Why Dudley?

At Camp Dudley, we believe in the life-changing impact of a summer camp experience, but we think there are a few things about our program that make us uniquely impactful to the life of a boy.

1. We Are a Generalist Camp: a Dudley boy develops leadership and character through experiences in the arts, athletics, outdoors and spirituality. Specialization has its place, but we believe that young boys are best served by engaging in a wide variety of endeavors.
2. We Are Unplugged: it is vital that boys have time away for the daily onslaught of the digital world and get a chance to live simply, among their peers, engaging face-to-face with the people around them.
3. We Develop Our Own Leaders: one of the most impactful aspects of a summer at Dudley is the chance to be mentored by the diverse and talented group of young men who lead our cabins. These Cabin Leaders have grown up in our camp and leadership development program and have been aspiring to give back to Dudley in this way since they first joined us as campers.
4. We Are 26 Days: the length of the experience at Dudley is purposeful: 1) it allows the boys to experience all that we have to offer in a meaningful and in depth way; 2) it gives time to go outside of comfort zones into areas of real growth as well as time to feel the pride of gaining and using a new skill.
5. We Are a Lifelong Community: the Dudley experience doesn’t end at the gates. The lessons our boys learn go home with them, as do the friendships. Our boys grow to become Cabin Leaders, dedicated alumni, and then give back to this place that has meant so much to them. It’s here where they meet their best friends and greatest mentors and it becomes home.
6. We Have A Rich History: founded in 1885, we are the oldest continually operated summer camp in the U.S. We take an immense amount of pride in that and strive each and every day to carry on the simple mission that our founder, Sumner F. Dudley started with, to help boys enjoy a more balanced summer; inspiring them to seek something higher than their own self-interest.