A BOY'S SUMMER LIFE
What is it like to be a Pathfinder camper?...
It's a boy's ideal summer adventure - A Pathfinder summer of enjoyable, exciting outdoor sports and canoe trips - A Pathfinder summer also means growing independence, character, values, abilities, and friendships for life.
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Boys attend Pathfinder from the U.S., Canada, Europe and South America. Our campers hail from 14 U.S. states, 4 Canadian provinces, and 6 overseas countries.
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Since 1914, Pathfinder has hosted a renowned canoe tripping program, with a rich in-camp program of paddling, nature lore / ecology, swimming, athletics, arts, and ropes-challenge. Traditions are many at Pathfinder, including everything from games to awards, and to daily events celebrating our long history of fellowship.
Pathfinder puts the emphasis on friendships and community, on simple-living in a low-technology setting and on a boy's personal connection to the natural world.
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Great food, great friends, great memories - the summer experiences of a Pathfinder camper are one of a kind.
Voices from Camp
"I miss a loon's call at dusk, the sputtering light of a Coleman, bug juice, Treasure Hunts, rinsing off soap in a frigid plunge in Source Lake. I miss scrubbing a wrinkled aluminum pot spotless, splitting cedar, starting a fire with one match in the rain, running a long portage and dipping a tin cup in cool water. I miss watching three brilliant red canoes approach from the horizon, nine paddles lifting in silent rhythm, flashing in the sun."
-Dr. John Herman, Alumnus & Parent
Pathfinder meets its mission to campers and staff in the camp’s outreach to indigenous peoples of the canoe country Pathfinder people have revered since our inception in 1914.
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Pathfinder expeditionary trips paddle to the remote bay communities where our family partners welcome them, sharing traditional knowledge, activities and meals. Closer to home, the Camp welcomes Algonquin and Cree boys and girls through scholarship and a tripping collaborative.
In-Camp Program
Summer days in camp are filled with laughter, fun, tradition and learning.
Summer at Pathfinder is for enjoying the activities and rhythms of north woods camp life. Morning activity periods are for instruction in core or 'Pillar' activities like swimming, paddling, ropes and camping skills. At afternoon "Optionals" campers choose their favorite activities to attend from the Pathfinder repertoire. How about diving, archery, kayaking, art, biking, fishing, climbing and athletics?
Click on an activity below to learn more!
OUR HISTORY
Camp Pathfinder was established on Source Lake in 1914 by Rochester educators Franklin Gray and William Bennett. Pathfinder has been in operation ever since. Past owners Herman Norton, William Swift, Roy Thrall, Mac Rand, Glenn Arthurs and Mike Sladden were all Camp Pathfinder men, who advanced the camp significantly during their tenures.
The current owner, Will Hopkins, is a Pathfinder alumni as well who will continue to steward the camp on Pathfinder Island as a simple, technology-free outpost, a unique community in the heart of wild, world-famous Algonquin Provincial Park. From here, Pathfinder trippers explore throughout backcountry Ontario and Quebec.
Young people come to Pathfinder for experiences that last a lifetime. A summer canoe tripping camp for boys, with a complete in-camp sport and skill program, Pathfinder has become well known for its wilderness tripping and staff leadership programs.
The camp also serves as a coeducational outdoor education destination for school, outdoors and family groups from across the northeast.
The Pathfinder Staff is the soul and strength of our century-old culture. Pathfinder boasts a large staff of young men, homegrown from camper age, with canoe country expertise and a dedication to individual camper attention. A talented, expert complement of young women join in as instructors, directors and health professionals. Together, they create a 1:2 staff to camper ratio unique in camping.
The position of Pathfinder counselor is one of caretaker, role-model friend and teacher, focused on the campers. Pathfinder staff provide guidance and continuity of tradition. They create that all-important positive masculine culture for the campers. They share core Pathfinder values -- fraternity, service, teamwork, heritage, respect for the natural world, and personal goal-setting, achievement, and reflection.
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Our counselors give their guys Pathfinder’s magic mix of challenges and encouragement. They reward each genuine camper effort and milestone. They possess that rarest ingredient - empathy – to blend with the excitement, skills and maturity carried forward from their own camper years.
Our Staff
Contact Us
Email or call the camp office any time. Will and the crew will return your after-hours messages each morning.
Planning a visit? Let us help you with arrangements.
Remember: snail mail is always a treat for your Camper!
Summer Office
Source Lake
Algonquin Park
Huntsville, ON
P1H 2H1 Canada
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(705) 633-5553
May to October
Winter Office
49 Sommer Ave
Maplewood, NJ
07040 USA
(646) 707-1855
November to April
