By: Neph Bailey, Camp Director

The countdown to summer is on! With so many amazing adventures in store at Girl Scout summer camp, we’ll thrilled to introduce our Girl Scout Camp Spotlight! We’ll be giving our members an in-depth look at all three of our summer resident camps and sharing all of the awesome and fun things your girl can enjoy at each specific camp.

First up, Camp Graham! Situated on Kerr Lake with 155 acres of lake front with open areas and woodlands, Camp Graham is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream come true! Not only is our location beautiful and right on the water, but it’s also ideal for a wide range of camp activities including hiking, field and nature games, archery, swimming, sailing, and more.

Camp Director Neph Bailey also shares her insight into what makes Camp Graham so great! We did a Q&A so see what she has to say!

1. What kind of outdoor activities can you do at Camp Graham?

I promote Graham as the water camp. During resident camp, waterfront activities – swimming, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, and standup paddleboarding – dominate our schedule. Graham has several hiking trails, open space for nature and group games, an archery range, and a gaga ball pit. We take campers on identification hikes, night hikes, stargazing on the dock, pond dipping, fishing etc. We also teach outdoor skills such as fire building and outdoor cooking. Because of the rustic nature of Graham pretty much everything is outdoors or open air so it’s a great way to experience nature!

2. What makes Camp Graham unique?

The lake! No matter which unit you are in, you can hear the water and every camper is given the opportunity to go boating and swimming each day.

3. What’s your favorite thing about Camp Graham?

I love the traditions that have been kept alive by the campers. Each week every camper tie dyes a t-shirt which gets signed by staff before our closing campfire on Thursday nights. There are campers who have attended camp for 8-10 years who have their shirts from every year and wear them or have turned them into blankets. Camp Graham even has its own song that we teach to campers each week. I also love the intimate nature of the property. 155 acres is a lot but the main areas of camp are close in proximity so when campers are in session the whole camp seems filled with laughter and singing.

4. What’s your favorite/funniest memory at camp?

During one of the Chopped Challenge sessions at Camp Graham the girls asked to do a sandwich challenge, which is where campers take the ingredients given to them and must create a unique sandwich from those ingredients alone. I went to the local grocery store and purchased as many weird ingredients as I could find to add to the normal sand which staples that we already had at camp. The campers decided to make me an appreciation sandwich using almost every ingredient I’d given them. It wasn’t the most delicious sandwich I have ever tasted, but they were so excited that I ate it for them. The staff was doubled over in laughter as I ate the majority of that sandwich in front of those campers.

Ready to experience the great outdoors at Camp Graham? Join us for our free open house event on February 26 to tour the camp property and meet our camp staff! We can’t wait to see you there!