Tell me s’more
Maine sleepaway camps for the whole family
By June Donenfeld
S’mores, sandcastles and campfire singalongs. Sparkling water and the haunting tremolo of a loon calling across the lake. Star-studded skies and shouts of glee when your arrow hits the bullseye for the very first time. These are just some of the indelible memories young people bring home if they’re lucky enough to take part in one of Maine’s most beloved traditions: summer sleepaway camp, where they build community, conquer fears and develop lifelong friendships.
Even if you’re all grown up, you can still experience this magic at one of the Maine camps that welcome families across the generations. These havens range from the rustic to the refined and include specialty camps, too, all offering the chance to unwind, unplug, reconnect, see one another in a different light and just have a heck of a good time.
With more than a century of history, Alden Camps in Kennebec County prides itself on being “the place where time stands still,” where families go to enjoy fishing, terrific food and relaxed activities at their 40-acre property on the shore of East Pond, the headwaters of the Belgrade Lakes. Lakeside cottages can accommodate families large and small, and staff takes care of all household chores, cooking and cleaning. All you have to do is relax and have fun. Go kayaking, cast a line off the dock, thwack tennis balls or take a yoga class. And if your idea of a delicious day is a good book with a side of solitude, you can also simply settle into your porch hammock with only a page-turner for company. Wee folks can have a great time in the sandbox or on the swings, go on nature walks, make paper bag puppets or explore their artistic side with a rainbow of finger paints.
Medomak Family Camp on the Midcoast offers a host of experiences during their weeklong, all-inclusive summer sessions for just 12 families each week on a 250-acre forested, lakefront property that also houses their separate Retreat Center. Elianna and Zachary Lutz, who attended the camp as children, now run the camp and devote themselves to giving families the time of their lives. They are also firmly committed to environmentally ethical practices, like using a solar hot water system and sourcing food and blankets from local organic farms.
“Because our program is intentionally small, our favorite highlight is watching a community form each week,” Elianna says. “Family camps offer such a special opportunity for families to experience each other in a totally new environment. For a kid, watching [older family members] take on new experiences shows them that learning doesn’t stop, and for parents, witnessing their children perform at campfire when that child is shy and reserved at home is more than enough to bring them to tears.”
Medomak Family Camp. PHOTO: JACLYN GRAD FOR TAILWIND MEDIA.
The value of the memories families can make together at camp is beyond measure. “Even if I’ll never forget my own time at camp as a kid,” Zachary says, “as an adult, you get to insert yourself into some of those core memories your own child will never forget—which is wicked cool.”
Like other family camps in Maine, Medomak has seen more intergenerational families come in recent years, and, young or old, there is something for everyone, from traditional activities like archery, water sports and blueberry picking to newer ones, like stand-up paddleboarding and pickleball. Adult-only activities are a big draw, too, like on-site massages and local beer and cheese tasting, while “community activities that everyone enjoys are the sunset cruise, barn dance and bingo,” Zachary reports. Other standout offerings? Medomak’s “specialty weeks” that run alongside their regular program; this year’s options include art, astronomy, yoga and woodworking.
If your dream vacation includes a classic camp experience on a picture-perfect, pine-filled island with three delicious meals a day and a rich menu of activities, look no farther than Camp Taconnet on Great Pond in Belgrade Lakes, where staff greet you on the mainland and then take you to this New England Eden via an old-fashioned hand-crank ferry. Fifteen cottages ring the island’s shores, each with 1–4 bedrooms, an indoor bath, a kitchenette, a sitting area and a deck or porch overlooking the lake. Many have fireplaces, too, and all come with private dock equipped with a canoe, kayak or paddleboard. These comfortable cottages have books, games and other diversions, but no televisions or telephones. To maintain the camp’s family-friendly atmosphere, smoking is not allowed on the island, nor are alcoholic drinks in the Main Lodge or other common areas. Days are given over to pursuits like tennis, swimming, boating, snorkeling, fishing or sunset-gazing, along with both structured and unstructured kids’ activities. But if you prefer to commune quietly with your stack of books or a sketchpad, Taconnet is just the ticket, too. For those who want to venture off-island, there’s ice cream and mini-golf at Gifford’s in Waterville or a ride around the lake on the mailboat. In the evenings, all generations are welcome to have a go at soccer or Capture the Flag, and on Sundays after dinner, there’s an informal camp-wide get-together where guests can get to know one another over assorted desserts. To keep the environment as pristine as possible, Taconnet use all-natural cleaners, zero phosphates in landscaping, natural path-coverings—like crushed stone and pine needles—to reduce erosion, and reduced water in their kitchen.
Lobster Bake at Migis Lodge. COURTESY PHOTOS.
Just 45 minutes from bustling Portland, Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake in South Casco feels a world away. Set on 135 acres of pristine woods and 3,500 feet of shoreline, Migis has welcomed singles, couples, families and multi-generational groups in summer and fall for more than a century. Guests stay in the main lodge’s eight guestrooms or their 35 cottages, ranging from studios to six bedrooms. A blend of the rustic and the luxurious, they have lake views, wood-paneled walls, flagstone fireplaces and a bathroom for each bedroom. Flat-screen TVs, wireless internet access, fresh flowers and daily housekeeping service also come with each cottage, where staff makes daily deliveries of ice, glassware and firewood. With a firm commitment to sustainability, Migis has taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint, including installing an off-site, 314 kilowatt/912-panel solar array that meets 95% of their electricity needs.
Rates include all activities (except motorboat rentals) and three scrumptious meals with each night’s stay, whether in their main dining room, lakeside at Cookout Point or on their own private island. For families, Migis offers parents time to themselves while staff keep children happily busy with age-appropriate programming in the company of new friends. When it’s time to reunite for family fun, there are many choices, like bingo, bonfires and lake cruises on a classic 1947 Chris-Craft Cruiser. Guests can also get expert waterskiing instruction, go kayaking, play tennis or pickleball, or get a great workout at the fitness center, followed by a massage that will soothe the sorest of muscles. Migis goes all out to make their resort accessible to everyone, with many accommodations for guests with mobility, hearing, sight, learning or other disabilities. Service animals are welcome.
Several Maine camps offer shorter-session family camps in August after the close of their regular youth seasons. Among them is the all-inclusive Kingsley Pines Camp on Panther Lake in the Sebago Lakes region, which hosts two one-week family camps. Private cabins are sprinkled along the lake and among the trees and can accommodate 4–10 people. Most have private bathrooms, but those without share modern bathhouses with flush toilets, showers and sinks. Programming is organized so that families can enjoy time together and apart, with approximately 35 activities on offer, from land and water sports to arts and crafts. Camp Kippewa, on Lake Cobbossecontee in Monmouth in Kennebec County, also offers a week-long family camp. Along with traditional activities like canoeing, campfires, and arts and crafts, they offer more unusual ones, including rocketry, horseback riding and a climbing wall.
Migis Lodge campers play pickleball. COURTESY PHOTO.
Set on 285 glorious acres in the Belgrade Lakes region, Pinetree Camp in Rome offers an array of programs for children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities, including a family camp scheduled periodically throughout the year. The camp prides itself on providing asetting where, as they say, participants “experience freedom, independence, and life-changing experiences.” With a 3:1 camper to staff ratio, campers are guaranteed the kind of attention that ensures they’ll thrive. Families stay in a fully accessible cabin, and everyone can enjoy time together, whether doing adaptive biking, archery, or arts and crafts, snowshoeing the trails, spotting eagles, kayaking or simply sitting back and relishing cocoa and s’mores by the fire. Financial aid is available.
With year-round, no-cost programs, Camp Sunshine at Sebago Lake in Casco provides a welcome respite for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The camp’s staff and volunteers have decades of expertise and make it their mission to meet the needs of each family member; with a physician on site, families have the peace of mind they need to relax and rewind. Up to 40 families at a time take part in the approximately 25 sessions offered yearly, giving them the chance to leave their cares behind, have fun and gain a priceless sense of accomplishment as they summit the climbing wall, land a fish, ride in a horse-drawn wagon or learn to ski. Camp Sunshine also offers bereavement programs for past participants or those who have experienced the death of a child from one of the illnesses they support.
Fairwinds Family Camp is for families with one or more children who identify as trans, non-binary, genderqueer, genderless or otherwise gender diverse. Parents, guardians, siblings, grandparents and friends are all welcome to participate in their all-inclusive week, which offers private cabins with bathrooms, all meals and snacks, a rich array of activities and a vital sense of community. Daily activities include (optional) parent discussion groups in the morning while children are off doing activities with the staff; in the afternoons, families can pick among many options, from kayaking to archery to yoga. Evening events include a talent show, family karaoke, a campfire with s’mores, and kid- and parent-only hangouts.
No matter which family camp you choose, as Elianna Lutz observes, “It takes people out of their day-to-day lives and creates a new and exciting framework in which they can rediscover the joy of simply being together.
On the cover: Sebago Lake is a giant among Maine’s lakes and the deepest, too. With coves and forested inlets and opportunities to sail, angle, swim and camp, the lakes region is a favorite for summer adventures.