Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Many families begin looking at overnight camp as early as first grade. We are happy to address this with you individually, as it is a personal decision and does not have a one-size-fits-all answer!

Ken and Stacy are happy to arrange in-season and off-season tours of the camp (weather permitting). We also offer two in-season “Training Camp” sessions, where prospective campers can spend a day and optional overnight at camp for free!

YES!!! We’re a sports camp… we know all about home-field advantage. To make it more convenient for you and also more comfortable for your camper, Ken and Stacy would be thrilled to arrange a visit to your home during the off-season to talk about camp and answer any questions your family has. See our contact page for in-season and off-season contact information!

Bauercrest offers two 2-week sessions (Mini Camp, for 1st-year campers up to 6th grade only), one 3-week (Single) session, one 4-week (Single) session and two 5.5-week (Extended) sessions, in addition to our 7-week (Full Season) session. You can get more information on our Dates & Rates page.

The majority of our campers are from Massachusetts and the metropolitan Boston area. However, we have many campers attending from many parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Region States (Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland), in addition to the Southeastern United States (Florida and Atlanta). We have a growing camper population from Texas and California. We’ve also had campers from Europe and Israel!

Most of our staff have progressed through the camper ranks at Bauercrest and therefore represent the same geographic regions as our campers. We also have international staff from Israel and the U.K., which exposes our campers to other backgrounds and cultures in a fun and meaningful way.  

Our counselor staff ranges in age from 18 through the post-college years (21+). The average age of a Bauercrest counselor is 20.

We exceed the ACA guidelines ratios, holding a 4:1 ratio for all campers. We place additional staff in our youngest camper groups, ensuring increased supervision and support.

All staff attend a weeklong training session before the start of the summer, where we cover a variety of key issues from conflict resolution, bullying, and homesickness to safety protocols, engagement, peer management, relationship-building, and much more. We cover these topics in a variety of ways, from presentations and guest speakers to role-playing and team-building exercises. As our coaches teach on the field, success is a team effort, and we make sure our team is prepared to deliver the best summer possible for our campers. While most of our staff are former Bauercrest campers, we also recruit specialty staff to Bauercrest to provide expertise in specific areas, such as sports instruction, water skiing, ceramics and pottery, and more.

Yes! We are proud to be accredited through the American Camping Association (ACA), a nationally recognized association in the Camping industry. In fact, we received a perfect 100% score from them on our last visit!

Both the pool and waterfront are overseen by our Aquatics Director, who directly supervises our team of certified lifeguards and swim instructors. In addition, we have experienced instructors for waterskiing, kayaking, sailing, canoeing, and fishing. Many of our specialty staff return summer after summer to improve their areas. We consistently exceed the strict guidelines from the American Camping Association and the Town of Amesbury, so our water-based programs are guaranteed to be both safe and fun!

Absolutely! The campers will take an average of one off-campus trip per week. Examples include:

• Amusement parks
• Water parks
• Local sporting events
• Mini golf/bumper boats
• Movies (during inclement weather)
• Bowling
• Paintball (older campers only)

Camp Bauercrest conducts at least one social event/dance each month with Camp Pembroke in Pembroke, Mass. In addition, we attend and host various inter-camp festivals and events. Other camps visited are typically in the circle of non-profit Jewish camps in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Great question! We make sure to encourage kids to maintain good hygiene here at camp and allocate plenty of time to do so. Each morning the campers clean their bunks with the supervision and aid of the staff. Campers are assigned various bunk-cleaning responsibilities on a rotating basis so that everyone contributes. This encourages a degree of responsibility, accountability, and teamwork within each bunk. For the campers themselves, there are plenty of opportunities throughout the day for showers. Younger campers are specifically monitored to make sure they are showering daily. Our staff is mindful of the importance of hygiene in the camp community, and they are always nearby to make sure spaces are clean and people are taking care of themselves.

Homesickness is very common for campers with their first experience away from home. We train all of our staff on how to deal with homesickness, and we have a professional mental health counselor on staff who is available to speak with campers. 

Campers are not allowed to have phones, iPads, laptops, or anything else with a screen and/or cellular, wireless, or data signal. If your camper would like to bring a music player, it must be one that meets these restrictions. (read more on our Packing for Camp page). These rules will be strictly enforced. It is important that our campers are able to “unplug” while they are here at camp to maximize their immersion and involvement in our community. 

Yes. Subject to the availability of tutors, Bar Mitzvah and Academic tutoring are available at a rate of approximately $45 an hour. These services will be billed with payments to be made on Visiting Day or pick-up day. We will review any prescribed education plan or parental request in order to assign an appropriate tutor. The assigned tutor will produce the tutoring schedule.

We are not a uniform camp. That is, we do not require that the boys wear a prescribed attire or color scheme for clothing each day. We do require that each camper have at least 2 Bauercrest T-shirts and a Bauercrest sweatshirt for off-camp trips or inter-camp activities. See the Packing List. 

We have 17 bunks with a maximum capacity of 14 people. The average number of campers in a bunk is about 11. Bunks usually do not house fewer than 7 or 8 campers. These bunks consist of mostly single beds and up to 4 bunk beds. We have three larger bunks with a maximum capacity of 20 people. These bunks consist of mostly bunk beds.

Campers are required to write home to their parents at least twice per week. Campers will also receive daily U.S. Mail (except for Sundays). In addition, parents can email their children through services offered by our partners at Camp In Touch. In addition, we post photos regularly to our photo gallery hosted by Camp In Touch.

We do not allow calls or visits except in the case of a family emergency. An overriding exception to this rule is that campers are either allowed to call home or receive a call from their parents on their birthday if it occurs during the camping season.

At least 50 percent of the day is devoted to organized intraleague sports and sports electives. As our mission states, Bauercrest aims to build Jewish Identity and Self-Esteem based on four primary facets: Sportsmanship, Tradition, Accountability, and Resilience – our STAR concept. It is the desire to participate in any of our activities and not the level of one’s performance that will help to determine your son’s likelihood of enjoying a summer at Bauercrest.