Tips and Tools to Choose the Right Camp from Maine Camp Experience

Whether you’re looking for summer 2023 or already starting your search for summer 2024 (which could include touring camps in ’23), it’s useful to note that Maine Camps are many of the finest and most well established in the country. Each summer, more than 20,000 campers come from all over to spend time at Maine Camps to enjoy comprehensive programming in athletics, watersports, outdoor adventure, and performing and creative arts. 

There are a variety of types of camps to choose from and all provide children with the opportunity to unplug from tech devices, have fun, make lifelong friends, learn life skills, and gain confidence and independence; but it’s important to know how to choose the right camp. Laurie, our Campcierge® is often asked, “Which is the ‘best’ camp,” to which she shares “there is a different ‘best’ camp for each child.”

Maine Camp Experience (MCE) offers these helpful tips and tools for choosing the right camp for your child:

Tips for Choosing the Best Camp for Your Child:

• Match the environment to your child. (Bigger or smaller? More or less rustic? Coed or single gender? Very spirited with many tournaments or more chill with non-competitive activities.)
• Don’t assume because a friend or relative went to a particular camp that it’s the right fit for your child
• Inquire about the directors — their tenure at the camp and their involvement in camp life
• Speak personally with camp directors about your child
• Ask the camp for references and make an effort to speak with current families
• Inquire about staff selection, background and training
• Review camper and staff retention
• Ask about programming opportunities for your child, including their level of choice, as well as special events, traditions, and trips
• Decide which session length (PDF) is optimal for you and your child in their first year and ensuing years
• Inquire about health care facilities and discuss any dietary or medical needs
• Involve your child in the process, but ultimately select the camp you feel is right for your child
• Use our tool to filter camps based on gender and session length, and get information on specific camps’ costs, session lengths, and dates
• Narrow your search to a manageable number (between 2-4 works well) for in-depth research and decision
• Potentially tour camps in 2023 if you’d like your child to attend in 2024. Seeing the camps firsthand while they’re in action is a great way for parents and children to get comfortable and get excited. Plan no more than two tours in a day (one morning; one afternoon) so you don’t feel rushed and you have time to process each camp and write down some notes before seeing the next. Rookie days, weekends, and short sessions are another possibility to consider so your child can get his/her “feet wet” before going for a longer session the next summer

Most MCE Camps are privately owned and operated, though some are agency-based, meaning there is an organization (such as a not-for-profit entity) that oversees their operation. Additionally, some MCE camps identify themselves with a religious affiliation and there is specific mention of this on their individual websites. Some camps are full season only, generally 6 or 7 weeks in length. Other camps offer half sessions, which tend to be 3-4 weeks. Others offer a combination of sessions, including a 2-week option. Maine Camps are for children ages 7-17.

Tools to Help Choose the Right Camp

To learn more about an individual camp, visit its MCE camp page for an overview of its program, philosophy and traditions. View photos and videos, access its website, explore its social media sites and request information. Feel free to request material from a variety of MCE camps.

Maine Camp Experience is here to help. Use our camp selection tool, or call the toll-free number at  877.92.MAINE  or +1.207.221.5644 (from outside the United States) to speak with the Campcierge® or email: .

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.