The program at Nebagamon is individualized and designed to expand on skills campers already have, as well as to discover new talents and passions. This is accomplished by offering a tremendous variety of activities as well as giving campers a significant amount of choice. Our activities are designed to be, for the most part, lifetime skills. That is to say they are activities that the boys will be able to enjoy from ages eight through eighty.
On a typical day at Nebagamon, there are four project periods. Campers get to choose their activities on a daily basis. To help guide them, before summer starts, parents and campers will fill out an activity preference form in order to identify which skills the camper would like to work on. During the summer, the cabin counselors will work with each camper to achieve those goals. The beauty of being able to choose one’s own schedule is that the camper can try lots of new things, discover new interests, and then focus on those activities which he loves most.
We recognize that young people have different interests, and Nebagamon enables an individual to pursue the ones most appealing to him. We care not whether a boy is proficient at serving a tennis ball, cooking an omelet, or paddling a canoe. Our goal for every camper is that he enjoys participating, achieves competency, and feels a sense of accomplishment.
Arts
Arts & Crafts – Express your creativity in a variety of mediums: metal, wood, leather, clay, tile, hemp and watercolor, just to name a few.
Photography – Learn how to take better pictures, experiment with different developing techniques, and print your own photos in our fully equipped darkroom.
M.O.C.A. (Masters of Culinary Arts) – Prepare everything from appetizers to desserts in our indoor kitchen. The best part is that you get to eat what you make!
Music – Whether you are trying to play the drums for the first time or you are an experienced musician, there is something for everyone in the music project, from lessons to band practice for our GTCs, camp’s talent show.
Athletics
Our athletics program is all encompassing. On any given day, on any given project period, we offer multiple sports options. Often times sports are divided by age group.
Basketball – Learn how to improve your game, or pick up a game with your friends at one of two basketball courts with both 8 ft. and 10 ft. baskets.
Disc Golf – An ever changing course around camp will test your “drive.”
Field Hockey – Improve your skills in this game of land hockey and prepare for the Aus Cup tournament.
Football – Join in on a fun game of flag football.
Handball – Work on your speed and agility and have a blast playing this classic school physical education game.
Rugby – Learn to play a touch version of this popular European game.
Soccer – Skill development and pick up soccer games lead up to camp’s Keeley Cup tournament.
Softball – Work on your skills and enjoy a leisurely game on our huge sports field, keeping score on our old school scoreboard!
Speedball – A Nebagamon favorite. A combination of soccer, handball, and football.
Ultimate Frisbee – Increasing in popularity nationwide, learn to play and have fun with the disc!
Volleyball – With two volleyball courts, learn to play and improve your skills.
Climbing
Our 50 foot climbing wall allows you to set some lofty goals and reach new heights! Our instructors will teach you safety, belaying, bouldering, and climbing techniques. There are countless routes to challenge you and few feelings as great as the sense of accomplishment you’ll get from pushing yourself and discovering that you can do what you never thought you could.
Mountain Biking
Learn about bike safety and mountain biking techniques. Ride the three miles of trails on camp grounds and participate in trips to great trail sites in the Chequamegon National Forest and surrounding area.
Range Sports
Archery – Test your skills with a bow and arrow at our range that meets the standards of the Camp Archery Association.
Target Shooting – Learn about gun safety and improve your marksmanship at our target shooting range using our Olympic style pellet guns.
Tennis
One of our most popular projects, we have seven regulation courts both for individual and group instruction and play.
Water Sports
Waterskiing – The quiet lake of Lake Nebagamon is the ideal place to learn to waterski. As you improve, our instructors will help you keep building your skills and you will learn new tricks like how to slalom.
Sailing – Learn beginning skills or sharpen what you already know on one of our X-Class boats, Flying Juniors, Barnett 1400’s, C-Scow, or Hobie Cat. Or, if you would prefer, learn to race a sailboat!
Windsurfing – Catch the wind and explore the lake.
Canoeing – Learn proper paddling techniques, practice rescues, and pass ranks so that you can go on canoe trips.
Swimming – Practice your strokes in Lake Nebagamon, our beautiful, sand-bottomed, spring-fed lake. Or, if you prefer, try your hand at water polo, pushball, water basketball, and a number of other waterfront games.
Rowing – Take out a rowboat for a lazy afternoon on the lake.
Sculling – Test your skills on one of our Olympic-style racing shells.
Fishing – Whether you cast from our fishing dock, or from the deck of our pontoon boat, “The Keeper,” you might land a northern pike, a small mouth bass, a walleye, a crappie or a bluegill.
Wilderness Skills Program
Campcraft – This program is a cornerstone for our wilderness tripping program. Learn important outdoor living skills such as fire building, campsite maintenance, knife safety, outdoor cooking, and more.
Nature Lore – Explore the local environment and get to know more about plants and animals, wildlife habits, geology, astronomy, along with conservation and other ecological concerns.
Orienteering – Introduced in the 1950s by counselors from Denmark, you will be instructed in the use of compasses and map-reading, and you will learn how to use technology for geo-caching.
