Lanakila

A thrilling challenge in a supportive environment, the High Ropes Course is designed for diverse ability levels and has opportunities for many different kinds of success. The Ropes Course emphasizes physical and emotional safety, positive support, and decision-making. In a supportive and safe setting campers set personal goals and are encouraged to stretch their limits as the course proceeds. The High Ropes Course offers the thrill of perceived risk-taking and the pride of personal accomplishment.

Lanakila’s spacious Archery range accommodates 10 targets and allows campers to shoot at distances from 20 meters to 40 meters. Quality instruction is combined with fun activities like balloon shoots and archery poker, and safety and proper form are emphasized in every activity. We also have a nine hole archery golf range with an end of summer Masters’ Golf Tournament, as well as an archery clout field where we shoot arrows 75 to 100 yards.

Swimming is a mix of learning and refreshing summer fun. Campers see improvements in skill and comfort through one-on-one and small group instruction with our experienced staff, and the fun begins with our fourteen-foot-tall water slide, our spring diving board and the famed high dive tower. An avid swimmer can challenge himself even more by joining our swim team or attempting the “Purple Albatross”; a five-mile swim around the perimeter of Lake Morey.

In Biking, campers can cruise on the road around beautiful Lake Morey, ride nearby single track trails, and test their skills on an obstacle course. They can even learn some tricks! For beginners, we teach mountain biking basics, and for those who want to gain proficiency in bike maintenance, there are opportunities to learn skills like tube repair and brake and gear adjustment. Campers enjoy riding all over campus during Biking!

We have a dedicated building that houses our Arts Department which provides opportunities for campers to express themselves through a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, ceramics, 3D drawing, paper crafts and even our annual puppet design and showcase.

Athletics provides endless opportunities - flag football, basketball, rugby, ultimate frisbee, street hockey, or baseball. As well as individualized and team coaching from experienced counselors, many campers enjoy the “Ameden League,” a first-session intramural baseball tournament open to all campers. Eight teams face each other to reach the final championship, an all-camp event where the Athletics department staff pulls out all the stops.

From zipping around Lake Morey in our wooden sail canoe, touring the swamp in a kayak, joining 12 other campers in one of our 30’ long boats, or canoeing on the Rangeley Lakes in Maine, campers can spend a lot of time on the water! Viking Honors shape many activities as campers learn proper techniques to land row boats along docks or how to roll a kayak after it’s been overturned. After mastering skills, campers may venture out on flat and white water trips throughout New England.

This is the backbone of the outdoor experience at Lanakila. Campcraft teaches fundamental skills of wilderness survival whose mastery allows us to enjoy nature more fully—not just as observers, but as participants. Campers learn to build fires, tie knots, create shelters, cook over a camp stove, put up tents, and through the Viking Honors program, camper learn skills of self-reliance, comfort in the camping environment, and a sense of stewardship for the world around them.

Our rich history of Performing Arts inspires our first session camp musical. Nearly 40 boys participate in putting together a traditional musical for the entire camp community on “Show Weekend.” Campers tackle different roles, including acting, singing in the chorus, and helping with back stage and lighting. A few of our favorites have included “Oklahoma,” “Oliver,” “Li’l Abner” and “Damn Yankees,” and the show is always a big part of a Lanakila summer.

A naturalist once said, “You never really know what you’re looking at until you know its name.” At Exploring, campers learn to stop, look, and listen to the world around them. Learning the names of trees and ferns, birds and bugs, they begin to see the environment around Lanakila differently. Whether going on an exploration of the swamp, the Big Brook, or climbing up the side of a waterfall, campers gain knowledge that can change the way they see the world and the way they see themselves.

Lanakila’s Sailing fleet of four J/Y 15’s, two Sunfish, a classic day-sailer, and one impressive, handcrafted Viking Ship are used by novice sailors under the supervision of counselors and also soloed by experienced camper skippers. Campers learn skills from basic knots to identifying boat parts, to reefing a sail, and finally to racing strategies. Our weekly regattas with our sister camps provide opportunities to improve racing technique, and a chance to pursue racing ranks of crew or skipper.

Music is everywhere at Lanakila. A bugler’s call in the morning; rousing voices mixed with laughter at morning assemblies; campers strumming guitars and picking out melodies on the piano. We learn to value the music we make ourselves; we sing in groups and as a whole camp, we play in the band, and we listen to music of all kinds. Whether budding virtuosos or practically tone deaf, Lanakilans discover music is a central and joyous part of camp life.

Photography at Lanakila is a hands-on approach to learning. Campers are taught the entire process of shooting, developing and printing with the use of the camp’s 35mm cameras and darkroom. Activities range from Camera Wars to Photographing Cheese to Open Shoot to Sports in Action, and even making personalized baseball cards. Campers create prints that and they can be proud of and that help them truly understand the process of photography.

Riflery teaches campers not only an appreciation of the safe use of guns but larger lessons about themselves. Trusted with a dangerous and delicate instrument, campers learn a sense of responsibility and operate within a strict system of safety. Campers gain a reverence for the rules of the range and appreciate that with riflery their attitude and composure will affect their performance. Riflery stresses competence and calmness, rewarding campers who work hard to develop their self-control and concentration.

Vikings play Tennis on two clay courts, two all-weather courts, and the large practice backboards at Lanakila. Players find good competition or just play for fun, and campers of all ages and skills take private lessons, join in singles or doubles matches with Hive and Aloha, and try their hand at the intramural tennis ladder.

The sound of hammers pounding away on a variety of projects in the Woodshop can be heard all across camp. Our experienced staff provides a safe environment and offers the campers the opportunity to develop new skills, from the initial plan, to the design process, and finally, to nailing the final piece of wood into place. Campers work on such projects as miniature sailboats, racecars, wood-turning, furniture design, and more!