairfield Lake in Jackson County. In 2005 there were twenty-eight U.S. states and four foreign countries represented with 85% of campers returning the following summer. Young ladies at Camp Merrie-Woode develop confidence by participating in activities such as horseback riding, sailing, hiking, rock climbing, theatre, and river trips down the Chattooga, Nantahala, French Broad, Nolichucky, and the 'mighty' Tuckaseegee River.
Camp Unirondack is a social-justice and intentional community-centered youth summer camp and conference center that is located in the western foothills of the Adirondack Mountains near Lowville, New York on Haudenosaunee Land.
YMCA Camp Fitch is a year-round camp in North Springfield, Pennsylvania, owned and operated by the YMCA of Youngstown, Ohio. Prior to 1914, all summer camps operated by the YMCA of Youngstown were experimental and temporary in nature. Since its founding in 1914, Camp Fitch has hosted campers every year to date. Originally a program of the YMCA's downtown branch, Camp Fitch now exists as a YMCA branch owned by the YMCA of Youngstown.
YMCA Camp Tecumseh Outdoor Center is located in Indiana near the towns of Brookston, Indiana and Delphi, Indiana on the Tippecanoe River. The closest large city to Camp Tecumseh is Lafayette, Indiana, which is just across the Wabash River from West Lafayette. Camp Tecumseh was established in 1924 when citizens of Delphi raised $3000 to purchase the land which lies on a bend on the Tippecanoe river. The camp is named after Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. Camp Tecumseh is fully accredited by the American Camping Association and currently serves over 4,000 campers every summer from throughout the midwest USA and the world. Camp Tecumseh is also open throughout the year, providing an Outdoor Education service for schools and a facility for retreats and conferences of all kinds. The facility serves over 30,000 people per year. It is an independent YMCA branch and is operated independently of other metro YMCAs.
Camp Rockmont for Boys is an American Camp Association accredited Christian residential boys' summer camp in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Rockmont was founded in 1956 on the former campus of Black Mountain College. There are four "classic" sessions held each summer, as well as a one week starter session. Within the classic sessions are a three and four week option for more experienced campers. Capacity for each session is about 400 boys, with each session varying slightly depending on enrollment.
Camp Watonka was a residential summer camp for boys aged seven to sixteen in Wayne County, Pennsylvania from 1963 to 2019. It was the only science camp for boys accredited by the American Camp Association in the United States. Accommodation was in traditional cabins with modern bathrooms and electricity. Campers could stay for two, four, six or eight weeks.
Camp Kabeyun is a summer camp for boys founded in 1924 by educator John Porter. It sits on 85 acres on the south end of Lake Winnipesaukee in Alton, New Hampshire. Kabeyun's program is designed to encourage boys' individual growth, self-awareness, and confidence in the context of community living. Boys at Kabeyun choose their own activities each morning and again at lunch. Activities include land and water sports, projects such as photography and leather working, and adventure trips, often in the White Mountains. Kabeyun has a high staff return rate and many counselors who are former campers. Former camper and counselor Josh Wolk wrote a memoir, Cabin Pressure, based on Kabeyun.
Camp Anokijig is a residential youth summer camp located in Plymouth, Wisconsin on Little Elkhart Lake. Founded in 1926 by the Racine YMCA, Camp Anokijig is now independently owned and operated by the non-profit group Friends of Camp Anokijig, and operates year-round. Camp Anokijig is accredited by the American Camping Association.
YMCA Camp Mason is a YMCA summer camp located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey. The 650-acre site is located next to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Camp Mason annually serves approximately 800 campers in its summer camp programs, and 7,000 participants at its outdoor center.
Located on 150 acres on Cedar Lake in Chester, Connecticut, Camp Hazen YMCA provides positive youth camping experiences for over 1500 boys and girls each year from throughout the state. Group camping includes over 6000 participants annually. Camp Hazen YMCA serves youth from throughout Connecticut, New England and many states around the country. Each summer, Camp Hazen YMCA is also home to campers and counselors from more than 25 different countries. Campers come from all socio-economic backgrounds, and range in age from 5 to 18. Over 800 campers were provided with financial assistance in 2009. These funds, over $205,000, were provided through the generosity of individuals, foundations, businesses and service clubs.
Camp Ondessonk is an outdoor, Catholic residential youth camp run by the Diocese of Belleville. It is located in the Shawnee National Forest of Southern Illinois, near Ozark, Illinois. The mission of the camp is "Exceptional outdoor and spiritual adventures empowering kids of all ages." Camp Ondessonk is accredited by the American Camp Association.
Farm & Wilderness, also known as F&W, is a system of eight ACA-accredited Quaker-based summer camps for kids and summer programs for teens rooted in social justice, environmental sustainability, homegrown fun, and wilderness adventure situated in and around Plymouth, Vermont.
Raven Knob Scout Reservation is a 3200 acre Boy Scout camp operated by the Old Hickory Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The reservation is located in Surry County, North Carolina, United States.
RKY Camp is a non-profit organization and summer camp, accredited by the Ontario Camping Association, in Parham, Ontario, Canada, north of Kingston, Ontario. Operating since 1929 on Eagle Lake, RKY Camp was founded by The Rotary Club, Kiwanis International, and the YMCA of Kingston, making up the abbreviation 'R.K.Y.'. RKY Camp ran as an all-boys camp until 1969. The camp provides outdoor education and camping opportunities to people of all backgrounds, including integrated summer camping for children and young adults with disabilities through a combined effort with Reach for the Rainbow. RKY Camp provides financial assistance, or "camperships" to ensure any youth has an opportunity to attend.
Camping Unlimited is the organization that runs Camp Krem, a camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains that caters to disabled adults and children. Camp Krem provides year-round programs nearly every weekend and summer camp sessions ranging from 7 to 12 days long. In the summer, Camp Krem has a main camp, an Outdoor Adventure Camp, and a Travel Camp that travels throughout California and the country. The camp is located in Boulder Creek, California.
