Disabled Boys
Located in Joshua Tree, Calif., Camp Forrest is a camp for disabled children---both boys and girls---who are physically challenged in a variety of ways; however, campers are strictly separated by gender. This camp is mentioned on the camp clearinghouse site My Summer Camps. Boys enjoy the help of volunteers specially trained to assist them with their various disabilities.
What makes Camp Forrest one of the best summer camps for boys is the peer interaction with non-disabled boys their age. Camp staff offers a number of activities, such as archery, swimming, astronomy, ecology, adaptive sports and participation in night hikes.
Because of the serious nature of the disabilities, sessions are only six days long and the camp restricts the number of participants per session to 200 attendees. The cost for a six-week session in 2009 is $750.
Camp Forrest
6889 Sunny Vista Road
Joshua Tree, CA 92252-2203
(760) 366-3655
www.angelview.org/campforrest.html
Christian Boys
You will find Camp Stewart to be a nondenominational Christian camp for boys as young as 6, serving not only elementary school students but also teens up to age 16. Located in Hunt, Texas, Camp Stewart offers mini-terms of five days or nine days for hesitant campers, but also four-week and eight-week sessions for the seasoned campers.
Because of the wide age ranges the camp serves, the campers are divided by age groups and bunk together in cabins with others of their approximate age. Activities include archery, swimming, rifle handling, horseback riding and also tennis, fishing, crafts, magic and sailing.
It is noteworthy that the camp does not include mandatory Christian faith-building sessions; nevertheless, conflict resolution is handled in a decidedly Christian manner and rumor-mongering, fighting and cowardly conflict avoidance are discouraged. Moreover, the dress code at the camp is conservative in that it requires hair to be off the collar short and no body piercings or earrings may be worn.
2009 camping fees are $4,025 for the four-week sessions, $7,400 for the eight weeks stays, $900 for the five-day terms, and $1,525 for the nine-day camps.
Camp Stewart for Boys
612 FM 1340
Hunt, Texas 78024
(830) 238-4670
www.campstewart.com
Nature-Oriented Boys
Boys aged 10 to 14 enjoy a stay at Camp Night Eagle Wilderness Adventures in Vermont's Green Mountains. This camp seeks to teach boys to live like Native Americans did centuries ago. Lessons and activities focus on wilderness survival, physical fitness, living in harmony with nature and also Native American lore and culture. The camp is primitive; wholly nature-oriented and lacks any amenities that stand opposed to its mission of rugged living and interacting with nature. This is a way to learn how to make things by hand, get to know flora and fauna, live simply and appreciate games that involve mud, water, sticks, rocks and anything else that the forest and lakes have to offer.
In 2010, four weeks of camp cost $2,800, while six weeks run $4,050. This camp is unique in that it also offers shorter stays, such as three weeks for $2,350 and two weeks for $1,725.
Camp Night Eagle Wilderness Adventures
State Routs 103&4
Cuttingsville, Vermont 05738
(802) 773-7866
www.nighteaglewilderness.com
