I am often asked by prospective camp families what is most special about Waukeela. There are many aspects of camp I believe to be truly noteworthy. Among these: the beauty of our pine-forested setting; a non-competitive program which helps each girl build a balanced sense of self and community; counselors who want to provide the next generation of Waukeela girls the same mentoring and healthy female role models they enjoyed at camp; and a wonderful set of traditions, many dating back more than 85 years, which provide a powerful sense of continuity as campers return each summer throughout the formative years of their lives.

That’s the camp director speaking, of course. If you ask our younger campers, they’ll tell you what makes Waukeela special is simple: it’s all about friends and fun. Our older girls will tell you it’s also about feeling free from the pressures they experience at school, and getting away from modern technology to spend time in a simpler, more natural world. Indeed, I think every Waukeela girl would say there is no place remotely like camp in the world she inhabits back home.

Various parts of this website provide lots of information about Waukeela’s setting and program, our people and our culture. As special as these are, there is something even more unique about Waukeela. That is the deep sense of attachment which campers, counselors, and alumnae from across the country and around the world all feel towards their camp. To those who have not spent time in our Pine Grove, it is difficult to communicate this intangible sense of belonging, much less the spirit of love and loyalty, which Waukeela girls share. But you may read it in the words they use to describe this place. You may see it in their smiles. And you may hear it in their laughter, and in the songs they sing every day, from morning until night - the same, spirit-filled songs generations of Waukeela girls have sung in the past and will sing for years to come.