Akeela Family Camp: share the magic of camp with the whole family

A week-long family programme at Camp Akeela. The schedule runs a morning programme, rotating activity periods, a rest hour, an evening meeting and evening activities such as campfires, a talent show and hobby nights. Participation is encouraged but never compulsory: families can take part in all-family events, send children to child-only options, or join the optional adult-only roundtables — guided discussions and workshops that help parents and children get the most out of the week. Parents and children bond as a family, meet other families and spend the week in a place built for neurodivergent children.

The week covers lodging in a private family cabin, meals prepared by the camp's chef and kitchen team, and the camp activity programme. The camp names its extras itself: additional guests beyond four in a family, and linen rental for families who cannot bring their own sheets and towels. Pets cannot come to camp, though the camp can arrange local boarding on request. There is no mobile phone service on site; a business area with satellite internet, a printer, a fax and phones is available during set hours.

Each family has its own recently renovated cabin — electricity, private bathroom with independent shower and toilet stalls, sinks, ample storage and a porch. Beds are made on site and are cot-sized but take standard single (twin) sheets. Families who prefer company may share a cabin with another family; cabins accommodate up to ten people. Families are encouraged to bring their own linens, and the camp keeps a limited supply of sheets for rent if asked in advance.

The camp's chef and kitchen team serve breakfast, a lunch-time meal and dinner, with a mid-afternoon snack and a late-evening snack. The menu mixes kid-friendly favourites with more refined dishes, so that adults and children eat well at the same table.

Arts and media: art, ceramics and pottery, woodworking. Aquatics on Miller Pond: swimming, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, stand-up paddleboarding, rowing and fishing. Land sports: archery, basketball, soccer, softball and tennis. Outdoor adventure: nature and hiking. Also Dungeons & Dragons, LARP and strategy card games. Evenings bring campfires, a talent show and hobby nights.

Family Camp uses the Camp Akeela site: 400 wooded acres in Strafford, Vermont, on Miller Pond, about 25 minutes from Hanover, New Hampshire. On site are the waterfront, playing fields, the arts and woodworking spaces, the dining hall and the renovated cabins, plus a business area with satellite internet, a printer, a fax and phones, open during set hours. There is no mobile phone service at camp.

Family Camp exists because the families who come already share something: children with similar profiles, and the particular work of raising them. Parents meet other parents who understand the week-to-week of it, children meet friends who get them, and everyone does it in the middle of a Vermont summer. The camp's own framing is simple — share the magic of camp with the whole family: build community, enjoy the beauty of Vermont, spend quality time together.