02.3.2010

Vacation Camp for the Entire Family By Mark Garvin With the economy struggling to show signs of recovery, more and more families are looking at vacations in a different light. Many have decided that this is the year to combine the concept of a summer camp with a family vacation. Fortunately, the options are varied at resorts that seem like camps and camps that seem like resorts. The result is a wide variety of choices for summer fun for the whole family. Those who are looking for summer camp for mom, dad and the kids can choose from elegant resorts to rustic cabins by the shore. At the high end of the luxury and price scale is the Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain in Vermont (www.basinharbor.com), a resort where the entire family is kept busy. Also on the shores of Lake Champlain is the Tyler Place (www.tylerplace.com), a more rustic version of the all day camp experience. Both resorts have the feel of a summer camp, especially for the kids, with an emphasis on couple’s time. The resorts take the kids for some or all of the meals, depending on the parent’s choice, and a nonstop whirl of activity. Essentially, both camps take the kids away for a summer camp like experience, keeping them entertained for eight hours a day. Unlike summer camp, at the end of the day the entire family is reunited at their own accommodations. This leaves the parents free during the day to enjoy a few camp activities on their own, from tennis and golf to archery, horseback riding and kayaking. Families that prefer mountains to lakes have a few options, too. Ski areas such as Smuggler’s Notch (www.smuggs.com) boast active kids programs that combine resort activities with mountaineering adventure. The award-winning Smuggler’s program, which traditionally has been structured similar to many resorts with kid’s programs, is adding a new twist for 2010 – Camp Smuggs. Designed for children ages 9-14, Camp Smuggs will be a weeklong supervised overnight camp integrated into the children’s programs and other activities. Campers will stay in ski area townhouses with counselors in groups of five to eight. Smuggler’s new approach is taking a page out of the successful Waterville Valley Sports for a Lifetime Academy (www.sportsforalifetime.com), which until Camp Smuggs launches this summer had occupied a unique position along the camp/resort continuum. Both a day camp and an overnight camp, at Waterville Valley campers stay in a dorm style inn, not cabins, in the resort village just steps away from the White Mountain National Forest . It’s a camp that stresses sports, but it’s not a high pressure training academy for future college stars. The emphasis instead is on teaching the skills and appreciation of sports like golf, tennis, and hiking that kids can participate in for life. Their flexible one-week sessions can be combined in any manner, compared to the typical fixed two- and four-week camp sessions, which allows for greater summer scheduling flexibility. In addition to the traditional camp sessions, Waterville has a day camp option for the whole family. Families on vacation can book a room at the Snowy Owl Inn and send the kids off to day camp, leaving the adults free to hike, golf, take tennis lessons or sleep in and enjoy the mountain air. Day camp ends at four, the extended day camp goes until 9 pm, unless the campers head out for night golf with glow balls. With plenty of options, parents no longer have to wave good-bye to the kids after they drop them off at camp to have all the fun. Choose the duration and location that suits you best – day camps or overnights, cabins or condos, resort or rustic, mountain or lake – there’s no reason to limit the fun to only a few members of the family this summer.