The trouble with camp is that camp ends.

The buses pull out this morning. In an instant, camp is silent. But the air will be filled with happy memories. Pine Forest’s 93rd summer has come to a close and it was one of the best ever.

Thank you one and all, campers and counselors, housekeeping and maintenance, nurses and doctors, office staff and drivers, for making it such a tremendous season.

And now it’s back to home and school. But everyone who shared this wonderful summer comes home a little different. A little better. Keep the spirit of PFC alive all year long. Stay in touch.

Pine Forest is more than a place in Greeley, PA. It’s a place in our hearts.

Like the song says, “All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go.”

Mountain Baggage, R&B Baggage, UPS, and FedEx.

Today we pack up, have our awards ceremonies, and tonight it’s the candlelight. It feels like we just arrived.  But we’re coming home with so much more than we can pack in a bag; new friends, new adventures, new confidence. There isn’t a duffle bag or shipping company big enough to handle it.

Those are the things we carry.

Last night our junior girls all ventured up to Marvin Hall (our open air gymnastics pavilion) in their coziest PJs for an epic sleepover party! And a few nights ago, our junior boy campers did the same. They play games, tell stories, and roast marshmallows and enjoy s’mores by a fire, of course. Who doesn’t love a sleepover with 40+ of your best friends?! Doesn’t get any better than that. 

Then this afternoon, all of our juniors then headed to the Railriders minor league baseball game, where they got to watch the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders play the Worcester Red Sox. We aren’t sure if they were more excited for the game or the snacks, but either way – they enjoyed both and had an amazing time! They’re the 3rd group to go enjoy a game – inters went last week and seniors went last night – and our hi-seniors will go catch a game in a few days. They can’t wait!

The past few days at camp have been AMAZING! Where do we even start? 

A few days ago, lower campers started their day with an epic game of Gold Rush – they were split into teams and busy running all around camp looking for gold! Then, in the afternoon, they participated in what has become a wonderful tradition at camp – Kindness Day. Campers embarked on an epic scavenger hunt, traveling around to different activities, working together as a bunk to accomplish different tasks. We saw lots of teamwork and of course, kindness all around! They ended the evening writing kind messages to bunkmates – something they’ll surely treasure forever. To top it all off, we had authentic Philly soft pretzels for snack – a real camper fave! As lower campers were settling into bed, our upper campers all returned to camp from their trips. They came in buzzing with excitement, sharing stories from the road, but then their heads quickly hit the pillow – they needed to get some rest before jumping back into camp life! 

In addition to our regular programming, yesterday a group of our senior campers got to head out early on a canoe trip – and they had a blast! We also have a former camper visiting who is helping us to paint a new mural outside of Hughie Hall. Campers have been helping, and it’s looking awesome! We can’t wait to show you the finished product. Meanwhile, we’re still playing leagues, creating in art and crafts, cooking delicious treats, adventuring on the ropes course, and so much more! 

It’s really hard to believe that tonight we’ll have our second-to-last Friday night services together before summer 2024 comes to an end. As these final days of July are here, campers are really cherishing all of these special moments with friends! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Things are Getting Wacky for Lower Camp!

Our hi-senior and senior campers are officially out of camp on trips, and so far, they are having a BLAST! The only thing better than traveling to new places is getting to do it with your camp besties! We can’t wait to hear all about their adventures! Meanwhile, things at camp are great! With upper campers away, lower camp gets spoiled with so many extra fun activities! We pack in A LOT. Fun themes, special activities, and a trip of their own to check out a minor league baseball game. 

Today’s theme? Backwards day! Junior and Inter campers woke up and campers got dressed as counselors, and counselors as campers! Then, we started the day with dinner! Pizza and (yogurt) popsicles?! Dreams do come true! Then, we had evening line-up and played Escape from PFC for evening activity – all before noon! How backwards is that?! The afternoon was full of more special activities: epic games of coke & pepsi, beach volleyball, gaga, knee-hockey, capture the flag, and more. Then after breakfast (dinnertime!), the intermediates will head out to watch the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders play the Worcester Red Sox. Juniors will get to check out a game in a few days, too. Woweeee! We sure are exhausted after this action-packed day! Next up: Stay tuned for Kindness Day tomorrow.

11th Grade

Boston • Monday, July 22nd – Weds., July 24th
Accommodations: Boston University Attractions may include tours of Boston University, North Eastern University and more! Explore the city of Boston, shop around Quincy Market, spend an afternoon of fun in the sun at Pleasure Bay Beach and catch a game at Fenway! 

10th Grade

Niagara Falls, US Side • Monday, July 22nd – Weds., July 24th
Accommodations: Dorms in Rochester, NY Attractions may include Six Flags Darien Lake, Salt City Market for shopping and eating, Niagara Falls State Park, Maid of the Mist Boat Ride, Falls Street USA and catch a Buffalo Bison game! 

9th Grade

New England • Monday, July 22nd – Weds., July 24th
Accommodations: University of New England
Attractions may include a visit to the New England Aquarium, Quincy Market, sun and fun at Old Orchard Beach, dinner and exploring in Portland, Quassy Waterpark and more! Don’t forget dessert at the local Mrs & Me Ice Cream!

8th Grade

Finger Lakes Region • Tuesday, July 23rd – Weds., July 24th
Accommodations: Dorms in Rochester, NY Attractions may include a guided tour of Taughannock Falls, Seneca Park Zoo, Roseland Waterpark for sun and fun, exploring Ithaca Commons, and Sweet Melissa’s Ice Cream Shop for a s’mores brownie!

7th Grade

Adirondacks • Tuesday, July 23rd – Weds., July 24th
Accommodations: SUNY Albany Attractions may include an evening exploring Lake George, Howe Cavern Tours, a tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Zoom Flume Water Park and more!

Excitement was in the air today as we welcomed family and friends for Visiting Day 2024! What an amazing day all-around! Parents gushed over all of the amazing artwork campers have been working on all summer, families swam in the pools, tackled the Wibits at the lake, and even enjoyed a snippet of this year’s production of Tangled at Netsy Playhouse! It was quite a day! 

The warmth we felt wasn’t even weather-related (although we couldn’t have asked for a better day!), it was the warmth from our camp families joining us “Up Where the Sky Begins!” And you know what makes the day even more special? So many parents who were once campers and counselors, reconnecting with old camp friends. Former campers and counselors who made the trip to Greeley to spend a few hours in their favorite place with their favorite people. Our special 10 Year Tree Ceremony, where we celebrate those who have officially spent 10 summers here at camp. Noticing a trend? PFC is simply irresistible! 

We already can’t wait for Visiting Day 2025! We hope to see you there! Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Campers all had time to cool off in the pool when Visiting Day ended, and tonight boys’ camp will be busy making s’mores around the campfire while girls’ camp will participate in the much anticipated annual MTV Night! We have a few more precious weeks to soak up all this fun!

Professional Artist Visits Camp! 

How is it possible to have this much fun everyday?! One day feels more action-packed and amazing than the last! 

Big news – the amazingly talented professional artist (and PFC Alum!), Sam Sidney, is visiting camp for a few days, and campers of all ages are getting the chance to spend some time learning from her and making awesome art out of felt. Wait til you see our creations on Visiting Day! 

In other news, lots of campers participated in intercamp games against Lake Owego today, which is always a blast. 

And tonight, Junior and inter girls participated in one of our favorite evening activities: Cake Wars, an epic cake decorating contest (that ends up as a delicious treat!). Junior boys had the chance to win fun prizes at their auction: one bunk won a trip to the ice cream barn and you could hear them cheering from a mile away! The inter boys were busy playing  PFC’s version of Euro Cup, and our upper campers got their Rita’s Water Ice treat tonight! 

It’s hard to believe we’ll be seeing our families so soon for Visiting Day! We can’t wait! 

Guess what?! Campers were delighted with a cool treat this afternoon, and on this hot day, we needed it! 

A Rita’s Water Ice (or should we say Wooder Ice?!) truck rolled into camp today, and our lower campers were just delighted by this surprise treat! They each got to pick their favorite flavor, and tomorrow, upper campers will get to do the same! While Rita’s is a household staple for many of our PFCers, there were many campers and counselors who had never tasted such deliciousness! One camper who experienced Rita’s for the first time took her first bite today exclaimed, “WOW! It’s SO good!” See, what told you we’re always trying new things at camp ;). 

Camp sure is sweet!