in the family
Camp Nominingue has run a family camp for more than 30 years. This year’s family program takes place Aug. 23-27.
All in the family The whole gang can enjoy summer camp fun together By Wendy Helfenbaum
W
hether you want your little ones to get a taste of overnight camp, or you’re a former camper eager to relive the adventures of your youth and share them with your children and grandchildren, family camps are a great way to get out of the city, unplug, and enjoy the wilderness. “Family camp is meant to be relaxing for families: they can do what they like, or join any of our programs,” said Mike Sladden, owner and director of Camp Pathfinder, located on Source Lake in Algonquin Park, Ont., a five-hour drive from Montreal. “In the morning, we teach kids climbing, paddling, swimming, trip training, and ecology. Afternoons, they can choose archery, mountain biking or the ropes course. We also offer a split option, where parents can do what they want while their kids join our campers.” Pathfinder, which celebrates its 104th summer this year, has hosted family camp since 1999, welcoming both alumni and prospective camper families in early August. Sladden, a third-generation Pathfinder camper, said the camp focuses on canoeing and tripping. Families sleep in lodges and tent platforms that are empty while groups of boys are on trips. This year’s session runs Aug. 3-6, and costs $400 per adult, $200 for alumni and camper parents, and $200 for children ages seven to 18. Kids under seven and enrolled campers stay for free. “This is a ‘friend-raiser’ more than a fundraiser,” said Sladden. “We have people coming from all over North America to family camp, 18 • Montreal Summer Camps 2017
Camp Nominingue
including California and Washington state, so we don’t want the cost to be an impediment to them.” Family campers can go on guided paddling, biking, bush hiking or combination trips, Sladden added, noting that once people come to family camp, they stay involved with Pathfinder. “At any given time, you’ll have kids in camp whose fathers were campers that I took out on canoe trips, and those fathers were counsellors when my boys were going to camp,” he said. Camp Nominingue, located 55 kilometres northwest of MontTremblant on Petit Lac Nominingue, has run a family camp for more than 30 years. The program takes place Aug. 23-27, where 40 to 50 families can stay for all five days, or just the weekend, sleeping in tents with wooden platforms and metal cots. At $99 per day for adults and $65 for kids — including meals, snacks, equipment, programming, plus day and overnight trips — family camp is an affordable vacation, ideal for children age four and older, said director Grant McKenna. “Last summer, a grandfather who was a former camper and counselor came with his son-in-law and grandson. It was really cool watching the three generations interacting,” McKenna said. Families can head to the waterfront and take out a canoe, kayak, sailboat or windsurfer. “Our owner, Erik Blachford, who lives in San Francisco, bought the camp in 2015 after it was in the same family for 92 years,” McKenna said. “Erik and his brother were campers in the 1970s; his father and uncle were campers in the 1940s and ’50s. But it was family camp that brought Erik back to Nominingue when his kids were very young. Now, his parents, brother, sister and their families come every summer. It’s become their family reunion place.” Camp Tamakwa’s Labour Day weekend family program debuted about five years ago, and welcomes 30 families from Canada and the U.S. to its location in Algonquin Park on South Tea Lake. Over the weekend, Tamakwa packs in everything from early-morning fishing or yoga to boating, woodshop and ziplining. After beach parties, a barbecue dinner and evening programs, everyone gathers
around a campfire to roast marshmallows and sing songs. Campers age 16 and older pay $250; ages four to 15 pay $150, and children three and younger stay free. “Family camp is the perfect way to end your summer and be in the most gorgeous setting; it’s especially fun if you grab another family and spend it together,” said camp director Margot Perlmutter, who spent 10 years as a Tamakwa camper. “I love watching the kids run around camp enjoying themselves.” Located near Tamakwa on Canoe Lake, the Taylor Statten Camps run a program for 40 families each summer at their boys’ camp, Ahmek. Across the lake sits sister property Camp Wapomeo. “The majority of families are alumni — either they came as campers or their parents did,” said Racquel Posluns, camper-parent relations and logistics co-ordinator, herself a former camper. “The best thing about family camp is giving families the opportunity to remove themselves from the city, and engage in the camping community together.” This year’s family camp is Aug. 25-Sept. 4; families can stay two nights or more. Fees
Camp Tamakwa
Camp Tamakwa’s Labour Day weekend family program welcomes 30 families to camp.
per day are about $90 for children and $150 for adults. Each family gets their own cabin, plus access to activities including swimming, canoeing, paddleboarding, kayaking, arts and crafts, tennis, high ropes, and horseback riding. Evening activities include a coffee house, casino night or kids’ games. “When I speak to parents who are hesi-
tant about sending their children to camp without them, I always suggest they come to family camp and enjoy it together. Then the kids always feel more comfortable,” Posluns said. For the past 20 years, Camp Livingstone in Magog has held two weeks of camp for up to 28 families. While the first week now is full, camp director Brian Murphy still has room in the Aug. 6-12 session. “Family camp was my first exposure to summer camp, and we offer an affordable all-inclusive week of vacation for families in a Bible-camp atmosphere,” Murphy said. Families can relax by the beach or participate in sports, games and crafts. The waterfront has kayaks, paddleboats and waterslides. “We have a wide array of camp activities, such as Kub Kar building and a race, radiocontrolled truck trials and competition, archery, nature walks and geocache,” Murphy said. “Family camp is a great way for families to get to know us, introduce their kids to the idea of overnight camp, and develop lasting friendships.”
Excellent Ice-Kirkland Summer Hockey Camp
PRE-NOVICE NOVICE ATOM PEEWEE • Hockey School • Golf Hockey Academy • Friday All Star Game and Skills Competition • DEK Hockey and Soccer • Power Skating Clinics • Shooting & Stick Handling Clinics
Weekly Camps (Mon-Fri) July 3rd-August 25th Discounts for multiple weeks
(514)-695-4368 2950 Edmond, Kirkland, QC, H9H 5J5 www.excellentice-kirkland.com
Montreal Summer Camps 2017 • 19
All in the family The whole gang can enjoy summer camp fun together By Wendy Helfenbaum
W
hether you want your little ones to get a taste of overnight camp, or you’re a former camper eager to relive the adventures of your youth and share them with your children and grandchildren, family camps are a great way to get out of the city, unplug, and enjoy the wilderness. “Family camp is meant to be relaxing for families: they can do what they like, or join any of our programs,” said Mike Sladden, owner and director of Camp Pathfinder, located on Source Lake in Algonquin Park, Ont., a five-hour drive from Montreal. “In the morning, we teach kids climbing, paddling, swimming, trip training, and ecology. Afternoons, they can choose archery, mountain biking or the ropes course. We also offer a split option, where parents can do what they want while their kids join our campers.” Pathfinder, which celebrates its 104th summer this year, has hosted family camp since 1999, welcoming both alumni and prospective camper families in early August. Sladden, a third-generation Pathfinder camper, said the camp focuses on canoeing and tripping. Families sleep in lodges and tent platforms that are empty while groups of boys are on trips. This year’s session runs Aug. 3-6, and costs $400 per adult, $200 for alumni and camper parents, and $200 for children ages seven to 18. Kids under seven and enrolled campers stay for free. “This is a ‘friend-raiser’ more than a fundraiser,” said Sladden. “We have people coming from all over North America to family camp, 18 • Montreal Summer Camps 2017
Camp Nominingue
including California and Washington state, so we don’t want the cost to be an impediment to them.” Family campers can go on guided paddling, biking, bush hiking or combination trips, Sladden added, noting that once people come to family camp, they stay involved with Pathfinder. “At any given time, you’ll have kids in camp whose fathers were campers that I took out on canoe trips, and those fathers were counsellors when my boys were going to camp,” he said. Camp Nominingue, located 55 kilometres northwest of MontTremblant on Petit Lac Nominingue, has run a family camp for more than 30 years. The program takes place Aug. 23-27, where 40 to 50 families can stay for all five days, or just the weekend, sleeping in tents with wooden platforms and metal cots. At $99 per day for adults and $65 for kids — including meals, snacks, equipment, programming, plus day and overnight trips — family camp is an affordable vacation, ideal for children age four and older, said director Grant McKenna. “Last summer, a grandfather who was a former camper and counselor came with his son-in-law and grandson. It was really cool watching the three generations interacting,” McKenna said. Families can head to the waterfront and take out a canoe, kayak, sailboat or windsurfer. “Our owner, Erik Blachford, who lives in San Francisco, bought the camp in 2015 after it was in the same family for 92 years,” McKenna said. “Erik and his brother were campers in the 1970s; his father and uncle were campers in the 1940s and ’50s. But it was family camp that brought Erik back to Nominingue when his kids were very young. Now, his parents, brother, sister and their families come every summer. It’s become their family reunion place.” Camp Tamakwa’s Labour Day weekend family program debuted about five years ago, and welcomes 30 families from Canada and the U.S. to its location in Algonquin Park on South Tea Lake. Over the weekend, Tamakwa packs in everything from early-morning fishing or yoga to boating, woodshop and ziplining. After beach parties, a barbecue dinner and evening programs, everyone gathers
around a campfire to roast marshmallows and sing songs. Campers age 16 and older pay $250; ages four to 15 pay $150, and children three and younger stay free. “Family camp is the perfect way to end your summer and be in the most gorgeous setting; it’s especially fun if you grab another family and spend it together,” said camp director Margot Perlmutter, who spent 10 years as a Tamakwa camper. “I love watching the kids run around camp enjoying themselves.” Located near Tamakwa on Canoe Lake, the Taylor Statten Camps run a program for 40 families each summer at their boys’ camp, Ahmek. Across the lake sits sister property Camp Wapomeo. “The majority of families are alumni — either they came as campers or their parents did,” said Racquel Posluns, camper-parent relations and logistics co-ordinator, herself a former camper. “The best thing about family camp is giving families the opportunity to remove themselves from the city, and engage in the camping community together.” This year’s family camp is Aug. 25-Sept. 4; families can stay two nights or more. Fees
Camp Tamakwa
Camp Tamakwa’s Labour Day weekend family program welcomes 30 families to camp.
per day are about $90 for children and $150 for adults. Each family gets their own cabin, plus access to activities including swimming, canoeing, paddleboarding, kayaking, arts and crafts, tennis, high ropes, and horseback riding. Evening activities include a coffee house, casino night or kids’ games. “When I speak to parents who are hesi-
tant about sending their children to camp without them, I always suggest they come to family camp and enjoy it together. Then the kids always feel more comfortable,” Posluns said. For the past 20 years, Camp Livingstone in Magog has held two weeks of camp for up to 28 families. While the first week now is full, camp director Brian Murphy still has room in the Aug. 6-12 session. “Family camp was my first exposure to summer camp, and we offer an affordable all-inclusive week of vacation for families in a Bible-camp atmosphere,” Murphy said. Families can relax by the beach or participate in sports, games and crafts. The waterfront has kayaks, paddleboats and waterslides. “We have a wide array of camp activities, such as Kub Kar building and a race, radiocontrolled truck trials and competition, archery, nature walks and geocache,” Murphy said. “Family camp is a great way for families to get to know us, introduce their kids to the idea of overnight camp, and develop lasting friendships.”
Excellent Ice-Kirkland Summer Hockey Camp
PRE-NOVICE NOVICE ATOM PEEWEE • Hockey School • Golf Hockey Academy • Friday All Star Game and Skills Competition • DEK Hockey and Soccer • Power Skating Clinics • Shooting & Stick Handling Clinics
Weekly Camps (Mon-Fri) July 3rd-August 25th Discounts for multiple weeks
(514)-695-4368 2950 Edmond, Kirkland, QC, H9H 5J5 www.excellentice-kirkland.com
Montreal Summer Camps 2017 • 19
