Life on the Waterfront at Maine Camps

Chances are, if you’ve gone to camp in Maine, you’ve caught yourself singing, “Row, row, row your boat …” Life at Maine Camps really seems like a dream when you think about how much time campers get to spend on the water. Every single one of our 35+ Maine Camp Experience Camps is situated on a big, beautiful, natural lake. Campers have daily waterfront activity – often for several activity periods each day – and often more during free time, and special events and activities. In these hectic times when life moves so fast, being by the water provides time to relax, decompress, reset biorhythms, and reconnect with the natural world. It’s the time for campers to take time out, away from screens and hectic schedules, and just enjoy some relaxing time on a sailboat, paddling a canoe, or even just floating in the water and looking up at the blue sky above. That’s not to say that the water cannot be invigorating and energizing too! Learning to waterski is one of the most exciting and thrilling activities many campers love about going to camp in Maine. Starting by holding the boom and working their way up to the rope and tricks like one ski are incredible skills campers build throughout the summer, and summer after summer. Other exciting waterfront activities include climbing and bouncing around on inflatables, and feeling the lake spray on exhilarating boat-pulled tube and Aquaglide ride adventures. Daily activities by the lake include improving swimming and diving skills during instructional swim periods, and exploring the lake on stand up paddle boards, which is also great for teaching balance and strengthening one’s core. Special events set at the lake include: Lake Swim (a one-mile swim for which older campers train), sailing regattas – friendly competitions between camps, and fun events like boat races and Bucket Brigade during Color War and Olympics, just to name a few. And, while lots of waterfront activities take place at camp, as campers get older, many have the opportunity to take half, full and even multi-day trips on the water out of camp for kayak, canoe, and rafting trips. So pack those swimsuits and sunscreen. We’re ready to live it up on the lake all summer long! Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.

Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.

Next, be sure to  to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.