Camp Programs

Athletics

Each camper participates in a wide range of athletics and games. Soccer, baseball, street hockey, shuffleboard, archery, basketball and parachute games are all popular. The athletics program is also a form of therapy for campers and counselors alike, as they get to see individual campers attempt and accomplish some things thought impossible for them before they came to Pine Tree Camp. As in all activities, counselors participate right alongside their campers.

Arts & Crafts

Arts and Crafts sessions are held in a separate building in the center of camp. A variety of creative activities are offered to campers, including drawing, painting, photography, tie-dyeing, pottery, woodcrafts, candle-making and many others.

Dramatics

Pine Tree Camp productions are performed for everyone's enjoyment, either in the dining hall after meals or in the recreation hall, which is completely outfitted with a stage, curtains, special lighting, costumes and props.

Fishing/Boating

The camp's fleet of adapted pontoon boats take campers anywhere on the lake, safely under the guidance of their counselors and the boating director. Campers have the opportunity to see osprey nests, watch the turtles and loons, go on waterborne scavenger hunts and try their luck at landing North Pond's bass and other types of fish.

Kayaking

Kayaking has been a fast-growing, extremely popular activity at Pine Tree Camp. For campers who use wheelchairs, kayaking provides an opportunity to experience a new type of freedom and independence.

Music

Songs and music are a big part of Pine Tree Camp. After meals in the dining hall, under a shady tree and in the evening around the campfire, the campers learn all the songs that make summer camp special.

Nature Program

The completion in 1999 of a quarter-mile, fully-accessible nature trail on the camp grounds greatly increased campers' accessibility to the great outdoors as well as providing a wonderful route to the overnight campsite. Built mostly by volunteers, the trail and a 60-foot, steel-reinforced bridge connecting it to the campsite allow Pine Tree's guests to explore the wide variety of flora and fauna that are seen quite readily along the route.

Overnight Camping

On the western side of camp are two large tents set on wooden platforms in the woods just off a sandy cove. Each camper spends one night here per session to get a real wilderness experience. With their dinner cooking over an open fire, campers sing songs, roast marshmallows, watch the stars come out and listen to the loons calling across the pond.

Swimming

The waterfront supervisor conducts both free swim sessions and individual cabin instruction in the waters of North Pond. Many campers need counselors to take them in and stay with them while other counselors man their positions every few feet along the dock.