Programs & Activities
Some camps are all about traditions, others are driven by innovation. Some camps seek a well-rounded experience, others are all about individual choice. Some camps want to emphasize competition, others are more about a recreational experience. At Chestnut Lake, we feature a program that is all of these things and more. Daily periods with specialties in Arts, Athletics, Outdoor Adventure, and Waterfront, special rituals throughout the session, and both scheduled and spontaneous activities that become centerpieces of a camper’s memory bank at the end of a summer are important to us. We take great time, effort, and pride in our development of a special combination of activities and programs that will evolve each year.
As a “Session Camp” with campers attending 7-week and 4-week (or 3-week) sessions at the same time, we prioritize the thoughtful balance of programs that will provide a progressive, aspirational arc that leaves campers with lots to look forward to each year whether someone is with us for 3, 4, or 7 weeks. We maintain favorite activities from year to year but also may shift their timing to ensure that everyone has a chance to enjoy them. We introduce new things and build on old standards, always certain to weave a story through the session that gives each camper a beginning, middle, and end to their session.
Programming – including the 6-period daily schedule (each period lasting 45-60 minutes, on average), the evening activities that rotate nearly every night of the session, and special in- and out-of-camp trips and entertainment – is mostly designed, led, and coordinated by our staff, with the Program/Experience Team doing much of the behind-the-scenes work. We do welcome Varsity (9th/10th-grader) campers, outside talent, and others to create experiences, too, that will be favorites in our community.
Group-centered activities bring campers in the same Division (gender/grade) to preset areas for about half of the daily schedule, while elective activities are a chance for each camper to make some choices. We help the campers with the schedule and we guide them through the elective experience, always making sure that counselors are present to assist and support the experiences. The group-centered times will help to provide balance, allowing for a little bit of everything. This includes lots of waterfront time (we want campers in the lake approximately 5 days per week, and in the pool almost daily), and fun shared experiences for all boys or girls in each Division. The electives are sometimes chosen one day at a time, while campers will also enjoy chosen activities for multiple days in a row. No activities need to be selected before arriving at camp. The daily schedule at camp is structured, and we help campers by establishing a routine. But we also enjoy surprises and unscheduled fun. This combines to create a sense of excitement and comfort for our campers.
Daily activities (in Arts, Athletics, Outdoor Adventure, and Waterfront) are run by multiple levels of staff. Specialty Counselors – who often live with and are assigned as counselors with cabins of boys or girls – will be the primary instructors, teachers, coaches, and guides for programs, using their amazing talent and enthusiasm to inspire and support the development of skills, while Area Leaders and Program Directors will be present to ensure the thoughtful design of curriculum, oversight, and implementation of high-level experiences for the campers. Many of these leaders bring professional experience and a deeper understanding of program development to help make the Chestnut experience so well-rounded, challenging, and fun for our campers.
Here are some important highlights of the summer program:
TRIBAL
Our “Color War” program is always a favorite and represents the best of what Chestnut offers. The combination of multi-day, balanced, fun, and highly-spirited activities also incorporates a theme that aligns with Chestnut’s rich history. As new campers know, we send our first-timers a special red Tribal t-shirt before the summer that will be a part of the Tribal Campfire program whereupon campers learn their team: Unami Turtles (Green) or Minsi Wolves (White). Tribal teams at Chestnut are assigned for life – even if a camper returns for many years and eventually joins our staff, they will forever be on the same team as their first summer – and all siblings of that child will be assigned to the same team, too. Here’s a very brief excerpt of the story of Tribal that is read as part of the awesome ceremony of the Tribal Campfire at the start of each session:
“The Minsi and the Unami fought for 150 days. Finally, Igararra, the chief of the Lenape could take no more. He called a council to meet with a representative from each of the ten tribes: the Ciqala, Mato, Watola, Takoda, Sani, Yazhi, Nova, Niabi, Wakanda, and Kaya. They met in a large open field near the lake to discuss terms of peace. Igararra opened by saying, ‘Tribes of Chestnut Lake, we have been at war for 150 days. Can we not put an end to this tragedy and find some way to resolve our differences?’”
Tribal takes place throughout the session (both First Session and Second Session enjoy Tribal), with the major focus being the multi-day period when Tribal takes over more of the daily schedule. It’s during these few days that campers get to learn and sustain the most spirited and much-anticipated elements of the program. There are all sorts of fun activities, ranging from Apache Relay races that involve the entire camp, game shows, sports, creative competitions, and much more. Leadership is a big part of Tribal, as we see counselors chosen as Chiefs and Varsity campers are involved in special aspects of facilitating the multi-day program. Campers who have been at Chestnut Lake before will usually bring some green or white items (t-shirts, face paint, or other fun items) and will often share them with teammates.
To read a little bit of Aaron’s perspective on the power of Tribal, click here to access his blog post, “What Can Color War Teach Us.”
SPECIALTY CAMPS, CAMP SHOWS & INTER-CAMPS
There are a variety of ways that we integrate special experiences into each session that may appeal to different campers with different interests. Our daily elective programming can offer each child a chance for extra time in any of their favorite areas, and our Free Play time that occurs most evenings allows for even more choice for campers to get more of what they enjoy most. But there are a few activities that often become favorites for campers with a range of passions, such as our Specialty Camps, Camp Shows, and Inter-Camps.
Our Specialty Camps (1-day intensives in a focused area) and Academies (weekly semi-private lessons in a focused area) will be announced before the summer. Each session will have a variety of choices, some that may be offered in both First and Second Session, while most may be featured in one session or another. Under consideration for this year are basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, flag football, musical theater, art, and dance as Specialty Camps, with tennis, pickleball, gymnastics and other possibilities in arts or athletic areas for Academy schedules. Specialty Camps (in particular, the regular 1-day programs) will have sign-ups prior to camper arrival and carry an extra fee for each camper.
Our Camp Show is a spectacular chance each session for campers interested in performance or backstage support to sign up. Rehearsals, set, and costume design and other planning take place during flexible spaces in the camper’s schedule to not force them to give up their other favorite experiences to join the Show. The Camp Shows are often musicals.
Inter-camps (or “intercamp sports”) are a great tradition for campers who crave more competition on the fields or courts during the summer. Chestnut Lake is part of the Wayne County Camp Alliance that provides us access to more than 30 camps in the area and the scheduling of head-to-head, invitational, and tournament competitions for all ages in a variety of sports such as basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, flag football, tennis, swimming, and/or others. Participation is based on sign-ups and not tryouts, allowing all interested campers to have a chance during the summer.
By May (early-June at the latest), we will send all families more details about our summer plans for Specialty Camps and Academies.
TRIPS & TRIP FEES
Off-site excursions for campers are a wonderful complement to our expansive on-site program. While a camper’s experience will be much more informed by their time each day in our group-centered, elective, and traditional programming, the chance to leave camp with their peers can be a highlight of their summer and offers special shared experiences.
Following the disruption of typical trip programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have returned to a full slate of off-site trips for all campers (varying by gender/grade groups). Trips follow an aspirational arc for campers, meaning that each session and each summer should offer a camper something new. These are important opportunities for campers on all Campuses to spend time with their friends doing fun stuff away from camp. These experiences last for a longer period and are further away as the campers get older (culminating in an overnight trip for rising 8th-graders, then multi-day trips for all teen program participants in 9th-12 grades). Campers of all divisions typically have 1 trip each session (First and Second).
Trip Fees represent a subsidy. The costs for trips are far greater and are covered by Chestnut Lake. We determine trip fees when we have a better sense of the actual trip plans, group sizes, and related costs. We have worked hard to limit Trip Fees (below) to very similar amounts as 2019/2022 (we had no trips in 2020/2021), despite the variable increases in associated costs since that time and the inclusion of Spending Money in the charges (see below).
A change to this trip subsidy process in 2023 was the inclusion of Spending Money within the Trip Fee charges. In the past, there would be an entirely separate Spending Account that each family would need to establish for each camper. The Spending Account was there to allow us to provide your children with limited spending money during their trips for some items of their choice (we provide all meals, etc. already). We also used the Spending Account occasionally if there were charges for medication refills or other incidental costs that needed to be charged back to parents while campers were at camp.
Many parents provided feedback about the added challenge and confusion that sometimes came from these multiple systems, plus we did spend a great deal of time reminding families to establish the Spending Accounts and then dealt with extensive administration. We have instead opted to just roll in the amounts that we always recommended for campers of each division and do away with the cumbersome steps along the way. With just one Trip Fee for each camper, families will simply pay their camp account balances with the Trip Fee included. We will be sure to provide the spending money to each camper that is needed for them to enjoy their trip without parents having to take extra steps. You will note that 3rd/4th-graders will have no Trip Fees – they will still have trips and will be provided any spending money needed, but we have chosen again this year to cover all of those costs for these campers.
If there are incidental costs during the summer that might have been drawn from those old Spending Accounts in the past, our Office Team will simply reach out to parents to arrange for those costs to be charged to credit cards or e-checks on file (or we will make whatever other arrangements are most convenient).
TRIP FEES FOR THE 2025 SEASON:
| TRIP FEES Division |
Grade in Sept. 2025 |
First Session Amount |
Second Session Amount |
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| Ciqala/Yazhi | 3rd-4th | NO FEE | NO FEE |
| Mato/Nova | 5th | $200 | $200 |
| Watola/Niabi | 6th | $225 | $225 |
| Takoda/Wakanda | 7th | $225 | $225 |
| Sani/Kaya * | 8th | $375 | $375 |
| Varsity 1 ** | 9th | $900 | $875 |
| Varsity 2 ** | 10th | $1,950 | $875 |
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FOR FULL SUMMER CAMPERS, WE WILL ADD FIRST SESSION PLUS SECOND SESSION AMOUNTS. All Full Summer campers will remain at camp for our Intersession period, during which time we may add an afternoon or evening trip (details to be confirmed by June/July) that will be covered without additional Trip Fees. * Planned Sani/Kaya trips include one off-site overnight trip each session. PLEASE NOTE: Trip Fees for the Leadership Training (LT) program for rising 11th-graders will be confirmed and shared separately. |
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