Frequently Asked Questions...

We are asked many questions about Cody by our campers' parents.  The most common questions with answers supplied, are listed below:
(documento en español)

Q. What is the background of Cody?
Q. In what part of the country is the camp located?
Q. How will my son or daughter travel to Cody?
Q. What is the site like?
Q. What facilities do you have at Cody?
Q. Where will my child live?
Q. What are Cody's staff like?
Q. How does a typical day work?
Q. How does the program work?
Q. What activities are taught?
Q. How competitive is Cody?
Q. How does meal-time take place, and what is served?
Q. How is laundry handled?
Q. What clothing and equipment will my son/daughter need at camp?
Q. What medical facilities do you have?
Q. What do campers do when it rains?
Q. How can we keep in touch with our son/daughter?
Q. What co-ed activities are there on-site and off-site?
Q. Where do campers come from, to attend the camp?
Q. What happens if my son or daughter cannot join for the exact dates indicated?
Q. What costs are involved in camp?
Q. When are tuition payments made?

Q. What is the background of Cody?

• The original “Camp Cody” was founded in 1926 and operated for over 70 years as one of the premier boys camps in the nation.
• In 2000, the camp was reorganized into “Cody for Boys” and “Cody for Girls”. Now both boys and girls ages 7-15 years old join us from all parts of the USA and the world. 
• With a capacity of 250 campers and a staff of over one hundred, Cody has one of the best camper/staff ratios in the nation. Campers receive individual and small group in-depth skill instruction in a wide range of activities, increasing skill levels, building self-confidence and having great fun.
  

Q. In what part of the country is the camp located?

• Cody is on Ossipee Lake in Freedom, New Hampshire, in the northeast of the USA. 
• We are a one hour flight north of New York City, two hours north of Boston by car and a one hour drive from the Atlantic ocean.  
• Within New Hampshire, Cody is located on the south eastern edge of the White Mountain National Forest, in the Mount Washington Valley.
  

Q. How will my son or daughter travel to Cody?

• Travel methods include car, plane and charter bus or vans depending on where a camper lives and parents' travel wishes.  To assist with travel to and from camp, we help coordinate flight and bus arrangements with families.
• Charter bus or van transportation to and from the New York regional area is chaperoned. 
• Our staff also meet campers arriving from other parts of the USA and overseas at Boston’s Logan airport and Portland, Maine’s International Jetport.  We also supervise the departure of our campers back home again.
  

Q. What is the site like?

• We have nearly one hundred acres of naturally wooded property and a mile of superb sandy shore-frontage on Lake Ossipee. 
• The lake is four miles long and two miles wide with a natural sand bottom and warm, clear water. 
• Our National Forest setting is secluded and magnificent.
  

Q. What facilities do you have at Cody?

• With millions of dollars invested in the last decade alone, Cody provides campers with one of the best equipped summer camps in the country.
• Our major buildings include: a large office building with reading room; a full size recreation hall with stage, a spacious dining room, large functional kitchen, a large all-camp social hall, a fully equipped medical infirmary; laundry building, crafts shop, a modern shower house in addition to showers in many cabins, arts and crafts building, nature building, a fully equipped maintenance building and assorted storage buildings. 
• Our fields and courts comprise: a baseball diamond complete with full size professional batting cage and pitching machine, soccer field and football field. We have a sand volleyball court; a street hockey arena (floodlit) and a full NHL size and style roller hockey arena, a 5-aside soccer arena (floodlit), floodlit basketball court and seven tennis courts (four floodlit). 
• Cody has a modern rifle range and archery range.  We have separate fully equipped swimming and boating areas with a fleet of over thirty boats.
  

Q. Where will my child live?

• We have thirty two cabins for campers and staff, most with showers and all with electricity, bathrooms and cubbies/lockers for belongings.
•   Our in cabin ratio is a constant with at least 1 counselor to 3 campers.
• Campers live in cabins with children their same age and who also attend camp for the same time period. For example, if a camper is with us for four weeks, every camper in their cabin also attends for four weeks.
  

Q. What are Cody's staff like?

• Our staff are college age and older, with students, college graduates and teachers from across the USA and the world.   Many staff travel to Cody from different countries as close as England, Scotland and Wales, and as far away as Malaysia and South Africa. 
• We only hire qualified instructors and counselors who have a great interest and ability in working with children.  All of our staff are background checked, utilizing access to both court and criminal records from the USA and their respective home countries.
  

Q. How does a typical day work?

• We usually wake up at 7:45 a.m. and have breakfast at 8:30 a.m. 
• Activities begin at 9:30 a.m. with three morning activity periods, lasting one hour each.
• Lunch is at 1:00 p.m., followed by "rest hour" between 1:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. when limited activities or hobbies take place.  
• Afternoon activities start at 2:15 p.m. with three afternoon activity periods also lasting one hour each.
• Dinner is at 6:00 p.m.   At 7:15 p.m., we have fun evening events from large group games, to campfires, and talent shows etc  
• Bed-time for campers varies depending on age.
  

Q. How does the program work?
Cody's daily program varies depending on a camper's age, with all campers having six daily activity periods.

• Younger campers, the Pioneers (ages seven to ten years old) have four cabin assigned activities (we plan these for the entire cabin) and then each camper chooses two personal elective activities each day.

• Our eleven and twelve year olds, the Juniors, have two cabin assigned and four elective (choice) activities each day.

• Our older campers, the Teens (thirteen years and older), have six individual choice activities each day. Two of these are specialty clinics which campers attend on a weekly basis. This allows teen campers to get consistent, in-depth instruction in their favorite activities.

In addition to regular activities, all campers can also choose to participate in a wide range of hobbies, trips and team sports.  These are all "elective", meaning a camper decides whether or not he/she wishes to attend.

We teach many activities at Cody.  Our younger campers get to try most of them.  We feel it's important for them to be exposed to things they might not have done before and also to re-enforce skills in familiar areas.  As our campers get older, they have more choice in selecting activities on which to focus and in which to specialize.  In all activities, increasing individual skills and self-confidence takes place in a great atmosphere where fun is the main aim.

Q. What activities are taught?

• Team sports: Soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, street hockey, roller hockey, volleyball, newcombe and football.

• Individual activities: Tennis, archery, riflery, woodworking, arts and crafts, model rocketry, computers, nature, drama, sciences, biking, backpacking.

• Waterfront: Swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, water-skiing, knee-boarding, wakeboarding, tubing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking and wind surfing.

• Out of Camp Trips: Cody also operates a large tripping department with trips run throughout the National Forest area and also into Maine, Massachusetts and Canada.  See links on left menu.
  

Q. How competitive is Cody?

• We believe that each camper should dictate their own level of competition.   We don't give awards to "the best" camper soccer player, or best camper skier. However, our campers do have access to national award programs run by the United States Tennis Association, the National Water-ski association, the Civilian Marksmanship Program, Red Cross Swimming, American Archery Association and many others. As campers increase their skills and abilities, they receive awards and certificates from such national organizations.  In this way a camper competes against themselves, not other campers.

• All our younger campers receive regular instruction in team sports.  However, they can choose whether they'd like to compete on a Cody team against another camp, or not.  This enables a camper to decide how competitive they want Cody to be with the team sports we offer.
  

Q. How does meal-time take place, and what is served?
We serve three meals daily during which the whole camp dines together. Campers share a table with their bunk mates and cabin counselors.  We serve family style, supervised by our kitchen and dining staff.

• Breakfasts include: Milk, fruit juice, cold cereals, pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets, sausage and eggs, bagels, coffee cake, blueberry muffins.
• Lunches include: Salad bars and sandwich bar, as well as pasta dishes, chicken salad, pizza, cheese burgers and fries, hot dogs, sloppy joes, Mexican, tuna fish, grilled cheese sandwiches and other dishes.
• Dinners include: Roast beef, bbq and grilled chicken, pot roast, steak, spaghetti and meatballs, roast turkey, beef stew, lasagna, pasta dishes.

*Both lunch and dinner meals have excellent salad bars, sandwich making tables, fresh vegetables, fruits, desserts, potatoes, juices, milk etc.   We also have special BBQ's, cookouts, picnic lunches and buffets.  We do not serve shellfish.  Any special dietary requirements can be catered for with ease; including but not limited to kosher, vegetarian, vegan, Lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, and nut allergies.

Q. How is laundry handled?

• We have an in-camp laundry at Cody.  Once a week, each camper takes his/her "laundry bag" to the laundry where it is washed and dried by our laundry staff. Campers collect their clean clothes at the end of the day.
  

Q. What clothing and equipment will my son/daughter need at camp?

• Although laundry is washed weekly, it is important that campers bring at least a week's supply of clothes.  Families from overseas can rent bedding and linen for the summer. 
• All campers should also bring a tennis racquet and a baseball/softball mitt (a mask and snorkel and a model rocket are optional).
• All our families receive a full clothing and equipment list in late spring, including those items required with Cody's name or emblem. 
• Campers usually wear their own clothing during regular activities and then wear our official camp clothing for inter-camp sports and trips needing group identification.
  

Q. What medical facilities do you have?

• We have a complete infirmary staffed by registered nurses.  In addition, we have EMT's (Emergency Medical Technicians) on our staff. 
• We are served by local ambulance, and the nearest hospital is about thirty minutes drive away.
• State law requires that campers must have a recent pre-camp physical by their doctor, with a full health history furnished by parents, prior to attending.  All our campers receive a physical check-up by our medical staff upon arrival.
  

Q. What do campers do when it rains?
We are fortunate in having excellent weather in our location.  During light rain we operate a normal program, except that swimming, tennis and biking will be postponed. With heavy rain, thunder or lightning, campers are kept indoors, as we have ample indoor facilities to keep all campers occupied.

Q. How can we keep in touch with our son/daughter?

• Campers must write home twice a week.  To ensure this takes place, they must bring a letter home as a "ticket" into two special all camp events per week.
• Parents may telephone their son/daughter after the first week of camp.  There are three set times each day when in-coming calls to campers are allowed during free-time periods after meals.
  

Q. What co-ed activities are there on-site and off-site?

• Cody is a Brother/Sister camp and therefore during most of the day girls participate in sports and waterfront activities with other girls, while boys have their own separate sports and waterfront programs with other boys.
• Boys and girls will share some evening programs, special events and trips together.
• There are also several other boys and girls camps nearby and we participate in a wide range of elective activities with them, including: ball games, sailing, canoeing, archery, riflery, BBQ's, dances and socials.
  

Q. Where do campers come from, to attend the camp?

• Cody has boys and girls attending from all over the USA and also from many other countries.  Each summer campers join us from approximately twenty-five States and about a dozen nations.
  

Q. What happens if my son or daughter cannot join for the exact dates indicated?

• A few campers may have difficulty in attending for the exact dates we offer, usually because of school dates conflicting with camp's opening or closing dates. In these cases we have some flexibility with the dates that campers can join or return home.
  

Q. What costs are involved in camp?

• In addition to camp tuition (which includes weekly laundry and all in-camp activities), extra costs include: travel to and from camp, bedding and linen rental ($75 for internationals only) and trip and canteen deposit ($200).  Scuba is also an extra cost item.
• Most out-of-camp trips are optional and usually carry an extra charge. Before camp, parents complete a trip permission form for the more expensive trips (rafting, deep sea fishing, whale watching, Canada).  While the trips are offered on a sign up basis for the campers, parents can still control the type of trip their child attends and also the cost of these elective trips.
  

Q. When are tuition payments made?

• When a family enrolls their child at Cody, they return the completed registration form to our New Hampshire office, with a deposit of $500.   Full payment for the summer is required by May 1st.
• Families from overseas can pay the tuition deposit and the balance of tuition with a bank-to-bank wire transfer of funds, or via credit card.