Visitors to Kingswood are immediately struck by the low-key, friendly atmosphere of our camp community. Every summer we work to produce that esprit de corps where every boy feels he is an integral member of the group. It starts with young men and boys who come from homes that possess solid core values and morals. Our families expect Kingswood not only to provide a happy and safe environment, but also to be a place which complements their efforts to instill firm distinctions between right and wrong in their children. It is our mission to be a completely wholesome place, at all times and without exception.
A huge fraction of our counselors are former campers. Our Counselor-in-Training (CIT) program provides training to campers who want to become staff. One of our own “Kingswood-grown” administrators guides sixteen-year-olds through this transition year. The Wipfler family, and the administrative team, oversees the program and plays a personal role in the training of the Kingswood staff.
We supplement our staff with highly recommended young men who come through our network. These are friends of current counselors – individuals that they identify as having skills and the demeanor to be good additions to the Kingswood community. After a few days of training, it is often hard for an outsider to tell a newcomer from an experienced staff member.
We also find international staff from a placement agency called Camp America. Individuals found via this resource have been interviewed and vetted by the agency, and are then interviewed and communicate directly with Kingswood before being hired. This is a source that has provided us with diverse and much-loved staff from abroad, many of whom have returned for several years.
Kingswood counselors are a loyal and dedicated group. They take their job seriously, but have fun while doing it. To our staff, being at Kingswood isn’t just work, it’s play. As we always say, “The Staff is Everything”.
Kingswood is nestled on the southwestern shore of beautiful Lake Tarleton, which enjoys pristine waters and a stunning view of Mt. Moosilauke – the gateway to the White Mountains. The lake is two miles long and about 3/4 mile wide with just two year-round homes and four summer dwellings on its shores.
It is no accident that New England was the birthplace of camping in America early in the 1990’s and that the region to this day features more camps than any other. Daytime temperatures are moderately warm, 75-80 degrees on average, typically with low humidity. It often cools down into the 50’s and 60’s at nighttime, affording very comfortable sleeping conditions.
We have great geographical diversity within our community. Many boys come from the east coast, but we have boys from all over the U.S. and around the world. Hanging from the Dining Room rafters are nearly fifty international flags, representing the countries from which we have had campers. No one town, school, or region dominates our population.
Kingswood offers a chartered bus or van (depending on size of group) to and from the New York City area at the beginning and end of both the 4 and 3-week sessions.
International campers or campers flying as unaccompanied minors may fly into Boston, MA or Manchester, NH, where they will be met by Kingswood staff and driven to camp. The cost of the flight is the responsibility of the family, however there is a modest charge for the travel between the airport and camp on our official travel dates. (For internationals, this is included in your tuition.) “Odd-time” arrival/departure plans require consultation with the directors.
The boys live in solid wood-frame buildings with screens, shutters, bunk beds and electricity. Modern bath houses with hot water and private showers are centrally located and a very short walk from any cabin. Outdoor flood lights ensure safe travels at night. Click here for a full description of Facilities.
Because Kingswood is a small camp, we get to know our families very well. Therefore, a great asset is our ability to make cabin match-ups of boys of similar age, temperament and interests.
We think that “getting the cabin placement right” is of paramount importance and we spend many days before camp studying and deliberating on the cabin assignments. Our goal is to create a successful cabin dynamic while still having diversity in regards to personality, geography, and camp experience. Kingswood’s Head Counselor is a masterat placement issues and works closely with the directors throughout the process. We recognize, too, that the youngest campers require special guidance and nurturing. Click here for details about the “Junior Camper Program.”
The most formal time of the day is the morning instructional time block. Boys sign up weekly for three daily one hour “clinics,” with several options available to them for each block. A boy chooses from each of three categories—waterfront, team sports and individual activities. Campers are grouped by age in clinics, but counselors offer varied lesson plans depending on the proficiency levels within the group— a major asset in a smaller community.
From lunchtime onward, campers are offered a variety of activities which change daily, with boys almost always getting their first choice. Team sports, creative games, hiking trips, waterfront activities, and nature projects are among the many staple selections. The weather, boys’ requests, and the director’s sense of balance dictate each day’s options. The flexible approaches we take in programming are very popular with campers and counselors alike and are another area where Kingswood stands apart from many other camps.
Thanks to the flexible programming outlined above, boys can get as much or as little competition as they like. What is important is the environment in which both intramural and intercamp athletic contests are held. Kingswood pays considerably more than mere lip service to the concepts of sportsmanship and team play. A tremendous amount of firm but fair guidance is given our youngsters engaging in competitive games. That Kingswood’s current leaders have coached at the varsity level in several sports goes a long way in enabling our community to maintain the proper competitive perspective. Click Tournaments for details on our competitive sports program.
Most of our trips are designed to take advantage of the lakes and mountains in this beautiful section of America. Hiking, canoeing, fishing and swimming—day trips and 1-3 day excursions—make up the bulk of our offerings. As always, these trips are available to campers as choices, but, admittedly, they are heavily promoted. Most campers go on several trips during a typical stay. Special trips, too, are regular offerings. The Fourth of July parade and fireworks, a New England town fair, and the water slide amusement park are examples of special trips taken annually. All campers get to participate. Learn more about for trips and special events.
At Kingswood, all costs, excluding transportation, are covered by the camp tuition. When the need arises for such items as toothbrushes, batteries and stamps, we simply give them to the boys.
A $150 international fee covers transportation from Boston’s Logan Airport, as well as a loan of fresh bed linens and blankets.
No. The camp is fully equipped to accommodate every camper’s needs in all activities and no boy is ever excluded due to failure to own the proper equipment. However, boys are encouraged to bring along personal equipment items such as ball gloves, tennis rackets and camping gear if they so desire.
Absolutely. Inspection is often a popular time of day. For roughly 45 minutes after breakfast each morning, boys participate in cabin and campus clean up chores. Every cabin assumes extra responsibility for an area of camp in their vicinity such as the picnic grove or the Main Lodge building. On Sunday morning, the boys do a “deep clean” where trunks are re-organized and bed linens are changed. The directors observe the grounds daily and an appointed inspector posts grades by cabins on the bulletin board. Once a week, a special evening ice cream party is awarded to all cabins who meet the minimum standard. Usually, all cabins make the grade.
Kingswood’s infirmary, centrally located and well equipped, is monitored around the clock by two licensed professional nurses. The camp always scores high in the healthcare section of American Camp Association accreditation reviews, ample proof that very strict and safe procedures are followed. Yet, to us, equally as significant as doses of medicine are doses of TLC.
Always cautious, the nurses consult directly with the camp physicians—pediatricians from the nearby town of Bradford, Vermont. For emergencies, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center—one of the finest facilities in New England—is located in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
In case of emergency, we will contact you as soon as possible. Parents will be notified by phone under the following circumstances:
Kingswood nurses and directors generally will not contact parents if a camper is seen in the infirmary for routine problems (e.g., skinned knee, headache) that do not require a physician referral. The decision to consult you in these situations is determined on a case-by-case basis by the camp nurse. Meet our Nurses.
Due to allergies, boys are not allowed to receive food of any kind in care packages. Campers also will not be allowed to arrive at camp with food.
You may be asking, “Just what can I send my son in a care package?” Good question! Here’s what we recommend: think of a care package as a “resupply package”. Smart choices would include new issues of favorite magazines, a copy of the sports section of the newspaper, a new book, a deck of cards, etc. Other potential inclusions could be items that were forgotten at home or have broken, such as flip flops or a flashlight. Please do not send toys or nuisance items! We have all of the equipment necessary to keep the campers busy from dawn to dusk. Plus, remember that space at camp is very limited. Boys live out of their trunks, which are often packed to the brim, and only have a small cubby or shelve area. More stuff from home simply equals more clutter!
Lastly, there is no limit to the number of good old-fashioned letters you can send your sons. They love receiving letters — it’s probably the best way you can show them you love them when they are at camp!
Laundry is done once a week by a private service located in a nearby town. Laundry bags, individually marked, are picked up by the service and returned within 24 hours. There are also washing machines in several locations for laundry emergencies.
General bedtimes are 9pm for junior campers, 9:15pm for intermediates, and 9:30 for seniors. But there are exceptions, both late and early. When the World Cup final game went to overtime, boys had a late night! But the fix to “late lights” often comes the very next day when we either adjust our morning schedule with a late breakfast or have an extended rest hour.
Counselors are always present in the cabins to supervise teeth-brushing rituals, to tell a story or two, and to observe the inevitable “crash” of a full camp’s worth of exhausted creatures. Once their charges have settled down, cabin counselors may leave the building, but we always have several on duty in the general area of the cabins. They stay put until the entire camp is asleep, whereupon they go to bed themselves. The cabin areas are surrounded by the cottages lived in by the administrative staff. We are always on call!
One phone call per session can be scheduled through the camp office manager. Please limit phone conversations to seven minutes or less. We welcome e-mail directed from families to the administration and staff. No concern is insignificant. E-mails to boys, however, are not allowed as they constitute a distraction from his adjustment to being away from home. An exception to the email rule is made for international families, for whom postal mail is often delayed in arriving.
The ticket of admission to our weekly special ice cream party is a hand-written letter. Be sure to respond — campers love receiving real letters from their family and friends!
We believe that good communication among adults is of paramount importance in any institution that works with and raises children- be it a school, an athletic team, or a summer camp. Children feel the safest and most comfortable when they know that the adults in their lives are aligned. Therefore it is one of Kingswood’s missions to communicate effectively both with our parents and with our staff.
Some first-time campers go through an adjustment period which can persist for several days. While we will call you at the first signs of stress, we urge families to place their trust in us; we are very experienced with the homesickness issue and our strategies—always in concert with you—have a marvelous success rate. When other sorts of problems emerge, once again our experience is a good asset. That we commence each staff meeting with the topic “boys of concern” gives testimony to Kingswood’s close personal approaches.
Kingswood is completely nondenominational. There are no religious services at camp. On Sundays, we offer transportation to a local church. The remaining campers participate in cabin meetings followed by an all-camp meeting. These gatherings feature discussions of various virtues such as civility and sportsmanship. We’ve found that campers often listen to and emulate their favorite counselors in ways of which we stodgy old parents can only dream.
Parents’ Visiting Day occurs on the final Friday of the first session (the four week session) and second session (the three week session) from 2pm – 6pm. This is an opportunity for families to see their sons in their element at camp and to enjoy camp themselves; to swim, take out a boat, enjoy our facilities (tennis, golf, archery, etc), or participate in a parent-camper team sport (soccer, softball, etc.). We love having our families on campus – meeting our staff, our campers, and other families; experiencing the welcoming Kingswood community firsthand; and seeing how comfortable and at home their sons have become.
Friday evening (dinner and our closing ceremony) is for campers and staff only, so you’ll want to find a nearby restaurant for dinner (we can make some recommendations if you’d like). Pick up is Saturday morning, with most parents arriving around 9-10am.
Traditionally about 60-70% of families attend; all activities are open to all campers, so even if you are not able to make it to Visiting Day, your camper will still be having a great camp day.
4-Week Session
June 28 thru July 25 $9,250
3-Week Session
July 26 thru August 15 $7,500
5-Week Session
July 12 thru August 15 $10,800
7-Week Session
June 28 thru August 15 $13,125
2-Week Session (1st time campers only)
June 28 thru July 11 $5,100
