Which summer camps in America are the best?

A home away from home, most of our BUNAC staff will happily admit that Summer Camp USA was the best job they ever did.

In fact, some go back to camp every summer – returning to the BUNAC fold each September to do the second best job they ever did. Which involves talking about the first best ever job they ever did.

Wow, we’ve really got to start nailing these intros.

Here are just a few of the camps that our BUNAC team have called home over the years.

Camp Sloane, Connecticut

2.5 hours from NYC in the wooded foothills of the Berkshires, Camp Sloane is traditional camp with a progressive attitude. A tech free co-ed camp for 6-16 year olds, it’s focused on switching off screens and dialling up on adventure. Because instead of the eight hours a day that it’s estimated children spend in front of tech, those hours are spent paddleboarding across lakes, biking through forests and having the summer of their life with new friends.

"By removing technology, you deepen your connections, grow your leadership skills and think outside the box. You build a team and create a family, watching young people who didn’t believe in themselves at the start of summer grow in confidence and self-esteem. When all of that happens because of you, it’s pretty powerful."

Adam, Head of BUNAC Ops Force

Camp Summit, Pennsylvania

Surrounded by forests and spanning a huge lakefront, Camp Summit is a disability co-ed camp for 6-21 year olds. Known as the ‘Magic on the Hill’, the camp caters for a range of abilities including ADD/ADHD, Asperger syndrome, bi-polar disorders, Tourette’s, and verbal and non-verbal disabilities. What all campers share can be a difficulty making and maintaining relationships.

For campers, it’s a place to feel part of a community – growing their skills with traditional camp activities including watersports and the creative arts. For their families, it’s a supported environment where their child can be who they are without fear of rejection or expulsion. And for our Camp Counsellors and Activity Specialists each year, it’s a hands-on opportunity to do a job that really matters.

Camp Kohut, Maine

Located in 100 aces of woodland, this is the camp of Hollywood filmsets – minus the part where you discover your longlist twin and mess with your divorced parents. Under three hours from Boston, it’s an action-packed co-ed camp for 7-15 year olds where they have the freedom to choose between 50 activities – including dance, music, football, fishing, fencing, theatre, singling, radio, golf, lacrosse and archery.

"From weekly cook-outs to running out of your bed at 6am with the rest of the camp into the lake for an early morning dip – you’ll find yourself experiencing and doing things very different to at home. I learned a lot at Kohut, developed leadership and decision-making skills and was encouraged to think creatively to ensure every camper experience was the best it could be."

Kristian, Head of BUNAC Business Development

Camp Kinder Ring, New York States

Less than two hours from NYC, Camp Kinder Ring is a non-profit co-ed Jewish camp for 7-16 year olds. A place where children can be their most active and their most creative, this camp is maxed out with facilities. Including a movie theatre, Olympic Pool, 24-ft climbing wall and eight tennis courts – all wrapped in 100 acres of green woodland. Home to over 50 activities, if you can name it – you can teach it at Camp Kinder Ring. Including gymnastics, tennis, ceramics, rock climbing, swimming, dance, kayaking and 40+ more.

Camp Elk River, Minnesota

A Girl Scout camp for 7-18 year olds, this camp is all girls and no smartphones. Located in 1,200 acres of wetlands, prairies and woodlands, it focuses on building a positive sense of self and sisterhood through outdoor activities and the arts. Think the Queen B of the camp world, minus the pleather and the Grammys.

For Camp Counsellors and Activity Specialists it’s the chance to positively impact young women at a pivotal point in their lives – teaching them to be empowered by their experiences and their relationships, rather than stymied by self-doubt and peer pressure.

Summer Camp USA applications usually close in March each year, with Camp Counsellors and Activity Specialists needing to be in the States by mid/end June. To find out more or apply, click here.