Camp Matoaka
Each summer 300 girls join together and experience the Matoaka blend of adventure, spirit, friendship, and of course lots of fun. Campers return home with confidence gained from skills in activities from the arts, athletics, theater, water sports and adventure.Matoaka's program is tailored to fit the individual, allowing each camper to progress at her own skill level. The ultimate goal is preparing each camper for a richer and fuller adult life through the use of leisure sports and creative talents. Our structured daily program includes activities and special events taught under professional supervision by counselors from around the world. All instructional activities are open to every camper, six days per week, five periods per day. No camper will ever find herself closed out of an activity.In addition, our state-of-the-art facilities include a fully equipped indoor gymnasium, a modern Recreation Hall/Dining Room, newly constructed Health Center, as well as recently renovated bathrooms in every cabin. The Matoaka Arts Center houses arts and crafts, photography, sewing, jewelry making, needlecraft and ceramics. We also have a 450 seat theater we use for evening activities, rainy day programs, and plays our campers perform each session.In activities of a competitive nature, a spirit of friendly competition is emphasized rather than winning, so campers of all abilities can participate freely. In every team or individual sport and in every activity, we stress effort, improvement, and achievement through staff encouragement, expert instruction and weekly rewards for accomplishment. Along with our individually scheduled five instructional periods per day, each camper has two elective periods daily, during which time she may participate in the activity where her special interests lie and receive semi- private instruction.Camp Matoaka is a place where girls will enrich their character while developing everlasting friendships. This is what camp is all about!
Summer Address
One Great Place
Smithfield, ME 04978
+1.207.362.2500
Winter Address
15 Canavan Circle
Needham, MA 02492
+1.781.449.0222
Memories of Camp
Read these stories from our camp community and add yours:
sophia said...
I'm not even sure how to put it in words. Matoaka is my home away from home. It is were all my best friends are. It is were all my sisters are. It is were my second, third, fourth and even fifth sets of parents are. it is were i am the happiest person ever. it is truthfully the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. i have had the most amazing memories there. I LOVE MATOAKA. I WISH I WAS THERE RIGHT NOW. i try to explain to my friends why I love Matoaka so much.. they just do not get it. My aunt went here for 8 years and she wanted her daughters to go and all her nieces to go. I am the oldest.. and when I was 6 i started begging my parents to go... and when I say begging I mean getting on my knees everyday. Then the first day of camp came.. when I finally was old enough... and I was a little nervous.. but then I got there and I never wanted to leave. I just love Matoaka and everything about it. If you are trying to decide if you should go to Matoaka or not... DO IT! You will not regret it ONE BIT! YOU WILL BEG YOUR PARENTS TO GO BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR. YOU AND EVERY OTHER GIRL THAT ATTENDS MATOAKA WILL BE THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD.
shaina said...
From the time my daughter Jordan was born, I looked forward to the day I could send her to my own alma mater, Camp Matoaka. I often rocked her to sleep singing campfire songs and made sure she knew all about our traditions and what a special place Matoaka is. Finally, she was about to embark on her first summer at "One Great Place." I was filled with emotional nostalgia– so grateful that my daughter and I would now share yet another bond. I sent her on her way with a plane letter. I wrote "Jordan, you are so lucky! Today you get to go to the greatest place on earth!" In those first days she was gone, I scoured bunkone.com searching for her face and ran to the mailbox daily. After a few days, her first letter arrived. I anxiously tore open the envelope, desperately hoping she loved Matoaka as much as I had 25 years earlier. Her first sentence said it all- "Mommy, you were right! Camp Matoaka really IS the greatest place on earth!" And I knew I had made the right choice.
belle said...
During my first summer two years ago at Camp Matoaka in Maine, I was really looking forward to learning to water-ski. After many futile attempts to do so much as get up, a simple skill that nearly every girl at camp had mastered, I came to a conclusion- I was simply not good at water-skiing. Two weeks had gone by, and I decided to put down the water-skis and focus on activities that did not require such an immense amount of precision, skill, and balance. Still, I would watch my friends as they flew across the water and wonder to myself, “Why can’t I do that?” This thought resonated with me throughout the fall, winter and spring. In the weeks leading up to camp, I made a resolution to attempt water-skiing again. The day before camp started, I was so excited about my decision; it was all I could think about. That afternoon, I went out rollerblading with my younger sister. As I was flying down the driveway, I imagined I was skimming across the lake on water-skis. I had hoped that by visualizing I would get somewhere closer to my goal. My rollerblading that afternoon certainly did get me somewhere- the hospital with a broken wrist. I felt frustration and anger as I sat in my hospital bed, wondering why I would break my wrist the day before camp began. I would have shaken my fist at the sky, but it hurt too much to bend my fingers. Thankfully, I received a waterproof cast so that I could go swimming. Despite the cast from my knuckles to my elbow, I was still determined to get up on water-skis. Sitting on the dock with my cast, I caught many confused glances from other campers and counselors, curious as to why I was attempting water-skiing with an injury. Originally a difficult obstacle for me, water-skiing quickly became my favorite activity. When I left camp last summer, I was working on crossing 7 wakes in 45 seconds on one ski. I won the water-skiing award at the end of camp, an award that has more than one special meaning to me. Throughout this experience, I felt challenged, overwhelmed and successful. Whenever I would execute a perfect run, I was so proud of myself. Neither my cast nor my fears inhibited me from achieving my goal, and I can’t wait to water-ski next summer at camp.
sarah said...
Each summer at camp matoaka is full of new and exciting memories that i will never forget. All the memories created from bunk 8 and now to bunk 15 have shaped me as a person and have filled my childhood summers with amazing memories. The friendships i have made at Matoaka will last forever and my camp friends are the best friends in the world. My favorite camp memories range from just haning out in my bunk, dressing up insanely for campfires, singing cheers in the rec halls, to getting up on waterskiis for the first time. One of my favorite camp memories was the moment that i learned to waterski. The moment that the boat pulled me up on my skiis i still remember the excitement i felt. I couldnt wait to go back to ski everyday to learn more and improve my skiing. Matoaka is truly my second home and it is constantly in my mind. The memories made at matoaka will last forever.
emily said...
My favorite camp memory was when I got up on my waterskis for the first time. It felt so amazing!! I made so many friends like Ruby, Kelela, Sarah, Francesca, Caroline, and many others. I can't wait for this summer when I get to my favorite place and second home, Camp Matoaka!
becca said...
OH MY GOD! CAMP MATOAKA IS HEAVEN ON EARTH!! EVERYDAY GOES BY AND ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IT I CANNOT WAIT FOR SUMMER AND TO BE AT ONE GREAT PLACE AGAIN!! EVERYTHING IS SO SPECIAL THERE!! MY FRIENDS ARE AMAZING AND MY BEST FRIENDS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!! I AM ALSO FARTHER AWAY FROM MY HOME, THEN SOME, BUT NO ALL OF MY FRIENDS, BUT I DONT NOTICE AT ALL BECAUSE I AM TOO BUSY HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE! THERE IS NO DOUBT CAMP MATOAKA IS MY FAVORITE PLACE!! THE STREET NAME ONE GREAT PLACE IS NOT AND EXAGGERATION!! EVERYTHING IS SO MUCH FUN NO MATTER WHAT WE ARE DOING!! WATERSKIING, CLIMBING, EVENING ACTIVITIES, COLLEGE LEAGE(WHICH MIGHT BE MY FAVORITE PART BESIDE MY FRIENDS), AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE DO IS INSANELY FUN!! I CANT EVEN EXPRESS IT IN WORDS!! CAMP MATOKA IS TRUELY THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! SEE YOU IN 116 DAYS!! AYAYYAY!!<3