Camps with financial aid in Vermont

$7,625–$12,465/session

Marking its centennial in 2026, Brown Ledge is a girls' camp (ages 10–17) on Malletts Bay of Lake Champlain in Colchester, built around a distinctive "freedom of choice" philosophy that lets campers help shape their own daily schedule across horsemanship, theater, riflery/archery, water sports, and the arts.

As published: 2027 pricing: 8-week session — Tier 1 $12,465 / Tier 2 $11,465 / MPB Scholarship (need-based); 4-week session — Tier 1 $8,525 / Tier 2 $7,625 / MPB Scholarship. $800 deposit

Ages 8–14 · $3,595–$9,270/session

Camp Betsey Cox is an overnight camp for girls, young women and gender non-binary campers on Burr Pond near Rutland, founded in 1953 and still a family business. Campers completing grades 3-8 choose from activities including riding, a farm, pottery, weaving, performing arts and outdoor skills, and older girls can join a three-year Leadership program. Sessions run from two to eight weeks.

As published: 2027: Session 1 (three weeks, June 27-July 17) $5,047; Sessions 1 and 2 (five weeks) $8,413; Session 2 (two weeks, July 18-31) $3,595; all three sessions (eight weeks, June 27-August 21) $9,270. Early enrollment discount of 3 percent by December 31; tuition discounts and payment plans available case by case.

Ages 8–16 · $560–$780/week

Camp Downer is a Sharon-based overnight camp for ages 8–16 on a 705-acre property with fourteen sleeping cabins, positioned squarely around affordability, with voluntary tiered pricing as low as $560/week and one- and two-week sessions built around aquatics, archery, riflery, sports, and the arts.

As published: One-week sessions (2026, voluntary tiered pricing): Tier A $780 / Tier B $670 / Tier C $560. Two-week session (Session 3 only): Tier A $1,540 / Tier B $1,430 / Tier C $1,320

Ages 5–17 · $375–$2,000/session

Camp Farnsworth is a 240-plus-acre overnight and day Girl Scout camp with its own 50-acre lake in Thetford Center, serving girls in grades K–11 through weeklong resident sessions, short campettes, and specialty programs such as horseback riding. The camp traces its roots to 1909 and became a Girl Scout property in 1959.

As published: Programs range roughly $200–$2,000 depending on session length (e.g., 2-night sessions ~$375; 5-night ~$800–$950; 12-night ~$1,500–$2,000); $100 non-refundable deposit required at registration

Ages 9–14 · $9,800–$13,800/season

Nearly 100 years old (founded 1927), Camp Killooleet is a screen-free, deliberately non-competitive traditional sleepaway camp for ages 9–14 on 300 acres bordering the Green Mountain National Forest in Hancock. It's distinguished by camper-choice scheduling and an unusually broad mix of sports and arts offerings, including ceramics, woodworking, silverwork, and video.

As published: Full summer session: $13,800 (camp also lists a "calculated cost to cover expenses" of $14,300); July-only option for first-time campers (one month): $9,800. Tuition covers all food, activities, trips

Ages 10–15 · $3,950–$8,350/session

Camp Kiniya is an overnight camp for girls ages 9-14 on the shores of Lake Champlain, founded in 1919 and run by Camp Dudley since 2006. Campers have a single 25-day session, choose arts, athletics and outdoor majors, and take age-scaled hiking, climbing or canoe trips in the Green Mountains. Tuition is offered in tiers with a tuition assistance option.

As published: 2027 tiered tuition shared with Camp Dudley: Tier 1 $8,350 (true cost), Tier 2 $7,250, Tier 3 $6,150, Tier 4 $5,050, Tier 5 $3,950, and Tier 6 is the tuition assistance program with a financial aid application. Non-refundable $400 deposit (or a reduced amount). Camp states over 22 percent of campers at both camps used tuition assistance in 2026.

Ages 8–14 · $9,400–$14,475/session

Lanakila is an overnight camp for boys and gender nonbinary youth in grades 3-8 on Lake Morey, run by the Aloha Foundation. Campers choose from daily activity periods that include sailing, ropes, archery, woodshop and a first-session camp musical, with a minimalist, rustic approach. Sessions run three weeks, seven weeks or longer through a Bridge program.

As published: 2027: full seven-week season $14,475 (June 25-August 11); each three-week session $9,400 (June 25-July 18 and July 20-August 11); Bridge program (eight weeks, from June 21) $14,475. Campership aid is based on household income.

Ages 6–13 · $150–$175/week

Camp Memphremagog is Newport's municipal summer day camp, based at Prouty Beach on Lake Memphremagog for children entering grades 1–7, with themed weeks (Jurassic Week, STEM Week, Around the World Week, etc.) and CPR/First-Aid-certified staff.

As published: 1-week session: $150 (resident) / $175 (non-resident); 2-week: $300/$350; 4-week bundle: $500/$600; full summer: $1,000/$1,200

Ages 8–14 · $3,595–$8,413/session

Camp Sangamon is an overnight camp for boys and non-binary children on 200 acres with a small lake near Rutland, founded in 1922. Campers direct their own day by choosing from over twenty activities, including waterfront, creative arts, a farm and garden program, riding and hiking trips. The community is about 90 campers living in cabin groups of eight to ten with three staff leaders.

As published: 2027: two-week sessions $3,595 (July 18-31 and August 1-14); three-week Session 1 (June 27-July 17) $5,047; Sessions 2 and 3 (July 18-August 14) listed at $6,728; Sessions 1 and 2 (June 27-July 31) $8,413. Enroll by December 31 for a 3 percent discount; need-based aid and payment plans available.

Ages 5–18 · $250–$5,500/session

Smirkus Camp is a circus arts camp held under big top tents on a 35-acre hilltop campus in Greensboro in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. It offers day and overnight options from a one-day Smirkling introduction for ages 5-12 through multi-week placement-based programs for ages 12-18, taught by circus coaches in acrobatics, juggling, aerials and performance. Campers can choose female, male or non-binary housing in two dormitory buildings.

As published: 2027: Smirkling day camp (June 19, ages 5-12) $250; Smirkling Overnight (June 19-20, ages 6-12) $495; All Levels one week $1,825 and two weeks $3,650 (ages 8-16); Intermediate two weeks $3,650 (ages 12-18); Intermediate Skills Intensive $3,850; Advanced Individual Acts three weeks $5,225; Road Show three weeks (July 25-August 14) $5,500. Layover between sessions $350.

Ages 6–17 · $450–$1,070/session

The Community Sailing Center on Lake Champlain in Burlington runs summer day camps teaching sailing to ages 6 through 17, led by certified instructors. Options include sailing-only camps by level, foiling and big-boat camps, lake adventure camps with canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, and partner camps that pair sailing with yoga, painting, swimming or tennis. Week-long and two-week sessions run through the summer, with a lottery process for registration.

As published: 2026: Level I sailing (ages 8-15) $565 per session; Level II two-week camp (ages 9-16) $1,070; Waszp Foiling (ages 13-16) $585; ages 6-7 sailing camp $595; Lake Adventure four-day camps $450-475; yoga, painting and tennis partner camps $545-580.

EPIC Music Camp is a one-week classical/traditional string-music camp run by Catamount Arts in its air-conditioned St. Johnsbury arts center, inspired by the global El Sistema music-education movement. It's led by named faculty and offers instruction on violin, viola, cello, and bass along with ensemble performance.

As published: $100/week tuition, with a 20% sibling discount

Essex Junction Recreation & Parks runs a traditional full-day municipal summer camp at Maple Street Park and local EWSD schools, alongside a STARS-accredited licensed afterschool program during the school year. It's a classic community day-camp model with arts and crafts, sports, games, and swim instruction.

As published: Not published

Ages 4–17 · $1,400–$7,200/session

Farm & Wilderness is a large, historic (operating since 1939) system of six ACA-accredited overnight and day camps spread across a 4,800-acre property in Plymouth, offering a traditional mix of outdoor/wilderness skills (hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, organic farming, carpentry) and the arts for ages 4–17. It stands out for its sliding-scale "campership" pricing model, which makes a nominally expensive camp ($7,200 base for a 3-week session) accessible down to a few hundred dollars for lower-income families.

As published: Overnight camps (3-week session): $7,200 base; sliding-scale "campership" $1,320–$7,200 based on family income. The Clearing (2-week overnight): $4,900 ($887–$4,900 with campership). Barn Day Camp (2-week): $1,400 ($300–$1,400 with campership)

$200/week

GEMS is a Randolph, Vermont nonprofit running week-long summer camps for middle-school-aged youth focused on confidence-building, relationship skills, and leadership, through crafts, games, peer support, and community service activities.

As published: 2026: "The cost of camp will remain the same for 2026: $200/week."

Ages 9–15 · $700–$2,600/session

Hosmer Point is a co-ed residential camp on a lake in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, part of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center family and run by a nonprofit foundation. Campers in grades 3-9 attend 13-day sleepaway sessions and set their own daily activity schedule. Tuition uses an honor-system, income-based sliding scale, and the campus is unplugged.

As published: Sliding scale for 13-day camps (camp lists 2026 brackets): $700, $1000, $1300, $1600, $1900, $2200, $2500 (true cost of camp), up to $2600 and above; tuition covers meals, lodging and programming with no additional fees. 2027 sessions: June 20-July 2, July 4-16, July 18-30, August 1-13.

Ages 8–16 · $5,975–$12,650/session

Keewaydin Dunmore is a boys' overnight camp on Lake Dunmore in the Green Mountains, established in 1910. Campers ages 8-16 combine in-camp activities with a canoeing and hiking trip program, and each camper takes a camping trip every month. Older campers can join extended canoe trips into Quebec.

As published: 2027: 8 weeks $12,650 (June 27-August 21); 4 weeks $9,750; 2 weeks (new campers ages 8-10 only) $5,975; 5-week Wilderness trip (ages 16-18) $11,000. Early bird discount of $250 if enrolled by November 1. Optional extras listed: Burlington Airport transport $125, NYC chaperoned bus $250.

Ages 6–16

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum runs summer day camps for ages 6-16 on subjects such as fishing, watershed ecology, snorkeling, metalsmithing and boating, plus overnight teen programs for ages 13-16 that include kayak building, a seven-day kayak expedition and a sailing skills camp. All camps are pay-what-you-can, with a standard tuition listed for each camp. The museum opened in 1985 and the programs connect to Lake Champlain history, archaeology and ecology.

As published: Standard tuition shown for each camp, paid on a pay-what-you-can basis: day camps about $400 for a week; three-week kayak building camp $2,950; Champlain Discovery kayak expedition $2,065; Sail Champlain five-day overnight camp $1,475. Pricing year is not stated on the page.

The Town of Milton's Recreation & Parks Department runs a full-day summer camp plus numerous half-day specialty camps (golf, baseball, cooking, lacrosse, film, and more), with a scholarship fund to help local children attend. It is a municipal, broad-access day-camp program rather than a single branded camp.

As published: Not published

Ages 6–15 · $375–$400/week

The Montshire Museum of Science runs full-week, theme-based STEM and nature day camps (e.g., Nature Detectives & Explorers, Experimenters, Lab Rats) for preschoolers through 6th grade at its Norwich science museum campus, combining hands-on experiments with outdoor exploration.

As published: 2026: "(Members: $375, Non-Members: $395)"; "(Members: $385, Non-Members: $400)"

$1,335–$5,145/session

Night Eagle is a small, deliberately primitive wilderness camp for boys ages 10–14 in Wallingford, in Vermont's Green Mountains, where campers live in Lakota-style tipis and spend their days on survival and bushcraft skills — fire-making, tracking, shelter-building — rather than conventional camp amenities.

As published: 2026 rates: 1 week $1,335; 2 weeks $2,465; 3 weeks $3,290; 4 weeks $3,910; 6 weeks $5,145

North Branch Nature Center runs outdoor day camps in the forests and fields around the center in Montpelier, with teacher-naturalists leading weekly themed camps for children from PreK through 7th grade. Camps hike to a "base camp" each day, with wading and water exploration but no swimming. The center also offers Camp BranchOUT, a nature-based day camp for queer and gender creative kids ages 10-12 in collaboration with Outright Vermont.

As published: Not published on the camp page (registration is through a lottery; financial support packages are based on household income). Aftercare is offered for PreK through 3rd grade camps.

Ages 5–13 · $440/week

ONE Arts Center is a Burlington arts-based childcare and creative-camp provider run by the nonprofit ONE Arts, Inc., serving over 100 families daily with after-school and camp programming (Maker Space and Creative Space tracks) for elementary/middle-school-aged children.

As published: $440 per week (Maker Space, ages 5–8, and Creative Space, ages 9–13); sibling discount available across age groups

Ages 7–12

Otter Day Camp is one of Vermont Wilderness School's longest-running programs, a nature- and wilderness-skills day camp for ages 7–12 held at Fort Dummer State Park in Brattleboro, with a published staff-to-camper ratio and named camp leadership.

As published: $390 / $449 / $507 (2025-season weekly tiers); $75-per-child weekly deposit required

Ages 6–13 · $520–$600/session

River Arts is a 501(c)(3) community arts center in Morrisville running a wide slate of summer camps — including Rock Camp, theater, skateboarding arts, and nature-based sessions — for ages roughly 6–16, with tuition assistance available.

As published: Rock Camp (sample session): $325/week (tuition assistance available)

Ages 5–18 · $155–$345/week

River of Life Camp is a Christian camp in Irasburg, in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, operating since 2002 and offering Bible-centered overnight and day programming plus specialty options like horse camp for campers roughly ages 5–18, notable for a staff team largely made up of the camp's own former campers.

As published: 2026 (via site search snippets): overnight "$345/week"; day camp "$155 a week"; horse camp add-on $100

Ages 6–13 · $495–$545/week

Rugged Adventures is an outdoor adventure camp based in Stowe, founded in 2010 and run by professional educators, offering both day camps and overnight adventure trips with hiking, biking, and swimming in the Green Mountains.

As published: "Maximum age for overnights is 13."

Ages 5–17

Shelburne Farms, the well-known nonprofit working farm and education center on Lake Champlain, runs a farm-based summer camp program for ages 5–17, including a teen Youth Leader track for ages 14–17. The organization offers need-based sliding-scale financial assistance to reduce cost barriers for families.

As published: Not published (need-based sliding-scale financial assistance available; before/after care is $3 per half hour per family)

Ages 9–15

TDI is a nonprofit, academically oriented week-long residential program (rather than a traditional recreational camp) for gifted and talented students in grades 4–10, held on the Vermont State University–Johnson campus and typically drawing 80–100 campers per week from 40–50 Vermont towns.

As published: Not published in exact dollar figures on the camp-info page (2026 tuition was raised by $60 "to cover the increased costs of food"; exact rates directed to a separate brochure not accessed). Partial scholarships of $200–$500 available; early-bird, sibling, and two-week discounts offered

$310–$370/week

Waterbury Recreation runs a licensed-exempt municipal summer day camp for grades K–8 based at the Recreation Building and Waterbury Public Pool at Anderson Park, with swim lessons included in the cost. It runs for seven weeks each summer with both full-season and single-week pricing.

As published: 2026 season: $310/week (resident) / $370 (non-resident); full 7-week session $1,275 (resident) / $1,755 (non-resident); prices rise 10% after March 20, 2026

Ages 6–16 · $1,345–$2,465/session

Operated by the Greater Burlington YMCA, Camp Abnaki is a resident and day camp for boys on Lake Champlain in North Hero with over 125 years of history, structured age-graded "villages" with published low camper-to-staff cabin ratios (as tight as 3:1 for the youngest campers), and a stated emphasis on background-checked staff and a 10-day training program.

As published: 2027 rates: Two-week session $2,265 (lock-in rate $2,180); one-week session $1,345 (lock-in rate $1,295); specialty programs (sailing, magic/D&D, fishing) $2,365–$2,465. $200 non-refundable deposit per session; includes $25–$45 camp-store credit