Program Essentials
Waterfront
Swim, canoe, kayak, and sail on Lake Pemigewasset.
Challenge Course
Build teamwork on low ropes and confidence on high ropes.
Music and Arts
Sing together daily and create group performances to share weekly.
Outdoor Skills
Build outdoor skills, from starting fires to cooking over them.
Faith
Explore faith in a welcoming environment open to all.
Trip and Travel
Select programs offer hiking, paddling, and NH sightseeing.
A Day in the Life
Explore our Offerings
Elementary Camps
2nd-4th grade
Middle School Camps
6th-8th grade
High School Camps
9th-11th grade
Camp for the whole family!
All ages welcome!
Summer Schedule at a Glance
Not just a number…
At Wanakee, every camper is a valued member of our community. Campers spend the week in a site group of about 12 campers and 2–3 counselors who supervise them throughout their activities. A typical site is co-ed, with a girls’ cabin and a boys’ cabin near one another and a shared fire circle between them.
Site groups explore camp, tackle ropes course challenges, share meals, and reflect on their days around the campfire. With their counselors’ guidance, campers learn to support one another, work through challenges, and live in community.
This small-group model is one of Wanakee’s greatest strengths. By spending the whole week together, counselors get to know each camper as an individual, helping everyone find their place and ensuring no one gets lost in the shuffle.
Facilities
Located in the heart of the New Hampshire’s Lakes Region and a short drive from the White Mountains, Wanakee is the perfect place to experience the outdoors. Our 227 acre property features over 3000 feet of frontage on Lake Pemigewasset, 4 miles of private hiking trails, a historic 1800s farmhouse, and plenty of natural beauty for your child to explore.
Our campers stay in rustic cabins which do not have electricity for the ultimate unplugged experience. Our 16 cabins are organized into 8 site groups, where 2 cabins share a fire pit. Our upper shower house is located centrally, and our campers typically visit the shower house each evening and morning to brush their teeth, take a hot shower, and get ready for the day or the evening ahead.
To learn more about our facilities and take a virtual tour, click here.
Faith at Wanakee
Wanakee is a Christian summer camp owned and operated by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving campers and staff of all faith backgrounds. At Wanakee, we believe that every person is a beloved child of God. Our camp programming focuses on building radically accepting communities and helping campers to form relationships with one another. We meet our campers wherever they are in their faith journey, recognizing that for some, camp is their first and only experience in a Christian environment.
Faith programming is led by our team of volunteer chaplains, who are typically NEUMC pastors. While at camp, your camper will experience faith based programming in the following ways:
Music
Singing is part of everyday life at camp! Before meals, we sing grace; afterward, 3 more songs. A different camper group leads each meal’s singing and helps clean up. You’ll also hear songs around campfires, on hikes, and at the waterfront. On our last night, “Alelus,” a call-and-response song, travels between campsites. We end each week with “Grace and Peace,” a sung blessing as we return home.
Morning Watch
A short program after breakfast where all campers participate in an activity, see a skit, sing songs, and receive the day’s message. Morning Watch messages typically touch on topics relevant to kids of all ages and backgrounds, like experiencing wonder in nature, being good stewards to our land, and living in community with others.
Celebration
A Wednesday night service where campers gather together in our outdoor chapel to reflect on the things they’ve learned throughout the week and share in communion together. Communion in the United Methodist Church is “open table”, meaning that all are invited (but not required!) to participate. To learn more about communion in the United Methodist Church, click here.
Other Programming
Throughout the week, campers will revisit the themes of the day’s morning watch through intentional activities they do with their site groups, which may include service projects or guided discussion around the campfire.