Winona Camps
Winona Camps was founded in 1908. A boy’s residential camp for ages 7-16, which offers exceptional trip program and waterfront activities. Winona is located on 400 acres with almost a mile of shore frontage on Moose Pond in Bridgton, Maine. The majority of our campers live in small platform tent groups of six which creates a wonderful sense of community. The Winona experience strives to preserve a sense of earned accomplishment and perseverance over instant gratification. We encourage hands-on learning as part of a whole experience held together by our constant aim to nurture responsibility, leadership and self-esteem. Activities instruction is available in water sports, wilderness hikes, canoe trips, riding, sailing, kayaking, rock climbing, field sports and much more! Four units grouped by age offer small group instruction with the benefits of a large camp population. The Junior Maine Guide program, co-founded at Winona, is available to campers who are at least 14 years old. Winona is a diverse camp with often thirty states and fifteen foreign countries represented. A veteran staff, with over 85% returning each season, help create the Winona Experience.
Camp Reviews — Memories from Real Camp Families
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| Charles said... |
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| I was a counelor in the Junior camp for three seasons in the early 1950's. The impact of the experience has lasted me all these intervening years. I retired as Dean of Electronic Technology at DeVry University in Phoenix, Az. I worked on the Apollo space program as an Instrumentationm engineer. I was a tech instructor at Military facilities across the country and now am surviving my retirement life which all started at Winona with my 8 weeks as a counselor at Junior Winona. Who knew? |
| Susie said... |
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| My son started his Winona experience in 2019 as one of the youngest campers. He jumped right in and enjoyed every minute with his new friends and the counselors. He talks about it often now that the school year has started and cannot wait to return next summer. I am thrilled about his joy for this special place and think he will have a chance to try even more trips, activities and experiences as he grows up at camp. He loves the choice he gets every day, the special events and the games available during free time. As an active kid who likes to run and play, this is perfect place for him. He did not miss technology or home because he was so busy being joyful and present in what was going on at camp. Thank you to the Winona staff who are all such excellent role models! |
| Dierhow said... |
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| My favorite memory was when i met Will Virden we became best friends. This will be Me and Will 6th year going but its not Uncle Al We are all going to miss you Uncle Al Forever and always |
| Jim said... |
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| All of us Hayes boys worked as kitchen staff in the 60's-we looked forward to it--Mike,Steve me(Jim) and Tim--we lived in the little cabin behind the mess hall
with 4-5 other boys and made $26.12 per week after taxes and had every Sunday afternoon off---What a great job-we all became very successful business men and live all over the country and visit Maine whenever possible--South Portland was our home--we were 13-to 16 years old and are in our 60's now |
| Luch said... |
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| Camp Winona, what a wonderful place! I remember my first summer there. I was about 8 years of age, I made so many friends and had so much fun that I had to come back the next summer and the next and the next and so on. It's hard to believe that I started as a camper and now going back to camp as a staff member for my ninth summer. Camp Winona is such a wonderful place for a boy to know. The amount of fun that you'll have is hard to put into words, you simply have to experience it. For someone who doesn't do much in the summer (Which happened to be me) I advice you to at least try Winona out. You will learn so many vital things that you would have never knew by sitting around or going to the same old beach in you hometown every summer. |
| Kate said... |
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| Winona for me was where I spent the best days of my life. They don't greet you with just a handshake, they greet you with a handshake and a hug. It may sound crazy, but not long after I arrived at Winona, it felt like home. I felt like I belonged. The Ordways are the best employers, they really do know how to treat their staff, they know how to handle them when they are inappropriate, but more importantly, they are also a friend every one. Everyone that works there work as a team, everyone looks out for one another. There are no fakes. The Winona experience just cannot be explained to anyone, you have to live it to truly know what magic it holds. My favourite thing about Winona is staff, the friendliness and the warmth. My favourite thing to do at Winona, sitting on the docks in the evening, looking out across the water and reflecting on everything in my life. Winona is the place where you can escape reality, and no one judges you. |
| Utah said... |
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| My favorite memory was when I did something called the Gauntlet. It is a kind of competition. You're supposed to find little wooden gold coins. At the end of the Gauntlet the whole junior camp did a food eating contest. After that, everybody went to bed. In the morning coach Jim told us the results. And my team got in second place! |
| Anonymous said... |
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| For me Camp Winona means an opportunity to be who I am, for me to express my self and be myself without worrying about being judged by others. It also means I can learn new things that I would never have a chance to learn if was not for Camp Winona. When I first went to Camp Winona last year, which was my first year, by the end of the summer I felt as if I was a part of the family. This year it felt like I was returning to a family reunion and I was seeing all my old friends. Someone who has not been to Camp Winona cannot fully understand or appreciate what camp does for a boy and his trip into manhood. Camp not only helps a young boy become a man, it makes a man. The friends you make at camp will be friends you'll know and keep throughout your life. As years go by many changes happen in my life, but one thing doesn't and that is my love for camp. I can't possibly put into words how much I love and care for camp but I hope that this enlightens people about the kind of family-base that Winona has and how The Ordways have touched many young boys lives. I'll wrap this up, but basically what I am trying to convey is how much I love camp. |
| Joe said... |
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| Winona is not something that can touched or seen. Its a feeling, an emotion that will forever stay with anyone who is lucky enough to spend a summer or 30 on the shores. The amazing thing about Winona is that no matter how long you are away, you never forget the smells, the sounds and the friendships. I get butterflies every time I drive across the causeway and see Moose Pond. I get tears in my eyes on the same causeway when I leave. What type of place can evoke so much emotion? Winona has a special aura about it that makes young boys feel happy and safe. It allows you to forget about the trials and tribulations of daily life. It offers an opportunity to make bonds with people that you would normally never run into in "real life". Boys from around the world come to this special place to laugh and play and THAT is what Winona is all about. |
| Chad said... |
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| My experience with Winona started during the early 70's. My Mom was the nurse at the sister camp, and I landed on the shores of Moose Pond at the age of eight. My fondest memories are of riding in the red stake truck, chasing the medicine stick, and wilderness canoe trips.
I have had an opportunity to return to the shores as a counselor over the past two seasons as I have two camp age children. I discovered that there is a lot of work and planning that goes on behind the scenes to insure that the campers have a safe, and productive summer. What I have witnessed countless times is rapid transformation in the boys. In just a few short weeks I have seen shy boys go from being quiet, to dancing in front of the unit in a "Muscle Beach" contest. Boys who have never shot a rifle become competent marksmen. Boys who have grown up in major cities become comfortable on the trail, and on canoe trips.
As a parent I have seen the transformation that camp brings in both of my children. My son who also started camp at age eight has become competent in many of the activities that camp offers. In addition his social skills have improved, and he has made some special friendships that have lasted over the 4 seasons he has spent on the shores. To my niece, who has come to live in our home, camp has been paradise. A place where she can go to be with friends and forget about the pressures that can sometimes come too early in life. |
| Alan said... |
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| The camp life at Winona was the best time of my life. I was never sad or nervouse to leave home, one because my brother was there and i new that he would be close, but that I knew that I was going to have a good time. There was always somebody to talk to or to do some activity with. The one thing I always liked was that there were kids from all over the world, and you could always talk with them and find out about what it was like in ther country. The food was always one of my favorites along with the banana split nights that happened twice a year and if I know tradition they are probably still happening, Brix Brax to Banana split Night!! The activities from Horse back riding to swiming and rifelry, and archery,and campcraft. There are just to many activities to list. At the end of camp was always difficult because I never wanted to leave because I was haveing so much fun and didn't want to leave my new friends. All I can say is that going to WINONA was the best Time of my life, besides my children being born.I loved Winona and I know that any child that goes will have the time of there lives. |
| Darren said... |
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| I loved the smell of the pine trees, oh, and the food too baby yeah !!! :-) |
| Jas said... |
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| Winona has been better than a home for me. Although I have moved several times though out my life, Winona has always stayed the same. A significant event that happened in my life was going to Winona. Usually for papers like these I am not sincere and I say things that are not necessarily true, but in this I am one hundred percent honest. Winona has helped me for the better in so many ways. The goal of this paper is to prove how significant going to Winona was, and is to my life.
My first year at Winona I arrived unsure of what was going to happen. I was anxious until the smile of Uncle Buck Russell when he unloaded my trunk from my car while he talked with my mom. I met my counselors and said goodbye to my parents. When they asked if I was homesick I replied, “I don’t have time to be, I’m having way to much fun!”. And so was the story of my camper career. In no time I was “in the swing of things” at Winona and having the time of my life. My parents had originally signed me up for half season, but by the end of the week I was begging my parents to stay full. That year the entire tent one stayed full, and we had a blast!
One day as an Inty camper I asked Uncle Packard (my tent one counselor back in 2004) what kind of a kid I was back in Junior. He responded, “You were a ball of fun and rage”. But though out my junior career I learned how to control my anger and use that energy positively. My second year in junior I was a sub-chief and had kids that looked up to me. This was a new feeling to me being that I have an older brother. Having this leadership taught me how to be responsible. It helped me use my energy for instead of anger, for optimizations and leadership.
As an Inty camper my body matured to where I was an active member of the EPs, Oscar showings, ect. I had made a few friends in junior but it took me awhile to get kids to like me. It was in inty where I realized that just because I was bigger than another boy doesn’t mean that he should look up to me. This taught me to be kind and make more friends using my personality. Because of this my personality greatly improved, and I was friendly to more kids. By the end of my three years in Inty I had a good number of close friends.
During senior I used these lessons I had learned and applied them to all aspects of camp life. I found a passion in sailing from which I spent most of my activity periods. I continued to build bonds with my fellow campers, and counselors. Senior didn’t really teach me a lesson until the end. I learned that opportunity seldom repeats itself, and to take advantage of everything you can before it is to late.
At my last awards night as the tears streamed down my face, arms locked with my two best friends Cam Perkins, and Blake Randall, I realized how blessed I was to have the opportunity to experience Winona. And after my CIT year I helped contribute to make the experience for some campers great.
Winona has probably been the most significant event that ever occurred in my life (eight times). The lessons I have learned and for the young adult/teen whom I have metamorphisized into a man, and although I have moved going to winona was the one place where I could feel at home no matter where I lived, as I do now. To be honest I’ve never seen my house, since I went directly from Winona to boarding school. But that house no matter how great could never compare to tent, the wind of the pines, and campmates with which you are holding idle conversation. Although I may have many houses throughout my life Winona will always be my home.
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