Photos by Bette Sumrell and Angie Moorin

It’s opening day at Camp Green Cove. Girls are arriving from all over the country, and even the world, to spend time in the mountains of North Carolina. Today, you can pick out the new campers from the old ones. Seasoned campers leap out of cars with their worn trunks and scream happily when they see old friends. First-time campers climb slowly out of their cars and cautiously walk towards the counselors welcoming them. Now fast forward to the last night of camp. Everyone is gathered around the campfire, arms wrapped around each other, singing songs. Tonight, you can’t tell the old campers from the new. Each one is now a Green Cove girl. They belong at this camp, and always will.

Maybe you want to be a Green Cove girl or a camper at Mondamin, the brother camp for boys. A lot happens between opening and closing day that will help you to earn that title. Green Cove is an all-girls camp on Lake Summit, and Mondamin is just across the lake. Both are outdoor adventure camps. They offer activities like mountain climbing, horseback riding, sailing, paddling, mountain biking, tennis, and hiking. There’s a lake for swimming and a nature center full of animals. The camps have three sessions. Early June is one week long for kids ages 6-10. June Camp is three weeks long for kids 7-13. Main Camp runs 5½ weeks for kids 8-17.

What can you look forward to at Green Cove? Singing silly songs about everything. They’ll be the soundtrack of your summer. You’ll sing at meals, after meals, at campfire, and for no good reason at all. Adding to the fun is the flexibility. You’ll get to decide exactly what activities you do each day. You can sign up for riding lessons, go paddling, or climb the 60-foot tower in the morning, plus go on a trip out of camp in the afternoon. This past summer, campers took advantage of all the available activities. Girls went on a sassafras root hike, where they “hit the mother lode of roots,” one girl said. They learned about the trees and made sassafras floats. At the paddling docks, girls passed their pry and stern draws (types of strokes) to qualify for the white water rafting trip on the Nanathala River. At the barn, riders of all levels took riding and horsemanship lessons. On the tennis courts, they played the boys in mixed doubles. They jumped off the rope swing into the lake. They leaned all kinds of new skills.

Going out of camp on trips is a great way to test what you’ve learned in camp. Zip down a river through rapids in your canoe or kayak. Climb to the top of a mountain and enjoy the amazing view. Take a trail ride through a state park on a horse. Fly along on a mountain path on your bike. Hike through the woods, set up camp, and cook dinner over a campfire.

One of the best part is the people! You’ll live in a cabin with one counselor and four or five girls. Your counselor makes you feel better when you’re homesick, helps you plan your days, and is like the coolest big sister ever. You and your fellow campers will share inside jokes, get dirty, play, and be scared and brave together. They’ll be your best friends for life. Ava and Maggie, campers in 2009, met here. “We shared a bathroom last year, and we shared a bathroom this year!” Maggie says.

Why not spend a summer here where the rhododendron grow? Crickets and bullfrogs sing you to sleep. The mountain air smells clean and sweet. The people are the best in the world. At camp you’ll always find a reason to laugh until you cry and do things you never imagined possible. Visit greencove.com for more information.