Situated on 443 acres of pristine wilderness with an 80-acre private lake, Camp Little Notch in Fort Ann is an Adirondack summer camp that features traditional camp sessions for girls ages 8-17 and specialty camps for girls ages 13 and up.
What Makes Camp Little Notch Special?
- Breathe in the fresh air. Hear loons on the lake. Splash in the creek. See the clearest night sky. This is the beauty of our pristine wilderness setting, located on 443 acres in the Adirondacks.
- Experience Harmony with Nature. We create a camping experience that is rustic and unplugged. We believe camp is a place for girls to be screen-free and make genuine, face-to-face connections, all while developing an appreciation for the natural world.
- Since our inception, Camp Little Notch has been a place by girls, for girls. Each session, we develop an intentional community where girls feel safe and supported - a space where they can try new things, be their authentic selves, and make memories that will last a lifetime. We put a special focus on developing camper’s collaboration skills by having them play an active part in deciding what experiences they have at camp. Our small group sizes allow this to become a reality.
Daily Life
Campers are grouped together based on age and assigned dedicated counselors who they spend most of their time with. Groups are small, ranging in size from 8 to 16 campers. Together with their counselors, they work together on Sundays after check-in to design their schedule for the rest of the session. Each group is guaranteed to do certain classic camp activities - like waterfront and arts & crafts. Beyond that, it’s up to the group to choose what other of our 20 activity choices to engage in throughout the week.
What activities are available at Camp Little Notch?
- Build community through teambuilding games. And, a CLN camper favorite - play Carpark Games. The Carpark is our main field in camp. Sometimes it is used for its namesake of parking cars, but mostly it’s where campers get to run and play!
- Swim, canoe, kayak and stand-up paddleboard on our private 80-acre lake. Learn paddling skills under the direction of waterfront staff and play games both in the swim area and on boats.
- One of our campers’ favorite spots on camp is our arts and crafts building, Imagination Station - affectionately known as “I Mag”. Here you’ll master classic camp crafts like tie dye, candlemaking, and friendship bracelets - plus try out new forms of artistic expression that our talented staff lead you in!
- Experience all that our unique wilderness setting has to offer through nature study and exploring our hiking trails. Learn and practice the principles of Leave No Trace for low-impact camping. Become a steward of the environment. Hone your shelter-building, fire-building or compass skills. And enjoy one of our most special opportunities - creekwalking.
- A huge part of the CLN mission is to provide wilderness experiences to our campers. Every Wednesday night, all of our campers go on an overnight somewhere on camp property. We are lucky to have 3 primitive camping sites dotted along the perimeter of our lake, so campers are able to get the canoe trip experience all without leaving site! Campers may also choose to sleep under the stars at the beach, or hike a trail to pick out the perfect primitive sleeping site. The decision on where to camp is determined group-by-group using girl-directed group decision making. On overnights, campers sleep in pop-up tents or completely in the open air. With help from their trained and experienced counselors, campers also cook their dinner, dessert and following morning’s breakfast over the campfire.
- Bullseye! Hone your archery skills. With the help of trained instructors, campers experiment with various bows, work on shooting technique and take aim at all kinds of targets.
- Each evening after dinner we gather together as a whole camp to participate in activities that promote community, laughter and fun! These could be anything from an all-camp twilight swim, to capture the flag, to crazy scavenger hunts. And you can’t forget the campfires! Sunday is an opening campfire to get campers excited for the week ahead. Then, Thursday night is our highly cherished Final Campfire ceremony that takes place at Green Cathedrals - a truly beautiful piece of camp. We use this time to reflect on our time at camp and appreciate all that its given us.
- On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, the choice is totally yours! “Camper Choice” is a time of staff-led electives where each camper gets to decide their own individual activities, choosing from a distinct set of options each time. These activities are determined entirely based on the skills and creativity of our staff members! Past Camper Choice options have included everything from sandcastle building and poetry writing, to bird watching and improv games, to yoga and card games.
Lodging & Meals
- Campers sleep in platform tents that have wooden bases and poles that support a canvas covering and rain fly. In line with our value of Harmony with Nature, tents don’t have electricity. Each tent holds 4 campers, each on their own cot. Tent flaps can be rolled up to create open air-flow or closed to keep the rain out.
- Tents are grouped together in small clusters that we call ‘units’. Each unit has its own assigned counselors and all campers in a unit are of similar age.
- We believe in developing independence at camp, so our campers do not share a living space with their counselors. Instead, their counselors are nearby, within earshot of camper tents and counselors make it clear to their campers that they are always invited to come wake them up in the middle of the night if they need anything at all. During downtime and bedtime, counselors walk around the unit to make sure every camper has what she needs and gets to sleep.
- Our Food Service team prepares a variety of nutritious meals that are intentionally planned to be accessible to all types of eaters. We serve plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and vegetarian-friendly items. At each lunch and dinner, a salad bar is provided in addition to the main course. Additionally, one of campers’ favorite times of the day is snack time - where we gather together at the carpark (main field) or waterfront to have afternoon snack together as a whole camp to help fuel the afternoon’s fun.
- We are experienced in accommodating a variety of dietary requirements such as vegetarian/vegan, gluten free and lactose/egg free. Campers with these dietary needs are served meals that are accessible to them while still being very similar to what’s being served to the larger camp population.