FAQ

Most unit leaders are parents, or teachers, or professionals that deal with children during the scholastic year. They are responsible for managing all of the details of their campers’ experience at camp including parent communication, daily activities, health and nutrition and general well being. This could include keeping an eye on camper hygiene, interaction with their peers and overall disposition. Unit Leaders are parents’ main point of contact for their campers.

Once a week, campers sit down with their unit leaders or counselors and fill out a ‘pick sheet’ in which they rank their top choices from all of our activities. Anywhere from 3 – 5 activities a day are then assigned to the campers by our highly skilled activity programmers. The programmers take into consideration the campers rankings, age, and skill level prior to assigning the activities.

Electives are activities that each camper chooses for themselves and bunk activities are assigned by the camp for all of the campers in a bunk. Lower camp will choose 3 elective and the upper camp will choose 4 electives. Bunk activities are activities that each campers participate in with their bunk mates. This adds to the cabin community and also gives camper exposure to activities they may not have chosen on their own.

Camp Chateaugay also has the Big Brother Big Sister program where older, seasoned campers are paired with new, younger campers. It provides a buddy system for the young as they have an older brother or sister to speak with about anything. They’ll spend special meals together as well as spending time together during some evening activities.

We are a technology free camp for campers. Campers can use their smartphones or tablets en route to camp, but when they arrive, all electronics are collected and safely stored for the summer. CIT’s are allowed their electronics in a designated area from 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM daily. Campers are allowed to use MP3 player for music as long as it does not allow wifi or video (we highly recommend the “CampFire player” available at www.campfireplayer.com), as well as kindle or other book readers.

All campers and staff are required to adhere to our rules and regulations that are clearly listed in the Camp Chateaugay Handbook. Any behaviors that fall outside of our rules and regulations are subject to disciplinary action, including but not limited to a call home to parents and in extreme cases, expulsion from camp. Parents are always consulted prior to any disciplinary actions.

Visiting Day is always the last day of our first session. We have a list of local hotels in the area close to camp listed within our camper handbook. Parents are not allowed to sleep over on camp property.

We highly recommend labeling all items that are brought to camp. Each week our unit leaders review the lost and found to hopefully return as many lost items as possible. We do not recommend sending any highly priced or sentimental items in case campers lose or misplace items. We will do our best to help to find lost items but Camp Chateaugay we are not responsible or liable for any lost items at camp.

Although we are an unplugged camp we do have a service within our parent portal on Campsite that allows parents to email their child as many times as they like. Once a day all emails, letters, mail will be delivered to each child after their lunch break. Each camper will then be able to reply once per day. We also set up one phone call per child per session to their parents.

Absolutely! A tour during the summer is a great way to see camp in action. Please email info@chateaugay.com to schedule a visit.

1. Check-in: Upon arriving at Camp Chateaugay, campers and their families will check in at the registration area at the entrance of the camp. Campers will be escorted into camp by their counselors and/or unit leaders.
2. Health screening: Upon entering camp, all campers will undergo a health screening at the “Pillbox” (the name of our health center.) This includes a lice check as well as any other essential health related issues. 
3. Move-in: After checking in, campers will be guided into their cabins so the children are able to unpack and meet their new bunk mates.
4. Once settled in, if parents dropped off their campers, they will depart and campers will be play some bunk activities, games and icebreakers to help get to know each other and go for their swim test.
5. Welcome dinner: at dinner time, campers will have a welcome dinner with their cabinmates and counselors. This is a chance for everyone to get to know each other and begin building friendships.
6. Orientation: Once settled into their cabins, campers will attend an orientation session. This will cover camp rules, safety procedures, and daily schedules.

Overall, the first day at Camp Chateaugay is exciting and filled with opportunities to meet new people, try new things, and begin a summer of fun and adventure.