Budget-friendly sleepaway camps on Long Island offer water activities, crafts, sports
Counselor Gina Campbell, center, gives instruction before campers venture out on the lake at Camp Edey in Bayport. Credit: David L. Pokress
Thinking of sending your kids to sleepaway camps in Pennsylvania or upstate New York but stunned by costs that can run about $1,500 a week per child? Check out these lower-cost options right here on Long Island, where you can sign kids up for just one week or the whole summer for, in most cases, about half the fee or less.
Baiting Hollow Scout Camp
This camp (1774 Sound Ave., Calverton) is run by the Suffolk County Council of Boy Scouts. It’s coed and open to both Nassau and Suffolk residents. To be eligible, campers must have completed fifth grade and need to be registered with Boy Scouts of America, says Nina Kelly, program and camping specialist. Most weekly options are $380 to $405, if paid before May 1, then rise slightly. The first week begins July 5 and the last begins Aug. 2. “Rising Sun” camp includes boating, swimming, archery, shooting range, scouting skills and more. Specialty camps are also available, concentrating on aquatics, shooting sports, science or bicycling, and there’s one mini-week for younger kids; 631-727-1614; scbsa.org.
Peconic Dunes 4-H Camp
Peconic Dunes 4-H (6375 Soundview Ave., Southold) is run by the Suffolk County Cornell Cooperative Extension for boys and girls entering third through tenth grade. Cost is $750 a week for each of eight weeks beginning June 28 through Aug. 16. Campers who choose to stay for multiple weeks can enroll in Super Saturday and stay overnight for $219, which includes a trip to a Long Island attraction such as Splish Splash or Adventureland. “We’re still super traditional,” says Lexi Linn, camp operations manager. “They sleep in cabins in bunk beds.” The rustic camp is on a freshwater lake and the Long Island Sound. Activities feature canoeing, fishing, swimming, theater arts, sports, outdoor skills and more; 631-852-8629; peconicdunes.com.
Campers in their cabin play games before they go to bed at Peconic Dunes sleepaway camp in Southold. Credit: Jessica Earnshaw
Quinipet Camp and Retreat Center
This coed waterfront camp (99 Shore Rd., Shelter Island Heights) is owned by the Methodist Church, but campers of all backgrounds are welcome, says Megan Schmidt, camp registrar. While there is a morning gathering in the outdoor chapel and an evening reflection, both focus on values of love, faith, humility, honesty and courage, she says. Campers ages 7 to 16 enjoy arts and crafts, robotics, yoga, dance, swimming, fishing and other more. Cost is $880 per week beginning July 5 and ending Aug. 22; if campers stay more than one week they return home overnight on Saturday. A sailing camp for ages 9 to 16 is $945 per camper. “Sailing is a big program here at camp because of our location,” Schmidt says. 631-749-0430; quinipet.org.
Camp Blue Bay
Camp Blue Bay (103 Flaggy Hole Rd., East Hampton) is run by the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, but girls entering third through eleventh grades don’t need to be from Nassau or even be Girl Scouts to attend, says Laura Bissett-Carr, director of camping services. Cost is $660 per week from July 9 through Aug. 20, for girls entering third through eleventh grades. Girls sleep in platform tents or in a dorm-style building. Activities include swimming, boating, arts and crafts, games and more. For more information, call 631-604-2201 or visit gsnc.org.
Camp Edey
Camp Edey (1500 Lakeview Ave., Bayport) is run by the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County; Girl Scouts cost $475 per week and those who aren’t Scouts just need to pay a $50 fee to join, says Denzel Semple, assistant camp director. Campers entering fifth through ninth grades sleep in bunk beds, and each of the 10 weeks running from July 6 through Sept. 4 offers a different theme, such as glamping, color war, lake life, campfire cuisine and more; 631-472-1625; gssc.us.
Dorothy P. Flint 4-H Camp
This coed camp for ages 8 to 16 (3186 Sound Ave., Riverhead) is run by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County. Camp runs from June 29 to Aug. 22, with weeks beginning each Monday and running through Saturday. Cost is $685 if paid before March 20 and then rises to $730. Campers who want to stay for multiple weeks can opt for the optional weekend stay for $200; campers stay at camp for continued activities and beach time. The camp is on the Long Island Sound with its own beach access. Campers sleep in rustic cabins, says Lisa Goldberg, camp team leader. The camp has a working farm with animals and gardening, and activities include arts and crafts, performing arts, sports, swimming and waterfront activities; 516-832-2591 ext. 11; ccenassau.org.
Campers play a team building game at the Dorothy P. Flint 4-H camp in Riverhead. Credit: Linda Rosier
North Shore Holiday House
This free camp (74 Huntington Rd., Huntington) for girls ages 7 to 11 is open to Long Island children eligible for free or reduced lunches in their school districts. “It’s a very traditional camp. It’s rustic; they sleep in bunks. There’s no horseback riding or archery; we don’t have that much space,” says Beth Packert, president. Each of the four 11-day sessions, which run from June 29 through Aug. 21 and accommodates 50 girls at a time, is filled with activities including swimming, yoga and field trips; 631-427-7630; nshh.org.
Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck
This camp (2 Chet Swezey Rd., Center Moriches) caters to campers who have autism, cerebral palsy, cognitive delays and other special needs. Each weeklong session from June 21 to Aug. 28 focuses on a different age group and costs $1,050; children ages 6 to 15 can attend the weeks of July 28 or Aug. 23. Activities include swimming, fishing, adaptive sports and games, arts and crafts, and campfires. 631-878-1070; camppaquatuck.org.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
