Camp Activities
Activities at Birchwood engage every age of camper at every skill level. There is no experience necessary to participate in any activities at Birchwood and all the equipment is provided! At every activity campers of all ages learn, hands-on, in a supportive and encouraging setting. Activities are led by qualified, well-trained adults who hold current certifications necessary to maintain safety at all times.
Building life-long skills on the daily.
Each day, campers go to the "sign up window" to choose five activities to do the following day. Every activity that teaches a life-long recreational skill offers badges to earmark each level of achievement. These embroidered patches are handed out in the dining hall and then are attached to the camper's blue fleece Birchwood scarf (worn at campfire each week).
The Adventures Never End
Archery
Take aim at some real fun at our archery range! Our well-trained instructors introduce girls to the challenging sport of archery by teaching safety rules and proper form one-on-one. It only takes a little practice and some hand-eye coordination to hit the bulls-eye! With continual concentration, you will improve consistency, earning award after award!
Arts & Crafts
Indulge your creativity at Birchwood by signing up for Arts & Crafts! Every day we offer a new project that immerses you in color, texture, and design. Talented and engaging instructors teach crafting skills that can be continued far beyond camp. Nearly every craft involves making a keepsake to take home to enjoy beyond camp - whether it is a leather bracelet, a painting on canvas, decoupage, jewelry box, beaded necklace, or embroidered pillow.
Campfire Cooking
Have a knack for making tasty treats? Well, sign up for Campfire Cooking and you will learn many different ways to prepare food “on the trail.” Depending on the menu, girls learn to cook on a stick over open flame, in Dutch ovens, and with reflector ovens. Entrees, side dishes, and desserts are created with the assistance of skilled outdoor adventure leaders. Want to really test your skills? Sign up for our “Iron Chef” - and you will get to make up your own creations with your teammates in order to impress the guest judges.
Canoeing
Never underestimate the sense of accomplishment you gain once you learn how to steer a canoe well. It opens up a world of adventure on waters near and far! When girls learn to canoe at Birchwood, they are taught to paddle with precision. First, they learn safety rules, how to hold a paddle correctly, and how to enter and exit a canoe without tipping. They are then taught how to forward stroke, backward stroke, do a bow rutter. From there, they master the J-stroke, C-stroke, Draw stroke, and how to pry effectively.
Climbing
A highlight at camp is rock-climbing on Birchwood’s 30 foot, 4-sided molded climbing tower. Each side offers varying degrees of difficulty, starting with the very easiest to “nearly impossible”. Girls are fitted into climbing harnesses by trained instructors and then clipped into a self-belaying line with a back-up safety system. Proper form and technique are introduced slowly so girls can simply get the feel for moving up and down the wall. Additional challenges include climbing blind-folded, climbing against the clock, and graduating through each wall to earn Wilderness badges.
Dance
Shake it baby! You don’t need any formal dance training to sign up for Dance class at Birchwood! Just wear comfortable clothes and be ready to have fun moving your body! Our fun and spirited dance instructors lead a variety of fitness-related classes in addition to 8-count hip-hop choreography. Just check the schedule to see what is offered each day, some choices are: yoga, pilates, Zumba, water aerobics, kick boxing, and swing dancing.
Drama/Theatre
Acting classes are offered everyday at Birchwood so girls can learn the art of improvisation, role playing, voice projection, stage direction, etc. No experience is necessary! Those campers attending for 4-weeks are welcome to audition for the camp play, which involves three weeks of rehearsal, set design, and stage production. Performed a couple nights before the end of a four-week session, these joyful productions are a highlight for both the actors and the audience.
Hiking
Hiking is the foundation of outdoor adventures. Become immersed in nature and explore the outdoors with us. At Camp Birchwood, there are trails to
Horseback
Both English and Western horseback riding are offered at Birchwood, in addition to trail riding. Specially trained and certified instructors work in teams to teach lessons to every level of rider. Since camp owns its horses, their temperaments are well understood and matched accordingly with campers. Girls do not need any experience or special equipment to take riding lessons at Birchwood - however if they plan to ride seriously everyday they may consider packing riding gear and a helmet. In addition to instruction within the riding rings, girls are taught how to take care of horses in all aspects - from grooming, to feeding, to watering, to bridling, to saddling, and so on. Those who want to take additional responsibility are welcome to help gather the horses from their pastures and prepare them for the day.
Kayaking
Stable. Peaceful. Independent. Our flat-bottomed sea kayaks offer a breathtaking method of exploration on water. With only a little instruction, girls of all ages can kayak just for fun on Steamboat Lake for an hour or sign up for extended trips out-of-camp. To begin, girls learn how to enter and exit the kayak properly and how hold their paddle correctly so they can steer with ease. With added practice, girls master the nuance of wind direction in relation to their destination, and how to navigate by map and compass. Advanced instruction includes how to perform deep sea rescues and the correct way to pack gear so it is balanced and waterproof.
Mountain Biking
Birchwood’s gorgeous wilderness setting provides an ideal setting for mountain biking. Hundreds of acres of woods, pasture lands, and daisy-filled fields sit north of camp. Trails bend in and out of these rugged areas for mountain biking and trail riding on horseback. Children are fitted in helmets and placed on a bike just their size. Rides last for up to an hour with several stops taken to rest and investigate nature. Girls who wish to go on an extended bike trip have the option to sign up for a one or two night trip out of camp. These manageable trips involve biking for 3 to 4 hours a day and camping at night in designated campgrounds not too far from Birchwood.
Open Waterfront
The lake is your oyster! Participate in recreational water activities on the open waterfront! Steamboat lake provides endless opportunities for fun. For some kids, whose only swimming experience may be in a pool, swimming in a lake when you can’t see the bottom can be a little unnerving. We embrace this as an opportunity to swim in nature and step out of one’s comfort zone. We have reliable lifeguards on duty to make sure that safety plays a key component.
Photography
Recently added to the Birchwood schedule – digital photography provides campers with the unique opportunity to work with a professional photographer in a real studio setting next to camp. For the first half, they are given 35mm cameras to take photos with around camp. Composition and artistic merit are stressed, along with proper care and use of the equipment. For the second half, girls return to the studio to download their images onto laptops so they can process their photos using Photoshop Elements.
Pottery
Sink your hands into a glob of clay and create a masterpiece! Girls love our open-air pottery studio at camp called “Mud Hut”. Whether you “throw” a pot on one of our kick-wheels or build by hand, pottery provides you the opportunity to express your art 3-dimensionally, within a vibrantly creative and encouraging atmosphere of messy fun! Once dry, projects are fired in our kiln and returned so campers can apply glazes. After a second firing, girls get to take their fully functional pottery pieces back home for display or use.
Riflery
The sport of target shooting is a popular activity at Birchwood. Extensively trained instructors maintain the strictest of standards at Birchwood’s shooting range. Girls are introduced to safety protocol from the beginning and must practice in continually to participate. Beginning in the prone position, girls shoot paper targets with single-shot .22 caliber rifles. As they improve their scores, girls graduate to sitting and then to kneeling, and finally to standing. Awards are presented at every level of achievement.
Sailing
Steamboat Lake is the perfect playground for Nautical adventures of all kinds! With hardly any boat traffic, Birchwood girls have the entire lake as their maritime classroom. And with a fleet of more than 15 sailboats, there is a boat for every kind of sailor in every kind of wind. Instruction begins with learning safety rules, tying knots, identifying boat parts, navigating by point-of-sail, and ship-shaping. From there, girls build on their knowledge, layer by layer, as experienced instructors encourage girls earn badges to highlight their accomplishments. Many campers go on to sail back at home, on vacations, and in college after their beloved sailing days at Birchwood!
Sports & Fitness
Birchwood’s expansive athletic field offers a ton of room for games of all kinds, including soccer, baseball, volleyball, lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee and more. Girls who love to participate in team sports can take a break from typical team competition in favor of casual, “pick-up games” with friends. Often times the rules change just for fun or to involve more girls. Winning and losing isn’t as important as having a ton of fun! In addition to dance, yoga, and aerobics, fitness activities are integrated into evening activities, for example, running in relay races, playing “neighborhood games”, and participating in traditional games like Capture the Flag. Sunday morning activities introduce girls to international sports like Netball and Rounders!
Tennis
Fancy a game of tennis? Talented tennis players from around the world instruct girls of all ages on our courts. No experience is necessary. Just sign up according to your level and you will be taught accordingly. Along with mastering forehands, backhands, volleys, lobs, and serves, girls practice full-court playing and real competition in both singles and doubles. Funny drills and silly games inserted into each lesson keep girls on their toes and giggles on the court. Awards are earned by consistently delivering shots into the same spot and indicating an intellectual understanding of the game.
Tubing
Take a thrilling ride on one of Birchwood’s many inflatable toys! Simply sign up and you and five other campers will be taken out on the lake in a motor boat for some seriously fun times. No amount of skill, experience, or maturity required!
Waterskiing
Our specially certified water ski instructors pride themselves on “getting kids up” on skies right away. It is their goal to instruct girls clearly and effectively so that water-skiing is always a refreshing, thrilling rush! With both junior and adult skies available, girls are fitted into the right equipment for their age and ability. Drivers, always female, keep excellent watch as they gently pull kids out of the water. Since four go an hour, there’s plenty of time for a few tries, learning to go in and out of the wake, advance to slalom, and even drop a ski or get up on one ski only.
Windsurfing
A recent upgrade of Birchwood’s windsurfing equipment has made it easier than ever before to master this exhilarating activity. Wide boards and small sails allow girls to balance properly and stand their rigs up with ease. In one hour, girls are taught the basics of wind direction, hand placement, safety rules, and taking care of your rig.
