Outdoor Education
Creating caring and motivated youth
Overnight Camps – Ages 8-15
For more than a century, our overnight summer camps have provided campers with a timeless camp experience, emphasizing stewardship and a strong connection to the Earth. Nestled on the shores of beautiful Clear Lake, Camp Kawartha spans 10 acres and boasts sustainable facilities, including a strawbale dining hall and a cardbon-neutral health centre. Surrounded by 180 acres of natural beauty and featuring 6.3 kilometers of hiking trails, our camp offers a wealth of experiences for overnight campers.
In small cabin groups, campers have the opportunity to forge lifelong friendships and become part of a loving and nurturing community that extends to the natural world. Our counseling staff, full of creativity and enthusiasm, work tirelessly to create memories that last a lifetime.
At Camp Kawartha, overnight campers get to enjoy a diverse range of activities, including swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing, arts and crafts, drama dance, land sports, archery, and immersive encounters with the natural world. Each evening, our creative and exciting programs transport campers to new realms of fun, whether it’s a pirate-themed game of capture the flag or a Halloween-themed dance.
While providing a fun-filled summer experience is our priority, we aim to exceed expectations in all that we do. Our focus on leadership and fostering a deep connection to the natural world allows campers to learn about stewardship and caring for the Earth. Camp staff guide campers in developing essential life skills like teamwork, communication, collaboration, initiative, leadership, and self-confidence. Thanks to our low staff-to-camper ratio (2 campers to 1 staff), each camper receives individual attention and is known by our entire team on a personal level. Many. ofour campers, return year after year to the Camp Kawartha community, which has become their home away from home.
We offer a variety of session lengths, ranging from 3 nights to 3 weeks. New campers can start with shorter sessions to ease into the camp experience, while long-time campers can opt for a 2-week session or explore our PLC and Canoe tripping programs, taking their first steps towards leadership development.
Benefits of Overnight Camp
Campers learn to live, work and play cooperatively, to recognize and value each other’s strengths and learn from our differences
Provides opportunities for individual challenge and growth while expanding camper’s interests and helping them acquire new skills
Campers learn how to take responsibility and solve their own problems
Increases self-esteem, confidence and resiliency
Helps campers connect to nature
Fosters lifelong friendships and builds memories for a lifetime
Builds a culture of caring and stewardship.
Introductory Overnight Camps
| Camp Session | Ages | 2024 Dates | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session N | 7-14 | Sun, Aug 25 – Wed, Aug 28 | $800 |
1-Week Overnight Camps
| Camp Session | Ages | 2024 Dates | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A | 8-14 | Sat, June 30 – Sat, July 6 | $1,400 |
| Session C | 8-14 | Sun, July 21 – Fri, July 26 | $1,200 |
| Session E | 8-14 | Sun, Aug 11 – Sat, Aug 17 | $1,400 |
| Session F | 8-14 | Sun, Aug 18 – Fri, Aug 23 | $1,200 |
| Junior Canoe Trip | 11-13 | Sun, July 21 – Fri, July 26 | $1,200 |
2-Week Overnight Camps
| Camp Session | Ages | 2024 Dates | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session B – (13 Days) | 8-14 | Sun, Jul 07- Fri, Jul 19 | $2,600 |
| Session D – (13 Days) | 8-14 | Sun, Jul 28 – Fri, Aug 9 | $2,600 |
| Wilderness Canoe Trip – (Senior Canoe Trip) | 14-16 | Sun, Jul 28 – Fri, Aug 9 | $2,730 |
| Wildnerness and Leadership | 14-16 | Sun, July 7 – Fri, July 19 | $2,730 |
3-Week Overnight Camps
| Camp Session | Ages | 2024 Dates | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLC 1 – (20 Days) | 13-14 | Sun, June 30 – Fri, July 19 | $4,000 |
| PLC 2 – (21 Days) | 13-14 | Sun, Jul 28 – Fri, Aug 16 | $3,990 |
General Information About our Overnight Camps:
Typical Day at Overnight Camp
| TIME | ACTIVITY |
|---|---|
| 7:25am | Wake-up bell, Polar Bear Dip, Morning Hygiene, Table Setting |
| 7:50am | Breakfast |
| 9:00am | Health Hustle – Each morning after breakfast the campers participate in light exercise and fun games to start off the day. Led by our Leaders-in-Training and select staff, Health Hustle prepares us for the morning by raising the level of excitement and getting the energy flowing |
| 9:35am | Activity Period #1. |
| 11:05am | Activity Period #2. |
| 12:30pm | Wash up; Table Setting |
| 12:45pm | Lunch; Sign up for afternoon interest choice activities |
| 1:30pm | Rest Period, Tuck, Cabin Cleanup |
| 2:25pm | Interest Choice #1 |
| 3:25pm | Interest Choice #2 |
| 4:30pm | General Boating and Swimming (GBS) |
| 5:30pm | Wash up, Table Setting |
| 5:40pm | Dinner |
| 6:30pm | unstructured free time |
| 7:30pm | Evening Program |
| 8:45pm | Snack |
| Nighttime Routine | Each day ends in the cabin with a “check-in” – a chance for campers to reflect on the day. Our traditional “rose and thorn” check-in provides campers with an opportunity to share with their cabin-mates the highlights of their day and re-live the excitement of camp. As the session progresses, creative check-ins allow campers to learn from their experiences, both individually and as a group. |
| Lights Out | Younger campers (6-12) have their lights out by 9:30pm and our older campers have lights out by 10:00pm |
Activity Periods & Interest Choices
Morning Activity Periods
Activities include: archery, arts and crafts, drama, land sports, nature skills, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, swimming and windsurfing.
Afternoon Interest Choices
Activities consist of special events planned by counsellors. Capitalizing on our staff’s unique talents, a variety of different activities from Harlem Globetrotters basketball and Seaweed Monster swimming, to Dance Pack, Robin Hood archery and the relaxing and low-key Hunting for Four-Leaved Clovers.
Longer “Double Interest Choices,” offered usually once per session, focus on inclusion and group activities that might require a longer period of time including day hikes to our wetlands, trips to Sisters Island on our lake, and dance clubs
Adventure Program at Regular Camp
Activities include the climbing wall, high ropes, and initiative tasks. The oldest cabin groups (typically ages 13-14) will be scheduled in for an opportunity to experience our Adventure Program.
Younger campers may also be given an opportunity to sign up for and participate in adventure activities during afternoon interest choice periods.
Special Events
Each day is a special day at Camp Kawartha, and our staff are always working hard to provide the fun and excitement that they remember as campers. With that in mind, special events such as night hikes and high ropes are integrated into the cabin schedule to build on the excitement of the day and on one’s camp experience.
Theme Days
Each week, we break from the usual routine and do something completely different. It can be a backwards day, a camp-wide relay, or a carnival. Favourites include Campstock, where we invite our talented staff to perform on a main stage as campers travel to rotations from face-painting to mini-competitions, and EcoChallange, where campers must compete in an environmentally themed relay race across our 180-acre range. There’s always a great spirit and energy to these events.
Evening Program
The creative energy of our staff is channeled every evening into our awesome camp-wide programs. It all starts with a campfire the first evening and builds each night to include new innovate programs and old traditional favourites such as the talent show and Zing Tong! From dressing up as zany characters with phobias to collecting clues against the clock, staff and campers join together for some of the most memorable moments of the session.
Nighttime Routine
Each day ends in the cabin with a “check-in” – a chance for campers to reflect on the day. Our traditional “rose and thorn” check-in provides campers with an opportunity to share with their cabin-mates the highlights of their day and re-live the excitement of camp. As the session progresses, creative check-ins allow campers to learn from their experiences, both individually and as a group.
Lights Out
Younger campers (8-12) have their lights out by 9:30pm and our older campers have lights out by 10:00pm
