Camp Chewonki for Boys offers campers a place to laugh, learn, and explore. We teach children to connect with the natural world, make deep connections to a new community of friends, and develop skills and strength within themselves.
Our campers immerse themselves in fun and educational activities focused on community building, outdoor living skills, natural history, farm and food systems, and watercraft. Additional activities include visual arts, performing arts, woodworking, and archery with opportunities for swimming, sports, and recreation during free time.
Come experience the magic of camp and discover what’s inside of you!
Puffin Program (Graduating Grades 2-3)
This 11-day introductory program is just right for younger campers looking for their first overnight camp experience.
Full Session (Graduating Grades 4-8)
This three-week session offers classic camp activities and progressively more challenging trip options at each grade level.
Intersession (Participants must be at least 10 yeasrs old at time of trip, limited availability)
Campers can combine two sessions with a short mini-trip to the headwaters of the Kennebec river and enjoy a unique whitewater rafting and rock climbing experience!
From the first moment you arrive at Camp Chewonki we want you to know you are a welcome member of the community! Your cabin counselors and cabin mates will greet you at the cabin and help you get settled in. In the opening days of camp, we establish community norms & expectations through collaborative work on the challenge course and through the creation of a cabin agreement. The goal: determine who we are as a group and how we want to be as members of the group.
Each day we will think about and work on a value or trait we wish to hold up in our community. At the end of each day, cabin groups will hold an evening meeting to share out how the day went and examine how the daily theme showed up in their experience.
In addition to our work as a cabin group, we build community through shared meals, weekly gatherings, and special events. We work together to make sure everyone gets the fuel they need, both nutritionally and socially, to maximize their enjoyment of the Chewonki experience. Each week we come together around the campfire and under the pines for entertainment and reflection to enjoy each other’s company while considering what the experience, at camp and on the trail, has meant for us.
At the end of each session, we spend our final day creating a cabin plaque and reflecting on our time together. The day culminates in a special banquet filled with songs, speeches and delicious food to commemorate our summer.
This picture is a visual description of the age group progression at Camp Chewonki. The youngest age group is the Puffins. Puffins (grades 2-3 ) come to the overnight camp for 11 days. This age group is the perfect first introduction to overnight camp!
Owls, Herons, and Ospreys (grades 4-8) come to the overnight boys and girls camp for three weeks. Campers in this age group are excited for the next challenge. Those challenges might be more days at camp, a longer canoe trip, or an special project! Loons, Canada Geese, and North Stars (grades 8-11) are the age groups based in Leadership Expeditions. Each of these age groups builds upon the skills and experiences from previous years.
At the heart of everything we do at Chewonki is our mission, and our desire to provide campers with learning in the natural world. When not out on a cabin trip, each participant takes part in a weekly rotation of activities that are at the heart of what we do.
Our daily activity schedule is built around these core elements:
Puffin campers travel to activities as a cabin unit with their cabin counselors and get to participate in each program area once during their session. Owls do the first part of camp as a cabin in order to ensure they get to try each activity at least once. Mid-way through the session, they switch to an elective-based schedule. Heron and Osprey campers do an elective-based schedule throughout their time at camp and fill out a preference form before camp starts to set their initial schedule.
Each cabin or yurt group has a multi-day “cabin trip” built into their schedule. These trips gain in length and skill progression as campers return each year, including canoeing, backpacking, and ocean kayaking experiences.
Cabin Trip Updates for 2024:
Three times a session we have “Chewonki Day,” which is our day for rest and reflection. In the morning, we hold Community Reflection to meet as a whole community and reflect on a Chewonki value together. Cabins do a “bead ceremony” to share their gratitudes for one another. In the afternoon, campers participate in service projects and in the evening we play the Chewonki classic game, Rocks!
Twice a session campers participate in Excursion Day to explore Mid-Coast Maine! Excursion Day activities may include a trip to Popham Beach State Park, going on a local hike, exploring nearby salt marshes, and more.
A couple of times a session, Boys Camp and Girls Camp come together for an all Chewonki evening activity like our beloved Carnival.
Here at Camp Chewonki the days are packed with good friends, good food, and good fun. Each day offers the opportunity to try something new, meet a new friend, and push yourself to overcome healthy challenges in camp and on the trail.
The Chewonki day begins even before the peal of the wake up bell each morning. Campers can get their hands dirty on farm chores, practice their skills of identification on a birdwalk, or experience the crisp morning jolt of a Polar Bear dip at the waterfront.
Wake-up Bell & Wash-up
Audible from just about anywhere on campus, the Chewonki bell signals the official start to the day. Make sure to hop out of bed, get dressed, and tidy your area before going to wash your hands for breakfast!
Breakfast
After a food fact and a reading introducing the day’s theme, enjoy a delicious breakfast of granola and yogurt, followed by scrambled eggs and bacon.
Morning Chores and Cabin Clean-up
As a community, Chewonki believes in the power of meaningful work and collective effort. Part of being a productive community member is helping to make sure things are clean and working properly. Cabins will take turns completing chores like cleaning the bathrooms and shower houses.
Activity Period 1
Learn about how the milk you drink at breakfast started as blades of grass during the Farm & Food Systems activity.
Activity Period 2
Practice building a cooking fire and tying knots to construct a shelter for your group in Outdoor Living Skills.
Lunch
Refuel at the midday meal with a fresh salad or a hearty bowl of soup filled with ingredients from Chewonki’s Salt Marsh Farm.
Offerings for Choice Period
Gather outside for announcements about the Natural History Mystery, choice period offerings, and general swim.
Rest Hour
Take a nap, read a book, write a letter home. It is important to take time to catch your breath, rehydrate, and reapply sunscreen on the hot summer days at Chewonki. Even when the sky is filled with clouds, it’s still important to prevent a sunburn that can get in the way of enjoying camp to the fullest.
Passing Period
Activity Period 3
Join a team sport game, head to the archery range, or jump into an art class.
Afternoon Snack!
Choice Period
Where else would you want to be in the middle of July, but the coast of Maine? Head down to the waterfront for a swim, chill out with a board game, join a mini-activity, or work on a craft project.
Shower Hour/Free time
Get cleaned up and relax before dinner. Write a postcard, or play a game with friends.
Dinner
Enjoy a comforting evening meal of stuffed shells and garlic bread before savoring a chocolate chip cookie.
Evening Activity
Evening activity options rotate throughout the session, and include bunk nights, group games with your age group, or all-camp activities like campfire or Dinosaurs!
Evening Meeting & Wash-up
So much has happened today! What have you learned? Take a moment to gather with your cabin to share your highs, your lows, and your hopes for tomorrow. Once the Evening Meeting is over, it’s time to brush your teeth!
Lights Out
Enjoy a cabin read-a-loud or use your headlamp to catch up on summer reading. Don’t stay up too late though. You and your cabinmates need sleep because tomorrow will be just as busy and fun-filled as today was!
Osprey Lights Out
Ospreys, the oldest Chewonki campers, enjoy a little extra down time at the end of the day, but everyone needs to get to bed to ensure they have the energy to fully enjoy tomorrow.
We aim to provide participants with food that is delicious, nutritious, and sustainably sourced, ideally from our own working farm. Farmers work closely with our kitchen, sharing a philosophy and mission to ensure that the food served at Chewonki fuels the busy bodies and minds of our participants, while simultaneously being yummy! Meals always include options to accommodate those with dietary restrictions.
Campers sit by cabin group with their counselors and activity counselors. Campers select their meal from a buffet served by staff ensuring they get a full plate and are always able to go back for seconds! The meal closes with community announcements, including a Natural History Mystery.
Cabin groups are called upon to work together to establish community guidelines, make group decisions, and keep the space clean and tidy. These experiences, combined with time spent in play together, make cabin communities spaces where participants can create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Cabin Counselors serve to support these communities with daily structures and systems, such as an Evening Meeting at the close of each day where participants are asked to share and reflect on their day, and take the time to look ahead to the next. Additionally, many cabins are paired with a cabin buddy, a support staff member who acts as an additional mentor to participants.
Cabins house 6 – 10 participants, with bunked beds, bookshelves, and space under beds. Bathrooms and showers are located nearby. Cabins are a space of sanctuary during rest hour and evening time, and books, journals, games, and instruments are commonplace.
Our campers live in a mix of classic camp cabins, yurts, and new post-and-beam cabins completed in 2021.
Camp Chewonki is located on Chewonki Neck, a 400-acre peninsula located on the shoreline of Midcoast Maine. The land supports a diverse array of ecosystems including fields, forests, rocky coast, salt marsh, ponds, and farmland – a rich tapestry for experiential learning.
It’s hard to pack all the excitement of a Chewonki experience into a short webpage, so we encourage you to reach out to our team for a phone call, or to schedule a tour in the off season.
We hope to see you at camp next summer!
9AM-5PM M-F
Email: camp@chewonki.org
Phone: (207) 656-1170
Email: info@chewonki.org
Phone: (207) 882-7323
Email: health@chewonki.org
Phone: (207) 656-5869
Email: ar@chewonki.org
Phone: (207) 656-5891
Email: alumni@chewonki.org
Phone: (207) 656-5921
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