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Established in 1946, Camp Davern uses outdoor adventures and experiences to provide opportunities for kids to take safe risks, build independence and actively socialize with their peers. Located 1 hour from Ottawa/Kingston we're an unforgettable experience that's close to home. In 2021, we are working hard to provide a Covid safe experience and cannot wait to welcome your kids!
Choose the right programs and sessions for your child; currently 0 program available; 6 TBD.
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Overnight Camp
Coed Ages: 6 - 18+ Traditional (multi activity)
$500
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Overnight Camp
Coed Ages: 6 - 16 Traditional (multi activity)
$3,275
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Overnight Camp
Coed Ages: 6 - 16 Traditional (multi activity)
$965
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Overnight Camp
Coed Ages: 6 - 16 Traditional (multi activity)
$1,775
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Overnight Camp
All Girls Ages: 7 - 16 Traditional (multi activity)
$850
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Davern was established in 1946, and the values that it was founded with remain to this day. Of course, the world in 1946 was very different than today, but then, as now, there was a desire to get kids away from the stresses of life, to allow them to spread their wings a bit in a place beyond the concerns of school and home. It’s a place where kids have an opportunity to spend some time closer to nature and, by extension, through a different set of priorities and at a slower pace. The program is overseen by executive director Andrew Martin, who also directs Camp Can-Aqua, another great Canadian camp. He’s a champion of what traditional camping can bring to a young person’s life. The facilities are wonderful in that they continue to display the long history of the camp, while being up to date in all the essential ways. The site is gorgeous, which is a draw, though the values, spirit, and culture of the camp are the things that families and campers appreciate most.
Davern is a gorgeous place which will take kids away from the city and technology into a place where people get to know their best friends and their best selves. So thrilled to see Davern continuing to make magic and to se... Read More
I wasn't sure about Davern initially, maybe it was just the thought of being away from my parents for the first time in my life. After my first night there my mind was changed. Amazing people, beautiful site, tasty food. O... Read More
Peter Vooys, Camp Director
Peter is a veteran of summer camp and outdoor education centers with 20 years of leadership and guiding experience. He holds degrees in Physical and Health Education and History. He is an Ontario Certified Teacher with the Limestone District School Board. He recently completed a master’s degree in education focussing on the personal and cultural perspective shift that happens on a canoe expedition. Peter is a believer in the importance of place-based education, hands on learning and collaborative learning environments.
Peter is excited to bring his years of working in the summer camp and wilderness adventure fields to Camp Davern. Peter lives in Kingston where he manages the Camp Davern office creating connections between Davernites past, present and future and communities in Eastern Ontario.
Peter can be reached at [email protected]
Sleeping Accommodations
Amenities
Washrooms Facilities
More details about accommodations: Traditional in its rustic cabins and facilities, our cabins have electricity along with most of our program buildings. Our indoor shower-house and flush toilets are just icing on the cake!
Sports facilities
Landscape
More details about property: Camp Davern was established in 1946 as a traditional overnight residential camp for girls ages 6-16. With some equipment acquired from the War Assets Corporation and the former Service Canteens & Leave Centres, Camp Davern opened in July of 1946 on it’s stunning 200 acre site located just 25 kilometres from Perth, Ontario.
Offers outdoor education program for schools or corporate groups: Yes
Welcome to COEL @ Camp Davern~ The Centre for Outdoor Education and Leadership
We are a growing outdoor and experimental education facility focusing on grade specific programs for students ages 11-15.
Open your classroom to the dynamic learning platform nature provides. COEL @ Davern offers teachers safe, creative and fun educational opportunities for their students. We have a wide range of program offerings to support common interests in the learning scopes of leadership, team building and environmental education.
Consider bringing your class or the entire school and let us provide a memorable learning experience that promotes personal growth, problem solving, cooperation and collaboration.
In addition to our general program selections, we thrive in creative unique and group specific curriculum to meet and surpass the needs and interests specific to your school, group of company.
Available for private rentals: Yes
We have a multitude of private rental options for groups of varying sizes. Our site can accommodate a wide variety of needs so please contact us for more specific details regarding the facility.
The organization announced in February [of 2017] that Andrew Martin, had purchased the property and would reopen the camp in the summer. Martin has made a career out of the camp industry for more than 15 years, and said he believes in the value of camping, “especially going into a future that is overwhelmed with technology and a lack of social integration for young people.”
He said he was attracted to the “remarkable property” and “amazing facility” because it holds a lot of history as one of Ontario’s older camps. He’s looking to find out the “silly things” that made the camp unique such as “the name of that hill or the secret path that takes you to Finnigan’s house where kids go and write letters if they’re homesick.”
It was on a warm July day in 1948 that nine-year-old Judy Coleman became a Davern girl.
Boarding a train at Union Station, she and some of her cousins and friends travelled to Maberly, near Perth. There, they put their bags on a horse-drawn hay wagon and, after being greeted by Camp Davern’s director and staff, began to walk to the all-girls YWCA camp on Davern Lake, a 7-km journey that would have taken at least an hour and a half to complete.
As one of the younger campers at Davern that year, Judy slept in one of two cabins on the site, while others slept in tents pitched on wooden platforms. It was the first of six summers she spent at Davern.
“There was something very magical, special and bonding about a summer at camp,” says Coleman (now Laughton), “and the friendships made … have continued to this day, almost 67 years later.”
November 7, 2019
New news post
We loved the amazing times we spent with you this summer. Can't wait to do it again in 2020!... Read More
November 16, 2018
Davern plans for Kingston Information Night
We are really looking forward to our Kingston information night that will be taking place in the New Year. Stay tuned to our Facebook Page!... Read More
November 30, -0001
Early-bird Registration Now OPEN!
Let the 2019 camp adventure begin!... Read More
Thank you for using Our Kids.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998.
Thank you for your interest in Camp Davern. They will be in touch with you shortly.
Thank you for using Our Kids.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998.
Thank you for your interest in Camp Davern. They will send you information about this session:
Thank you for using Our Kids.
The Trusted Source for Families since 1998.
