Maine summer camps are a heritage industry alongside timber harvesting, fishing, lobstering, boat building, and farming! Summer camps offer children the chance to build confidence and grow in outdoor settings, nurturing them into happy, successful adults who contribute to a better way of life for all. That’s the heritage of summer camp in Maine.
Maine Summer Camps (MSC) represents the Maine Youth Camping Foundation (MCYF) and its 501(c)(4) legislative arm, the Maine Youth Camp Association (MCYA). Founded in 1934, MSC pioneered youth camping and created the first state camp licensing law, which inspired standards used by the American Camp Association (ACA) for national accreditation. MYCA supports youth camping by influencing legislation and regulations in Maine.
Through publications, workshops, trainings, and conferences, MSC serves camps, professionals, and families. It enhances the understanding of camp benefits, helps families find camps, publishes a directory, and offers a camp search tool. MSC provides key educational opportunities, resources, and news, continuing its proud ninety-year tradition of supporting camps.
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Real Kids. Real Camps. Real Maine.
Find A Camp Tool
Looking for camp? Find a fabulous fit in Maine! Use the MSC Find A Camp Tool to explore 140+ camp options. Get a list of camps to explore after choosing session length, camper age, program options, location, and several other variables. Click to visit camp websites and explore the fit further!
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Families have chosen Maine camps for their children for more than a century.
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Real kids. Real camps. Real Maine. Use our online Find-A-Camp Tool to identify camps that are a fit for your child’s needs and interests. Explore 140+ Maine youth camps of all types – day, overnight, and trip – with session lengths varying from one week to eight. Get a list of camp websites to visit and explore camps that fit your search criteria. There’s more of Maine, and more to Maine, than the rest of New England combined: you will find Maine’s summer camps nestled among the deep forests, pristine lakes and rivers, rugged mountains, and more than 3,500 miles of coastline. Treat your child to a REAL summer camp in Maine. The experiences and memories will last a lifetime.
Maine’s camps offer a haven from today’s device-driven world. Through community, friendships, play, and learning, they build independence, confidence, and connection. Immersed in Maine’s natural beauty, kids gain belonging, social-emotional skills, and lasting memories. A camp experience in Maine is truly childhood at its finest.
For Families
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Maine Summer Camps (MSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with 140+ member camps and adventure programs and 150+ business members who provide goods and services for camps. MSC supports and promotes meaningful developmental, educational, environmental, and recreational experiences for children. We engage in activities that enhance the quality and effectiveness of Maine’s youth camps.
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At camp, kids can reach their full potential.
Today’s high-tech lifestyle undoubtedly offers children countless opportunities. But many kids miss out on some of the most important ingredients in becoming healthy adults: connection to nature; exercise and play; meaningful friendships; and positive adult role models. Maine camps are largely “unplugged,” offering chances to connect in meaningful, face-to-face, respectful ways. Time spent at a Maine Summer Camp can restore balance to children’s over-scheduled days, teach lifelong skills and allow friendships to flourish. It can help build a foundation for a successful and happy life.
Maine Summer Camp Job Board:
Have you ever dreamed of working at a Summer Camp? There is truly no job more rewarding. It’s an experience where you can make a real difference in a child’s life. And it’s the most fun job you will ever have!
Camp Jobs
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A job experience of a lifetime awaits YOU at a Maine Summer Camp! Maine Summer Camp Jobs check all the boxes! Gain personal, life, and professional skills. Challenge yourself and grow as a leader. Get paid and receive internship credit to have fun at work. Impact the lives of children and young adults.
Why You Should Work At Camp
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Professional development supports camp pros impacting 60,000 campers and 20,000 staff. The Junior Maine Guide Program, created in 1937 with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, educates youth age 9-18 in a whole spectrum of outdoor living skills. The Level Ground Initiative provides free summer camp opportunities while Camperships make such camp experiences in Maine accessible for Maine’s children.
Our Supporters Fund four initiatives
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