I was a camper at Camp Palawopec for 2 years. I had been to other camps and none of them came close. Some made you sign up for classes that you took all week long. Others had set agenda that everyone followed. And rules! Palawopec was different. And it continues to be different. As a kid, I was immersed in a world of possibility as each day offered something different: swimming, fishing, horse rides, mtn biking, caving day trips, canoe trips, kayaking on the lake, crafts, checkers tournament, backpacking, rock climbing, and many many more. It's an all-inclusive, overnight camp for boys and girls ages 8-13. Campers stay in primitive open air log cabins for 1 or 2 weeks or more in concurrent sessions. Some sessions are co-ed while others are specific boys or girls. After suffering through years of school where everything is designed to assimilate, Camp Palawopec celebrates the uniqueness in all of us and encourages individualism. Don't like the twelve activities offered that day at morning announcements? No problem, grab a counselor and head off to do your thing! With a camper-to-staff ratio of no more than 2-1, there's always someone around to help each kid find their outdoor passion. This is where Palawopec excels. I spent 13 summers there, under Mike Nickel's leadership, working my way up to co-director and can attest that this camp does change lives. Many of my fellow staff alumni have gone on to work in the outdoors, environmental science (myself included), as well as become successful in many other lines of work.
Typical day at Camp Palawopec: Breakfast bell rings at about 8am. Kids wake up and head down to the dining hall for pancakes, french toast, cereal and juice. Next they return to their cabin to make their bed, brush teeth and get ready for the day. Everyone gathers at flagpole for morning announcements and activities. Some of the options mentioned above take place every day, as well as many others, including overnight backpacking trips, field games, archery, and a high ropes course. A few hours later it's time for lunch and everyone has a big appetite after an active morning. Campers get a chance to rest in their cabins after lunch for about 30 minutes. Then the bell rings out across the valley and that signals that it's time for SWIM! Everyone puts on their bathing suit and runs down to the sand beachfront to start swim session. Multiple lifeguards, a buddy system and swim tags ensure a safe environment. The lake features a floating high dive, a wooden raft, kayaks, a zip line across the lake and a rope swing. It's a great way to cool off on a hot summer day. Just when your appetite starts to grow again, we head down to the commissary after swim for a snack or cold drink before hearing what afternoon activities will be offered. Finally, we head back to flagpole to take down the flag and head down to dinner. After that is an all-camp evening game in the pasture such as Capture The Flag, Ultimate Frisbee, or softball. One more snack at commissary tides everyone over for the upcoming evening campfire that winds down the day. Wooden benches at both a lakeside and hillside campfire ring are a great place to hear kids and counselors play guitars, banjos, drums, and flutes. Kids are encouraged to get up and tell stories, act out skits and sing along. We end each day of the 10 week summer by singing Taps and the kids, worn out from another day of adventure head back eagerly to their bunk for the night with their counselors. There's a reason Camp Palawopec has been hosting campers for over 50 years. Camp Palawopec changes lives. I encourage you to let it change yours! read more