OUR PROGRAM

What is Customized Camping?

At Kippewa, every camper creates her own schedule from a tremendous array of activities. With 5–6 individually scheduled activity blocks each day, girls enjoy a fully personalized program that covers all their interests.

  • Daily Structure: Choose from four daily activity blocks, a free-choice period 2–3 times a week, and a dedicated period for swimming or land sports.

  • Evening Highlights: From campfires, talent nights, skits, and treasure hunts to cabin-specific events and camp-wide special activities, evenings bring everyone together for memorable experiences.

  • Weekly Adventures: At least once a week, the entire camp unites for an exciting trip day or special event, fostering community and adventure.

Kippewa girls, ages 7 to 15, are empowered to make their own choices and pursue their own interests. Our caring, nurturing environment encourages girls to try new activities and challenge themselves.

FINE & STUDIO ARTS

Our Fine & Studio Arts program encourages creativity and hands-on learning through a wide variety of artistic disciplines in both indoor studios and inspiring outdoor settings.

  • Painting, Drawing & Photography: Capture nature’s beauty and express your ideas using a range of techniques and materials.

  • Pottery & Ceramics: Learn hand-building and wheel-throwing in our fully equipped studio.

  • Textile & Needle Arts: Sew, knit, embroider, and explore fiber arts with expert guidance.

  • Jewelry, Leathercraft & Woodworking: Create functional and wearable pieces using real tools and materials.

  • Stained Glass & Silk-Screening: Dive into colorful, expressive techniques in small, focused classes.

  • Artist Workshops: Guest artists lead special sessions and campers showcase their work in our end-of-session art show.

Two people engaged in a pottery workshop, sculpting clay at a table. A variety of paintbrushes and pottery tools are visible, along with a red jar and clay pieces.
Children painting by a lake with kayaks and sailboat in the background on a sunny day.

WATERFRONT ADVENTURES

Picturesque Lake Cobbosseecontee is the heart of our waterfront activities at Camp Kippewa. This ten-mile-long lake offers endless opportunities for fun and adventure.

  • Water Sports: Enjoy sailing trips on boats of all sizes, or try your hand at waterskiing on our boats equipped with teaching booms that let beginners experience the thrill of standing up on skis or a wakeboard for the very first time. Windsurfing is always a popular challenge as girls work on their balance and sail control. Plus, our canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding classes let campers explore the local shores at their own pace.

  • Swimming & Safety: Our waterfront staff are certified lifeguards with additional specialty certifications, ensuring every water activity is both safe and fun. Red Cross swim instruction is provided in the protected area of our substantial dock system.

  • Fishing: Our well-known bass fishing lake is the perfect spot for girls to try out fishing from our docks, and out on the open water.

The lake is equipped with everything you need for an unforgettable water experience, including 4 Malibu ski boats, Pico and 420 sailboats, canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, fishing gear, chase boats, and windsurfers.

Girl wearing a yellow life jacket standing on a paddleboard, waves at the camera, with another person in the water holding the board. Lake and forest in the background.
Girl water skiing with guide on a boat in a lake.

EQUESTRIAN

Our riding programs cater to every level of experience in a traditional summer camp setting:

  • Introductory Program: Perfect for first-time riders, offering one-on-one or duo lessons to build a foundation in horsemanship and safety.

  • Core Program: Daily lessons, six days a week, for all levels of riders. Emphasis is on developing strong equitation skills, mastering fundamentals, and building a solid foundation for confident riding. Learn about horse physiology and build deep connections with our wonderful horses.

  • Intensive Program: For dedicated riders and horse-loving girls! Enjoy extended sessions that include not only riding but also hands-on horse care, grooming, and barn maintenance.

  • Kippewa Equestrian Academy: For a focused riding camp experience, check out our specialized 12-day equestrian academy.

Two people wearing helmets walking a brown horse on a dirt path with a white fence in the background, surrounded by greenery.

PERFORMING ARTS

Campers will unleash creativity through a range of dramatic and musical experiences:

  • Summer Theater: Whether you’re stepping on stage for the first time or perfecting your performance skills, choose from Play Performance, Tech Theater, or Stage Craft classes to help create a full-scale musical production in our Playhouse.

  • Drama & Dance: Enjoy improv, camper-written skits, and theater games during drama sessions, and refine your moves in small-group dance classes covering ballet, jazz, modern, and hip-hop—culminating in an annual dance show.

  • Music: Explore your musical talents with instruction in piano, vocals, guitar, keyboards, ukulele, and hand drums, often showcased during our weekly campfire performances.

Group of children and adults in colorful costumes posing on a stage.
Girl performing a jump in a wooden dance studio with other girls watching.
Two young women stand beside archery targets with arrows in them, outdoors surrounded by greenery.
Girl smiling while doing embroidery at a crafting table, with shelves and folded fabrics in the background.
Four girls holding basketballs on an outdoor court, smiling at the camera.
A young girl practicing gymnastics on a balance beam with a trainer assisting her.
Two children playing field hockey on a grass field with colorful cones in the background.
A person inside a wooden structure, laughing and holding a sheet of paper, wearing a light pink shirt.
Two children sitting on a porch using wooden looms for weaving.
Girl playing guitar outdoors, wearing a striped orange and gray shirt.
Person smiling while cutting fabric at a sewing table with tools and equipment.
Group of young girls sitting on wooden steps, holding papers, and singing or rehearsing at a camp indoors.
Young gymnast performing a leap in a gym with children watching
Group of young players practicing field hockey on a grassy field.
Two people sitting on grass playing acoustic guitars outdoors, surrounded by trees, wearing casual clothing with a water bottle nearby.
A group of children and an adult smile around a table with decorated cupcakes in a cabin kitchen. The children are wearing aprons and appear to be at a baking or cooking class.
Girls playing beach volleyball with colorful ball, surrounded by trees and water in the background.
Children dressed in colorful costumes on stage, some holding props like a carrot and a fish, standing around a large cauldron cutout with flames, in front of a vibrant tree mural backdrop, during a theatrical performance.
Young girl playing tennis on an outdoor court, holding a racket and preparing to hit a tennis ball, with other people playing on adjacent courts in the background.
Girl playing basketball outdoors, shooting a ball into the hoop on a sunny day.
Children painting at a table in an art classroom, using paper and acrylic paints, with art supplies scattered around.
Hand holding a stained glass sun catcher with colorful pattern, outdoor background with trees and water.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

Maine’s natural beauty sets the stage for endless exploration with on-camp activities. Campers scale climbing walls, tackle high and low ropes courses, and wander along nature trails to experience the great outdoors firsthand.

People participating in a forest ropes course challenge, climbing and balancing on ropes and platforms among tall trees.

TRIPS

Kippewa campers experience both day trips and overnight adventures that showcase Maine’s natural beauty—from annual beach outings at Popham Beach and camping on Spirit Island to white-water rafting on the Kennebec River and advanced hikes, including trips to Mt. Katahdin.

Our older campers embark on exclusive 4-day/3-night expeditions featuring tubing, berry-picking, visits to historic lighthouses, explorations of coastal fishing villages, and much more.

Learn more about our Trip Program.

A group of people wearing helmets peeking from behind a tree in a forest.

ATHLETICS & SPORTS

Our landsports program is designed to be fun, instruction-based, and non-competitive, meeting girls of all skill levels:

  • Landsports: Engage in softball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, beach volleyball, and field hockey—with groups organized by age and bunk for fun and fitness.

  • Gymnastics: In our new gymnastics pavilion, enjoy individualized coaching that helps you master tumbling, flips, and routines for our annual gymnastics show.

  • Tennis: Hone your skills under the guidance of a year-round college-level tennis coach on four hard-surface courts lit for night play, with private lessons available.

  • Archery & Fencing: Discover traditional archery with certified instruction or try fencing—learning the techniques, stances, and rules in a fun, supportive setting.

  • Fun Extras: A portable Gaga pit keeps the energy high, providing a playful break that’s a camp favorite.

Children practicing archery outdoors, aiming arrows at a target.
Young girl playing tennis on an outdoor court, wearing an orange tank top, white skirt, and cap, mid-swing with a tennis racket.

Beyond structured programs, campers can explore a host of additional passions:

  • Cooking: Master culinary arts—from crafting wontons and guacamole to baking cupcakes—while learning essential kitchen skills.

  • Animal Care: Experience hands-on care with goats, bunnies, chickens, miniature horses, and cows, fostering compassion and responsibility.

  • Community Service & Green Team: Participate in service projects and learn sustainable practices like recycling and composting.

  • Other Interests: Choose from yoga, calligraphy, book-making, stage makeup, stage combat, cheerleading, meditation, martial arts, creative writing, origami, puppet making, and more.

SPECIAL INTERESTS & HOBBIES

Child holding a brown chicken outdoors on grass
Children in a kitchen setting, one holding a mixing bowl, engaged in a cooking activity at Camp Kippewa.

Every night at Camp Kippewa is steeped in fun and time-honored tradition:

  • Evening Activities: Activities range from bunk nights to division nights to all-camp special events.  Some all-camp favorites include our Casino Night, Kippyween, and Gold Rush. Campfires, songs in the dining hall, bunk plaques, camp sisters, ice man and final banquet are just some of the revered camp traditions dating back to the 1950’s when camp first started.

  • Traditions: Our oldest campers plan the annual Lobster Bake, Color War, and weekly campfires—continuing traditions that date back to the 1950s.

SPECIAL EVENTS & TRADITIONS

Two kids dressed up in costumes; one with a colorful bow tie and hat, the other with a blonde wig and glasses, outdoors on grass.
Group of young people at a camp, dressed in colorful, playful outfits, holding various objects, smiling in front of a cabin and trees.
Group of young people sitting on a fallen log in a forest, surrounded by green trees.
Two people wearing life jackets sailing on a small boat in a lake.
Two girls smiling, holding colorful play money, with face paint designs, in a lively indoor setting.
Person windsurfing on a lake with sailboats in the background and cloudy sky.
Children feeding a calf in a grassy field with a wire fence in the background.
Group of people wearing togas and leaf crowns at a camp with trees and cabin in the background.
Two people water skiing on a lake, viewed from a boat with two observers in life jackets.
Five people kayaking in bright yellow kayaks on a lake with sailboats and a distant shoreline.
Four children wearing life jackets swimming in a lake.
Group of people in red shirts having fun with bubbles outdoors.
Two people enjoying paddleboarding on a lake; one person standing and waving, the other in the water holding the board.
Two people sailing a small white and blue sailboat marked "Pico" on a lake, with trees and a clear sky in the background.
Child waterskiing on a lake with one hand waving, wearing a blue life jacket, surrounded by splashing water.
Girl at outdoor event holding handmade poster promoting making pet toys for animal shelters, with other kids seated at picnic table in background.
A motorboat pulling a person waterskiing on a lake.
Two smiling girls in white shirts holding lobsters, standing by a lake with a sailboat in the background.
Group of girls in swimwear jumping and laughing on a sunny beach.
Group of people wearing life jackets playing on an inflatable water trampoline on a lake.
Group of individuals in a dance studio practicing stretching exercises, reflected in mirrors, with wooden walls and natural light.
Group photo of people in costumes resembling milk cartons and cookies, outdoors with trees and a building in the background.
Lake scene with wooden docks, people swimming, and a water slide.
Group of children posing playfully outdoors, wearing mustache face paint and assorted hats. They are smiling and holding red objects in a playful setting with grass and a wooden building in the background.
Two young girls having fun in an inflatable obstacle course
Young girl waterskiing on a lake wearing a blue life jacket, holding onto a pole, with water splashing around her.

BUNK LIFE

Our cabins are more than just a place to sleep—it’s where friendships are built, laughter fills the air, and memories last a lifetime. With cozy, historic cabins, dedicated counselors, and a strong sense of community, bunk life at Kippewa is at the heart of the camp experience. From late-night giggles to bunk traditions that span generations, life in the cabin is where the magic of camp truly begins.

Interior of a wooden cabin with bunk beds and personal belongings, including a fan, bedding, and small furniture.