Our History
Camp Temagami for Boys was founded in 1903 by A.L. Cochrane on islands in the South Arm of Lake Temagami. After six decades under the Cochrane family, camp ownership moved to Doug Gardner in 1959. In the 1960s, the camp focused intensely on the canoe-tripping program, expanding its range and developing fine guides still active in Temagami canoeing circles. The final season of camping was in 1972.
Our site at the top of the Southwest Arm has been a canoe-tripping camp since 1930 when Homer and Eva Grafton of Cleveland, Ohio, began Camp Wigwasati (a name still seen on some maps). In the early 1960s, a sister camp for girls operated on a nearby island. In 1967, the Graftons sold the camp to two teachers from Maryland, Powell Wrightson and Bud Harvison. Two key Wigwasati staff of this era were Gordon Deeks, a former senior at Camp Temagami in the 1960s, and Jim Tatman, a teacher from Bexley, Ohio.
In 1975, Gord formed his camp under Pays d’en Haut, and brought in Jim as a partner in 1977. In 1979, they took over the Wigwasati site. Pays d’en Haut ran for over twenty years, and in the late 1990s, two former staff, Scott Northey and Graham Donald, took over. In 2000, extensive investment was begun to upgrade the camp facilities and rejuvenate the tripping equipment, and an exciting period of renewal commenced.
Additional members of the ownership team joined in these first few years of reinvigoration–Andy MacMillan (another Pays d’en Haut guide) and his wife Nadine, and Hugh Stewart. Hugh was on staff with Gord Deeks at Camp Temagami in the 1960s and has built canoes on original Chestnut forms since the late 1980s. Hugh was responsible for building and maintaining our fleet of wood-canvas canoes.
Our camp was officially renamed Camp Temagami under a legal trademark in 2003. We cherish our historical links to the earlier camps. We receive frequent inquiries from former campers and staff of Camp Wigwasati, Camp Temagami, and Pays d’en Haut and we are heartened by the fact that our staff includes children and grandchildren of former owners, guides, and campers from all three camps.
Our Philosophy
In this era of universally accessible “virtual” experiences, there are dwindling opportunities for young people to be directly exposed to the rhythms and forces of nature. To travel by the energy of our bodies with the day’s concerns stripped to a bare minimum is a rare experience. Learning to work in a group, travelling safely and preparing nourishing trail meals become the paramount issues. Along the way, quietly and constantly, character develops. Increased initiative, responsibility, self-reliance, and mental and physical growth are the inevitable consequences of well-organized wilderness experiences. Events do not have to be staged to achieve these goals. Our mature and well-trained staff provide the necessary guidance and encouragement.
We emphasise skill development as the key to safe, efficient travel. Wilderness canoe travel should not be a reckless sprint through the bush nor a haphazard scramble to survive, but rather a fun adventure that requires skill, judgment and perseverance. The object is to feel comfortable and at home in the wilderness. Only when people are comfortable can they genuinely enjoy their experience. Our guides help each group learn to work, play and reflect together.
All trip groups are graduated according to age and experience. Young campers do not undertake long trips to remote areas. Skills are developed over several summers and increase as campers mature physically and mentally. Each summer, returning campers undertake more ambitious routes and more responsibility within the trip group.
We travel traditionally, which means small parties of 6 or 8 campers with at least two guides, often 3 with the youngest groups. We paddle wood canvas canoes, carry our food in wannigans portaged with tumplines, cook on open fires and bake daily in reflector ovens. Our approach to equipment and skills provides a link to the past, a connection to the landscape we travel through, and a heightened sense of personal accomplishment. At Camp Temagami, the order of priorities for a successful trip is always first, safety; second, the enjoyment that all participants derive; and third, the specific geographic objective.
Year after year, children return to camp simply because it’s fun and rewarding. However, the experience is valuable, not only in its own right but also as an investment that continues to pay dividends throughout life. Few activities today bring together so clearly the combination of fun, adventure, challenge and reward, and experiences on the trail implicitly nurture self-reliance, self-confidence, lasting friendships, teamwork, community, an appreciation for the outdoors and a powerful sense of accomplishment. Young women and men mature into confident, thoughtful, and principled adults.
If your children want to adventure, we will lead them through the beautiful Temagami wilderness. Once named Camp Wigwasati, which was at the time in 1930, a boys’ camp, Camp Temagami expanded its kids' summer camps to offer co-ed canoe camp experiences.
We offer four distinct wilderness canoe trips for our kids' summer camp programs. Boys and girls are welcome to take part in any of the options. There is a custom option also for those who want to customize and tailor their child’s program. The entire family can take part in custom wilderness canoe trips.
Here is detailed information on one of the most popular kid's summer camps at Camp Temagami on Lake Temagami in Ontario. Pre-paying for kids' summer camps can be discounted if pre-payment is received during the early bird period. Transportation services are offered, as well as add-on services. Airport pickup and Bus Transportation to and from Toronto and various locations between Toronto and Temagami can be arranged. Tax receipts for the fitness tax credit or those claiming childcare expenses can be provided.
Our program is designed to last 2, 3, 4, or 6 weeks for Boys and Girls between the ages of 8 and 18.
Learn more about this kid summer camp and other summer programs for kids. We are a historical wilderness camp leading the next generation of leaders impacting the world.
