Birch Rock Camp

About Birch Rock Camp

Since 1926, Birch Rock Camp in Waterford, Maine has offered boys ages 7 to 16 an unparalleled summer of old-fashioned fun and adventure on pristine Lake McWain. We believe that our warm, cooperative community makes Birch Rock an incomparable place, where boys immerse themselves in an enchanting world of traditional camp activities and cabin life. Campers get a much-needed break from devices and screens, and relish summer days in the forests, fields and mountains of wild Maine.

Birch Rock is proud to be Maine’s smallest boys camp, but biggest in terms of heart and soul! With only 90 boys at a time, just four campers in each cozy, lower camp cabin, and everyone coming together for family-style meals, we build profound community. Campers and counselors gladly ditch their electronic devices and relish the chance to talk, hash things over, confabulate…and listen. For over 90 years, BRC has intentionally stayed small to make sure that every boy is well known, appreciated, and having the best summer of his life.

Our greatest resource is the dedicated staff that keeps Birch Rock rocking and rolling summer after summer. Most staff rise up through the ranks as campers and counselors-in-training, steeped in our unique traditions, rituals and lore. They believe wholeheartedly in Birch Rock’s mission: turning modern boys into old-fashioned gentlemen. Our counselors are highly trained to soothe homesick campers, create esprit de corps in a cabin of rambunctious boys, and generate enthusiasm for daily cabin clean-up and bedmaking! And at Birch Rock, everyone learns to Shake a Hand, Make a Friend.

We are blessed to be on the shores of tranquil Lake McWain—a place where boys can revel in being boys. We pride ourselves on Birch Rock’s traditional, back to basics approach. Our original Lodge has been lovingly restored, but there’s no need for lavish facilities when the main attraction is nature in all its grandeur. A boy’s imagination and can-do spirit are sparked by learning to coax a fire to ignite, hit a bullseye with an arrow, and paddle a canoe to a campsite in the wilderness. Birch Rock offers plenty of energetic fun, but also downtime for campers to rest, read, and daydream—and come evening, listen to the enchanting call of the loons.