Summer Camp Vacations for Kids and Adults

Most of the base camps are in California, Utah and Arizona, or the Sierra Mountains of California/Nevada; a few are in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, Virginia, Washington, New Jersey, Idaho, New York, and the Great Smoky Mountain Park of Tennessee/North Carolina. With a minor exception or two, charges are remarkably low, even though all inclusive: as little as $455 for some one-week stays, an average of about $1100, and some topping $3,000. That's because all campers pitch in to perform camp tasks, including cooking, supervised by the camp staff.

Sample base camp stays planned for 2004: Acadia National Park and Mt. Desert Island in Maine, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska, and Yukon and Northwest Territories in Canada. Though the accent throughout is on fun--the sheer pleasure of removing oneself for a week or two to an untouched, untrammeled wilderness--participants (of all ages, and including families) have the added opportunity to "network" with other kindred sorts, the dedicated environmentalists of our nation.

The full list of base camps appears in a larger directory of club outings bound each year into the January/February edition of Sierra, the club's magazine. For a copy, or for other specific information or longer leaflets on individual base camps, contact the Sierra Club Outing Department, 85 Second St., Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 (phone 415/977-5630, fax 415/977-5795, e-mail national.outings@sierraclub.org). Since base camps are open only to Sierra members or "applicants for membership," you'll later need to include your membership application and fee ($25 introductory price, $39 regularly) with your reservation request. A full listing of Sierra Club outings can also be found online at sierraclub.org/outings.

Unitarian Camps

Why do they invite people of all religious persuasions to make use of their summer camps? Certainly not to proselytize or seek converts--they don't believe in that. Rather, as it's been explained to me, because they seek to discover common bonds among all humankind, and common spiritual truths; because their creed is without dogma and broadly compatible with all other faiths. What better place to experience such unity, they theorize, than at a summer gathering, in a pleasant, unstressed, cooperative camp?

Because some of the Unitarian/Universalist camps fill up by summer, you'd be well advised to apply quickly to one of the following:

Star Island Religious and Educational Conference Center, New Hampshire: A rustic, rocky, sea-enclosed marsh connected to the mainland by a single telephone line, Star Island is one of the historic "Isles of Shoals" off the New England coast (reached by ferry from Portsmouth, N.H.). A naturalist's dream, a photographer's vision, it has been owned by the Unitarians since 1915, and used as an adult summer camp (swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, tennis, softball) open to all, but mainly patronized by Unitarian/Universalists. From mid-June to early September, singles, couples, and families can opt for "theme weeks" focused on the arts, natural history, international affairs, psychology, and the like. In 2004, these include "International Affairs", "Religion in an Age of Science" and "Life on a Star". They stay either in a wooden main building or a number of cottages (comfortable but not modern) at charges from $502 per adult per week for room and full board with a discount for children. (Star Island also operates six-day conferences at charges starting at $448 per adult). Add about $50 to $100 per person for program registration fees. Figure an extra $80 for the ferry and parking. Technically, campers are supposed to register in February for these summer programs, but usually they'll let people sign up until all the spots are full. Prior to summer, contact Star Island Corporation, 10 Vaughan Mall, Suite #8, Worth Plaza, Portsmouth, NH 03801 (phone 603/430-6272); thereafter, P.O. Box 178, Portsmouth, NH 03802 (phone 603/964-7252, e-mail mailto:www.starisland.org).

De Benneville Pines Camp, near Angelus Oaks, California: Half an hour from the better-known town of Redland on the mid-Pacific coast, in a heavily wooded area laced with hiking trails, is De Benneville Pines Camp. Its Unitarian programs--usually open to all--consist primarily of a "family week" in August, a four-day "Women's Retreat" in May (with activities ranging from yoga to silk screening to belly dancing), a "Yoga/Meditation" week in September and a weekend "Folk Music Camp: Music in the Mountains" in November. Family week is devoted to classic summer recreations, with the Unitarian theme largely limited to evening campfire discussions of broad ethical themes. Accommodation is in cabins; meals, according to staff, are "honest-to-goodness homemade--i.e., bread done from scratch;" all inclusive weekly charges average $300 per adult for family weeks, much less for children (although there is a complicated price structure, aimed at allowing people of all economic backgrounds to attend). Contact De Benneville Pines, 41750 West Jenks Lake Road, Angelus Oaks, CA 92305 (phone or fax 909/794-1252, e-mail uucamp@aol.com or online at debenneville.org).

Ferry Beach Center, on the coast of Maine: For its summer-long, ten-week program of adult activities, open to all without question, Ferry Beach makes use of 30 woodland acres on Saco Bay and adjoining sand dunes and pine groves, with access to bike paths and walking trails in a state park. Though participants are free to romp and relax, they can also attend weekend and week-long conferences from the end of June through the Labor Day weekend. Conference themes for the 2004 season: a four-day "Kayaking for beginners and intermediate paddlers" ($265) and a three-day "Spirit of West Africa: Drumming and Dance" ($300). Expect to pay about $550 per adult for a week's room, board, registration, and activities, slightly less for children, much less for those occupying tented campsites. Contact Ferry Beach Park Association, 5 Morris Ave., Saco, ME 04072 (phone 207/282-4489 or, for reservations 207/284-8612, fax 207/283-4465, e-mail ferrybeach@ferrybeach.org or online at ferrybeach.org).

Rowe Camp, in the Berkshires of northwestern Massachusetts: A Unitarian children's camp for much of the summer, Rowe largely replaces the youngsters with adults during three warm-weather periods: for one week in June ("Men's Wisdom Council"), and the last two weeks of August ("Kindred Spirits" and "Women's Circles"); the third is a consciousness-raising program for females only, while the second attempts to free all participants--singles, couples, families--"from whatever confines their spirits." In all three, daily workshops deal with growth in the physical, emotional, spiritual, and political realms; and all is combined with swimming, dancing, canoeing, silk-screening, and picnics--a joyful, dynamic, but intensely spiritual atmosphere. Scattered wooden cabins and main lodges resemble the camps of your own youth. The program cost for a week ranges from $420 to $495 based on your family's yearly income (the more you make, the more you pay). If you're willing to work during your stay (helping with meals, changing sheets, carpentry), you can barter for a lower fee, and there are group discounts offered too. Contact Rowe Camp, Kings Highway Road, Box 273, Rowe, MA 01367 (phone 413/339-4954 fax 413/339-5728, e-mail info@rowecenter.org or online at rowecenter.org).

The classic "summer camp" for adults: Amuuse Camps for Singles. Also Unitarian-sponsored, Amuuse takes place over series of weeks from mid-June to mid-August at three campsites in the upper Midwest (in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio). Mornings are devoted to classes led by "experienced camper facilitators"-- in 2003, these included lessons in massage, dream interpretation, and improvisational comedy. Afternoons are left free for more traditional camp activities-- swimming, volleyball, golf, ping pong, hiking and crafts. On most evenings, participants meet to watch the sunset, after which the group disperses to a wide variety of scheduled social events-- coffeehouses, theme parties and dances, campfires and sing-a-longs. The fee is $450/person per week, inclusive of room, all meals, snacks and most activities. And get ready for "kitchen duty"-- all participants are expected to pitch in with chores-cooking, cleaning and organizing events. Contact Amuuse Camps for Singles, AMUUSE c/o Sharon Spinler, 336 Birchwood Court, Vernon Hills, IL 60061(phone 847/816-3356, e-mail amuuse@compuserve.com) Also online at amuuse.org.

YMCA camps