Summer 2024: Youth and Teen Camps in the Berkshires

Now’s the time to think ahead about adventures and experiences for the kids this summer.

Maybe your teens, tweens, and young ones are looking forward to trying a new skill or making a stage debut, or maybe they are excited to revisit activities and friends at a favorite camp. Check out this list of Berkshire experiences and choose one (or more) to engage your children and create new memories over the summer months. 

Arts

Berkshire Art Summer Camp
BAC’s summer camps are offered for ages 4-14. The focus is on visual art exploration, working with a local artist. Campers will experience multiple art-making materials and approaches. Roughly 30 half and full days options are available, like Space Camp, Fabulous Food!, and Underwater Art Exploration.

Berkshire Museum Summer Day Camps
Berkshire Museum offers 14 full and half-day camps for students in grades pre-K-8, grouped by grade levels. Manga, engineering, and a CSI Monster Hunter camp are just a few of the creative opportunities for children to indulge in over the summer months. 

Buxton School Summer Arts Programs
Summer arts week-long day camps for ages 6 and up are offered by Buxton School, now in its 15th summer season. If your child is interested in comics, guitar, cooking, or arts and ceramics, Buxton School has you covered.

Camp MASS MoCA
The Museum is offering three week-long themed day camps for children in grades 2-6. Campers will explore museum masterpieces and create their own. Choose from art, sound, theater, and dance experiences.

Young Writers’ Workshop
Teen writers have so much to say, and this camp at Bard College at Simon’s Rock is designed to help them immerse themselves in the craft. Young writers will expand their creativity and language skills, connect with like-minded students, and better understand themselves as writers. A three-week, multi-genre workshop experience is available, as are a schedule of shorter, focused virtual workshops.

Athletics

Camp Arrow Wood
This coed sleepaway camp is for sports-focused youth ages 8-16. Offering a vigorous, active schedule in athletics and training chosen by the camper, 3-week and 6-week camps are available. A coed Leaders Program for rising high school seniors aged 17 and Family Camp are other opportunities to enjoy this beautiful facility.

Flying Cloud Institute

Education

Curiosity Camp at Simon’s Rock
Is your teen (grade 9, 10, or 11) interested in college life and learning? Curiosity Camp is a two-week program designed to explore academic and creative interests at the college level. Students partake in the Writing and Thinking Workshop, Seminar, and arts and science courses. Off-campus trips are woven into the schedule.

The S*M*Art Summer Camp for ages 6-14 is a day camp offered by Flying Cloud Institute in four one-week sessions. Campers experience science, art, and nature exploration in small groups. Projects are interdisciplinary, and children receive individualized attention. 

Williams College Summer Science Lab
Guided by Williams College student counselors, children entering grades 5-6 will experiment with a variety of substances, looking for gas, liquid, or solid reactions. College professors will engage campers in discussions about the experiments.

Faith-Based

Eisner and Crane Lake Camps
Both camps are geared towards families and campers who are members of the Jewish community. Eisner Camp, for campers in grades 2-10, and Crane Lake Camp, for campers in grades 2-rising high school seniors, offer programming that includes athletics, arts, aquatics, Jewish life, electives, and evening activities.

Kimama Halfmoon
Situated on Lake Buel, this camp, with traditions based on Judaism, is open to youth of all faiths and cultures. The coed day camp for ages 3-14 includes specialty programming. The sleepaway camp for ages 6-17 is available for two week or three week sessions. The schedule is built around meals, elective activities, reflection time, and an evening gathering.

For Girls

Belvoir Terrace Camp
Girls in grades 2-10 can partake in all-elective, educational programming in art, music, dance, theater, and sports. Campers learn new skills and interact with professionals across all disciplines. Special events including carnival days, dance parties, outdoor games, and trips to local cultural venues round out this unique experience. 

Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls
If soccer is your daughter’s passion, this is the camp for her. Two-week camps and mini sessions train young athletes, 4th through rising 8th grades, in skills and drills, including full scrimmages during the longer camps. Plan well ahead to get registered, as this camp fills quickly. 

Young Women in Science: STEM Summer
This program, offered by Flying Cloud Institute, is for female and non-binary identified youth ages 9-16. Campers experience a week-long deep-dive into science and engineering in a professional lab setting with hands-on projects.

Blue Rider Stables, photo by Caitlin von Graf

Nature/Animals

Berkshire Botanical Farm in the Garden Camp
Come get your hands dirty! This day camp is open to children ages 4-12. Groups of 10-12 children work with two educators per group learning about the food system, the environment, and each other. From caring for seedlings to collecting eggs to creating botanical crafts, this camp invites students to be part of the gardening community. 

Berkshire Nature Camp at Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley
Designed for ages 3-17, this camp program teaches young people how to connect with nature and each other. Half-day and full-day nature camps engage campers in games, crafts, and outdoor exploration. Older children will learn tree and wildlife identification and enjoy extended hikes. The Environmental Leadership camp helps teens identify the impacts of climate change and participation in related service projects. 

Berkshire Horseworks – Ranch Life 101 Summer Program
With equine interaction as its base, six weeks of half-day camp teaches young people how to relate to and work with horses and donkeys. Campers will develop riding skills, practice yoga, walk trails, help with farm chores, and enjoy nature-based arts and crafts. 

Blue Rider Stables Summer Horsemanship Program
If your child is interested in horses, what better than a camp that covers everything you’ve ever wanted to know about them! Weekly sessions teach riding and horse care through daily lessons and hands-on experiences. 

Summer on the Farm at Hancock Shaker Village
Each of the four week-long day camp sessions caters to a specific age group. Campers will have the opportunity to craft with fibers, wood, metal, and recycled materials. They will care for animals and gardens alongside the farmers, and make treats while learning about Shaker heritage. Time will also include enjoying the grounds through outdoor games and activities.

Theater

Barrington Stage Company KidsAct! And TeensAct!
Theater builds confidence, communication skills, and the ability to work within a group. In KidsACT! (ages 7-11) and TeensACT! (ages 12-16), kids practice improv skills, and create and perform a musical production! Master classes taught by professional performing artists are included. 

Berkshire Theatre Group Theatre Camp – BTG Plays
One-week sessions are held in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, where students create and perform a fairy tale.  Students can also take part alongside community members in the Summer Community Theatre Production. 

Shakespeare & Company Riotous Youth Camp
Future thespians aged 7-17 will enjoy these one-, two- and three-week summer theater programs, where they can fully explore Shakespeare’s plays and learn voice, movement, and acting skills to portray his characters. Studying a specific play during each camp session, students then create their own performance for family and friends. 

Traditional

Camp Watitoh
Located in Becket, campers can stay for the full season or choose just the first half. The day is separated into periods, including water sports and activities, land activities with qualified specialists, a hobby elective hour, meals, and evening group time. Trips to Berkshires cultural attractions are scheduled throughout the camp stay.

Once you have decided where your kids want to go do not forget to book your own Berkshires getaway!

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