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The Best Boys Summer Camp in New England!

Camp Bournedale is a boys’ summer camp that is beginning its 70^th season of operation. Started by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Gerson, it is now owned and operated by their son, Arnie, who carries on the strong tradition of Bournedale. 

Accommodating 140 boys, Bournedale is located on beautiful Great Herring Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is convenient to the Boston area and Logan Airport, which is less than an hour’s drive. Arrangements are made for out-of-town campers to fly to Logan where they are met by Bournedale personnel. Each camper’s family is called to report his safe trip and arrival. 

Bournedale has superb facilities and each counselor is prepared to give excellent instruction to the campers, who range in age from 6 to 16. All cabins, beautifully finished, house seven to eight campers, a counselor, and counselor-in-training. Cabins are heated and have restrooms and showers. Food serving is done family-style with cabin members eating as a group with their counselors. A sumptuous salad bar and cold cut station has added a wonderful dimension to our food service.

Camp Bournedale is proud of its superb athletic facilities and instruction in a wide variety of areas. It boasts seven tennis courts, two ball fields, and two outdoor basketball courts, all lighted for night play. Many of our competitive programs are held in the evening, making the day available for our other active programs. Outstanding clinics are held in tennis, golf, soccer, and basketball. In each area, we give the kind of excellent instruction our campers really enjoy.

In the tennis program, we have a group of four teachers that features instruction for the beginner to the advanced player. We have our own ladder and intra-camp tournaments. 

Bournedale also has a very active golf program with excellent instruction and play on four local courses: Squirrel Run, Atlantic Country Club, Village Links, and Little Harbor. A resident golf instructor gives lessons to our interested golfers. A new course has opened less than 2 miles from camp. We play there regularly and during several evenings, especially in July, when it is light until a later hour.

In soccer, college coaches, who are superb tacticians, give weekly clinics and are an important part of our fast-growing soccer program.

There are two volleyball courts, two indoor gymnasiums, and a roller blade rink. An arts and crafts room with a ceramics center, a rocketry and model building room, and a new computer center round out the facilities.

Bournedale’s fresh waterfront on beautiful Great Herring Pond provides a safe and supervised swimming area. Campers receive Red Cross oriented swimming instruction, with an additional competitive swim segment. 

Water skiing is very popular with two boats going all day. We provide excellent instruction.  Fifty to sixty boys ski each day. In addition to skiing on two skis, our campers go slalom or on two skis, do the trick skis, go tubing, wakeboarding and knee boarding.  It is “awesome.” 

The sailing program includes ten sailboats in three classes with an excellent instructional program and our sailing regattas. The boats include six sunfish, two Hobie Cat fourteens and two Hobie Cat sixteens. Our pond is one half mile across and three miles long and is excellent for our sailing adventures. 

Bournedale’s windsurfing program is exciting and provides beginner, intermediate, and advanced windsurf boards. After instruction, campers have the opportunity to windsurf on our beautiful lake. It is ideal for this fast-growing sport. The lake is also appreciated by campers who enjoy the very active Canoeing and Kayaking program, using the expanse of Great Herring Pond. 

One of our most popular courses is SCUBA. This course involves classroom as well as open water work under the guidance of a fully certified NAUI instructor. The program takes campers from our own lake waters to a final check-out dive in Cape Cod Bay. Successful completion would yield certification as an open water diver. 

The program at Bournedale is a structured one. In the early years we try to expose the campers to all our activities. Once the campers have sampled all that camp has to offer they get to choose their daily schedule. There is ample free play built into the program, so that it flows and is not rigid. Each evening is specially planned.  

For more information, including our camp DVD, please contact our office at 508-888-2634 or email us at bournedale@comcast.net

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