Hours before the wakeup bell yesterday, camp was already bustling. Not long after sunrise, over thirty campers gathered at the Big House driveway. Donning hiking boots and baseball caps, backpacks and Sealline dry bags, they huddled in jittery anticipation, waiting to set off on adventures that are sure to stick with them for years to come.
Yesterday morning, four camping trips hit the trail, officially kicking off the 2026 wilderness tripping season. Two of those trips headed to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior’s South Shore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, known for Caribbean-blue water, stunning rock formations and pristine sand dunes. Another group set off to backpack a segment of the Superior Hiking Trail, a 310-mile path along the North Shore of Lake Superior spanning from Duluth to the Canadian border. The final group departed for the Namekagon River for some peaceful river paddling.
Today yet another group hit the trail for the summer’s inaugural journey to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Perched below the Canadian border, the Boundary Waters are a 1.1 million acre preserve, complete with boreal forest, vibrant wildlife, and over 1000 lakes. Boundary Waters trips have been a Nebagamon staple since the early days.
The demand for this first round of trips was extremely high. As village directors went table by table asking who was interested in signing up, each option filled quickly. Some even went to a waitlist. The enthusiasm for getting out on trail this summer is evident. Fortunately, this is just the first wave, and there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone! Tomorrow yet another group will head to the Boundary Waters, and many more trips remain on the horizon. In short order, our 3rd-5th graders will head out on introductory trips with their cabin groups to Eau Claire Lakes near Barnes, Wisconsin and the Brule River, which drains into Lake Superior. For our oldest campers, sojourns to Isle Royale National Park and Quetico Provincial Park for Big Trip loom large, just to name some.
We couldn’t be more lucky about where we’re located in the world. In addition to a perfect camp location, complete with towering pines and a sandy beach, destinations for epic camping trips abound. Immersed in nature for anywhere from 2 to 21 days, Nebagamon campers traverse the Northwoods on excursions unsullied by the distractions of screens at technology. Without distractions, all that matters out there are the people they are with and the place they’re in. On Nebagamon camping trips boys develop grit. They face challenges that must be overcome, and together they overcome them. They learn independence and interdependence, perseverance and positivity. On trail they enjoy delicious food, beautiful sights, and come home with stories upon stories.
While we can’t wait to hear those stories, we hope that their days are long and full. So immersed in the moment, their adventures will surely fly by.
Back in camp, all is well! Here are some of the day’s highlights:
- For the first time this summer, just as our campers have left for their trips, our chickens have left the coop! They’re roaming around the grounds and campers have been loving them: collecting eggs and feeding them dried meal worms. We’ve been working on naming them and so far the campers have come up with Oreo and Abrahen Lincoln.
- We have visitors today for Trails Forward, a program where camp alumni return to share about their areas of expertise. Today’s topic has been gardening and beekeeping! Campers have been planting a garden and enjoying an observational beehive. (Don’t worry, the bees stay in the hive and the sting risk is 0% – I promise!)
- We had breakfast burritos this morning, and reubens and grilled cheese for lunch, with tacos on the docket for dinner
- We’ve been singing a lot today. Rallied by chants of “one more song” we sang In the Good Old Summertime and the Ping Pong Song at breakfast, as well as the standard Han Skal Leve at lunch in honor of a camper’s 12th birthday.
- Campers who attended MOCA this morning baked banana bread – yum!
- At arts and crafts, we started work on a flag for our 4th of July float. I don’t want to reveal the theme just yet, but let’s just say it’s going to be a roar!
- The waterfront has been abuzz (had to throw a bee reference in here somewhere!) with campers out on sailboats, windsurfing, and waterskiing – the weather has been just perfect today and campers are taking advantage!
Really, we’re just having a whole lot of fun up here… just another day at Camp Nebagamon!
All is well in the Northwoods
