Chewonki has been offering wilderness experiences for girls since 1976, when we launched our coed expeditions. In 1996, we introduced our first all-girls programs, designed to teach leadership and wilderness camping skills to girls in a challenging, fun, and supportive environment.  From 2002 to 2007, Chewonki offered a unique program called the Canoe Expedition for Maine Girls.  In 2007, after nearly a decade-long search for a permanent site for our Girls Programs, Chewonki found a simply stunning location on the edge of a vast protected wilderness in northern Maine.  Pleasant Lake Wilderness Camps situated on Fourth Debsconeag Lake on the edge of the Nahmakanta Public Reserve Land will be the new home for Chewonki Girls! The rustic and beautiful camp will open in the summer of 2008, serving girls ages 11-17, with an introductory program for girls ages 8-11 based on Chewonki Neck.

The seed of this exciting new development was planted years ago at Chewonki and was accelerated in the last several years with the overwhelming success of the Canoe Expedition for Maine Girls. Last year, Chewonki’s Board of Trustees created a Girls Planning Advisory Committee whose mission was to explore a future for Chewonki girls. The Canoe Expedition provided the catapult for those discussions and, because the program has proved to be so rich, it only made sense to model the new program after its success. Çhewonki’s camp for girls will revolve around these central themes of wilderness travel, and building in girls’ confidence, appreciation and lifelong skills to journey through wilderness.

The future of Girls Programs at Chewonki is bright!  Now we can start on our mission to offer more girls the rare and expansive opportunity to explore the natural world in a challenging, fun, and nurturing environment, returning home with heightened self-awareness, expanded horizons, and a renewed sense of wonder. 

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