Discovery Camp

Give your child a “taste of camp” from July 28 to August 1, 2025

Discovery Camp is an extraordinary opportunity for young children (rising 2nd through 4th grades) to experience Chestnut Lake through a 5 day/4 night program filled with excitement, community, and connection. In addition to the action-packed days, campers will gain confidence and make friends that can serve as a foundation for their future summers at Chestnut Lake.

This program will give participants a taste of everything offered at Chestnut Lake through a typical daily schedule including group activities with fellow Discovery Campers in arts, athletics, outdoor adventure, waterfront, and other special activities. Discovery Campers will enjoy creating art projects, playing different sports, getting wet in our Aqua Park, testing their confidence on the ropes course, eating s’mores by the campfire, and much more! Disco Campers will also get to sample the Chestnut elective programs, allowing them to make choices for extra focus in some of our amazing specialty programs.

Tuition for Discovery Camp is $850. Campers are permitted one Discovery Camp experience; subsequent camp attendance will be limited to the First, Second, or Full Summer sessions. All participants who complete Discovery Camp and return the following summer will receive a one-time $250 credit for the First, Second, or Full Summer session.

Here are some basics about the Discovery Camp (“Disco Camp”) program in 2025:

  • Dates for the program are Monday, July 28th through Friday, August 1st
  • Disco Camp coincides with the start of Chestnut’s Second Session (3 weeks), allowing campers to utilize our standard bus transportation to camp from MD/DC, PA, NJ, and NY areas. Parents will also be permitted to drop off their Discovery Campers on Monday by approximately 9 AM.
  • Campers will need to be picked up by parents on Friday between 10-11 AM. We will send information to families in advance with an opportunity to join us for lunch and tours in addition to picking up their campers on Friday.
  • Chestnut Lake has enjoyed a partnership in recent years with the 92nd Street Y (“92NY”) in New York City. In 2025, 92NY families will be invited to enroll their children in Disco Camp to be seamlessly blended into the Disco Camp program. 92NY Disco Campers may be provided with an option for bus transportation from Chestnut to 92NY on Friday (details will follow).
  • The Disco Campers will live on Girls and Boys Campuses, in the same areas as all other 3rd through 8th-grade campers.
  • There will be 2 cabins for girls and 2 cabins for boys, each with 10-15 campers. Because we accept rising 2nd through 4th graders, each cabin could have mixed grades.
  • There will be 4-5 counselors/Junior Counselors in each cabin, all of whom are part of the Chestnut staff team. We will use Chestnut Division Leaders to supervise the Disco Camp staff and campers, with our Assistant Directors (Erica Lakind and Kyle Yahn) providing oversight during the 5-day program.
  • Chestnut Lake’s leaders will hold a Parent Zoom meeting before the summer to help families prepare for the program, and there will be various communications and forms provided in advance. Communication during the Disco Camp program will be limited to parents and Chestnut’s leadership team campers will not have access to technology nor will they be in touch directly with parents (aside from postcards/letters home). Disco Camp parents will have access to Chestnut’s Campanion system including photo uploads and other information. We will also share updates with families via email (like this one).
  • Parents will be provided with a special Discovery Camp Handbook (click here to see the 2024 version) and Packing List (click here for the 2024 version) and the Disco Campers will bring their bags with them on the first day of the program.
  • Prospective families might enjoy reviewing the various resources provided on our Chestnut Essentials site.

For more information about the program, please reach out to Judith Friedman, Engagement Director, by email or phone (516-221-8800, Ext. 1005).