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Camp Dudley Testimonials

Over Hurd or Over Heard? One of the long running columns in our summer newspaper called The Dudley Doings is called “Over Hurd”. This usually features fun and silly things the editors have heard campers and leaders say during the previous week – things said around campus that you can’t really make up yourself. Hurd is one of our plebe cabins built in 1935 by Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Hurd, of Utica, NY, “as a memorial to all those whose unselfish efforts and devotions that have made Camp Dudley a force for good in the lives of boys.” It also offers us a wonderful play on words for this ongoing favorite Dudley Doings column!

We tell a lot of people why we love camp and why we think you should send your son to Dudley. We thought it would be even better to share some of what our current parents tell us about the Dudley experience and what helped them chose Dudley. All comments below came from real answers from real parents and have been anonymized for confidentiality. We swapped in our founder’s name – Sumner F. Dudley – when we needed to, as we think he would be might proud of what we are up to these days! Enjoy and as always, reach out directly if you’d like to chat!

Read about what our parents say about Camp Dudley

Sumner had the best time of his life.  I knew he would have fun but I wasn’t expecting how engaged he has been since he came home.  He is much more talkative, helps around the house, and is much more active.  He even has me doing room checks every morning! He really matured in the three weeks that he was away. Such an exceptional camp.

  • Sumner had a great time on the first session He loved everything about it and is already hoping to be back next year!
  • Sumner had an outstanding summer! He had a great cabin, and the leadership in Williams was top-notch. The Leadership team did an excellent job keeping everyone in the cabin engaged and having fun.
  • Sumner absolutely loves Camp Dudley. This is his second year and he is ready to return for year 3 next year!
  • Sumner said his senior summer was his favorite – although his Plebe year will also always be special.  He loved his cabin and had great things to say about his Leader.
  • Our son really enjoyed his time and was able to  try new activities which was a great experience.
  • Sumner had a great time at Dudley.  He really enjoyed the team competitions, the art activities, and he loved the people!
  • Sumner describes his second year as INCREDIBLE!!! He loved it!!
  • Sumner had a transitional experience at Dudley this summer. As a parent, I saw exponential growth in his leadership and ability to self-manage. Thanks for a great summer!

My son’s first comment when he got into the car was “This camp changed my life!” It was a very deep and meaningful comment.

  • Our son had a great experience and had many wonderful things to say about his time at Camp Dudley
  • Both my boys had a great time and can’t wait for next year!
  • Sumner had an amazing time!
  • Sumner really loved the time at Camp, meeting new friends, participating in different activities, and trying new things
  • Sumner had a great time at Dudley this year.
  • While picking up our son from camp, he immediately asked if he could go back next year. Thank you.
  • Sumner loves Dudley and so do we. He hopes to go back as an aide next summer. Thank you for cultivating such a warm and wonderful environment for these boys.

Sumner came home asking if we could move up there so he wouldn’t have to leave. He loved the experience and we are super happy with what he has said about it.

  • Sumner loved his experience at Camp Dudley!
  • He had the best time! Loved his leader, the activities. He is a lifer. See you next summer!
  • Sumner enjoyed his experience this year at camp. The staff and Leaders were outstanding.
  • We are very appreciative of the spiritual aspect of CD. 
  • My son has enjoyed his Summer at Camp Dudley.  
  • Sumner had an incredible time!
  • Everything was excellent.
  • As our first year, everything was run very smoothly, friendly staff.
  • Everything was flawless.

Camp Rules!  Sumner came home a better version of himself with several new interests.  We couldn’t be happier, and I am so glad he is shaping up to be a camp kid like I was many years ago! Yoha!

  • Sumner had the best camp experience imaginable. Thank you Camp Dudley! He’s already looking forward to next summer at Dudley! 
  • Sumner looks forward to camp each year. This year was exceptional. 
  • He had the best time! Loved his counselors and the sports

As a parent, I could not be more pleased with Camp Dudley and the experience my son had there. Camp Dudley is a truly unique place. It is so rare these days where children can find a place that lets them play games and explore nature while at the same time providing a moral grounding and teaching life lessons. I loved the fact that the campers dressed up for Sunday chapel and that my son enjoyed it so much.

  • Sumner came back more mature and kind. 
  • Sumner had a blast, as per usual.  He tried new things from the previous summers and loved seeing old friends.
  • My son enjoyed camp to the fullest and talks about it regularly. He’s all in on Dudley!
  • My son had a great time there!
  • My son has his typically great experience this summer. Keep up the great work!

Our son came home very excited about Dudley.  He had a great time, made lots of good friends, and progressed in several sports.

  • Sumner was a little nervous bringing friends from home as new campers. But it turns out they both had terrific experiences.
  • Sumner loved it. This was his second summer and since he is the kind of kid who needs to know what’s going on in advance in order to relax and have a good time, he hit his stride this time around.  Thanks!
  • Great summer with a great leader 
  • Sumner loved his final camper at Dudley.  As a former camper and leader  –  my wife and I are very pleased.  He is excited to continue his relationship Dudley next summer and beyond.
  • Sumner came late to camp, but loved every second of his time at Dudley. His councilors were outstanding and gave him wonderful advice about life and school. 
  • Sumner thoroughly enjoyed his first year at camp and is looking forward to next year already.  
  • Sumner had an amazing time this summer at the 2nd session. 
  • Sumner came home with nothing but glowing things to say about camp. He is excited to return next year. Camp seems like a new part of his identity that he associates with fun and independence and a culture that he shares with other campers. He has been carrying it with pride. 
  • Sumner is still telling new camp stories with enthusiasm.

I cannot say enough good things about Sumner’s experience at Dudley. His time spent at Dudley each summer is without question the highlight of his year.  Thank you.

  • Sumner loves Dudley and it has become an important part of his identity. He has had great experiences with his cabin leaders and enjoys meeting new campers. 
  • He absolutely LOVED it! Thank you for all you do!
  • From the moment we arrived to Camp Dudley, we knew we picked the perfect camp for Sumner. Not only is the camp setting absolutely spectacular, but the greeting we received from counselors and staff was unparalleled. It felt super inclusive and welcoming. Sumner  is an outgoing, very socialized kid who loves sports and is pretty much up for anything, so Dudley was perfect for him. His counselor was also a great fit for Sumner  and so were his cabinmates and the other counselors. 
  • Sumner loved his summer at Camp Dudley. He immediately felt welcome and came home full of confidence and amazing memories. It was his dream camp! It was better than I could have ever expected. Thank you !!! 
  • Sumner returned to us clearly having just had a life-changing experience. He was a different kid in the best ways possible. 
  • He LOVES his summers there and looks forward to attending all year
  • I really appreciated the weekly photo galleries. Additionally, whoever was in charge of taking those photos did a wonderful job. 
  • Fantastic first year.
  • Sumner had an excellent first summer at Camp and is excited to return next year! We hope to inspire others from our area to join him next year.

Sumner’s experience exceeded our expectations – he came back glowing with confidence and joy!

  • Sumner had a terrific time – “went by so fast” “great friends” 
  • Truly amazing experience for our son. Can’t thank all of the staff enough!
  • Best summer yet! 
  • My son absolutely loves Dudley and we continue to recommend Dudley to family and friends. 
  • Sumner spent four summers at Dudley and we are so thankful for the experiences he had! 
  • He loved everything about the Campgrounds and the Staff
  • Sumner’s first few days and drop off were high anxiety and tearful, but he can’t wait to come back next summer as a Plebe!
  • Sumner had a fantastic summer at Dudley. Great experience all around!
  • The boys were super welcoming. Sumner loved his cabin mates and leaders. We appreciated the variety of activities and the focus on tradition.
  • I wish I could give you something to work on, but Sumner had an incredible summer and Camp Dudley is pretty perfect according to us!

I never went to overnight camp as a kid, so I personally had a lot of anxiety and sadness about my child going away overnight. I wondered if he would like it or if it would be too long, and I also wondered if it was worth not seeing him for 3 weeks. One thing that really helped was the newsletter that you all sent sometime during the school year about the benefits of 3 weeks away from screens, that really helped me think about it differently. Then the experience of even coming onto campus to drop my Cub off was amazing. The cheering and warm welcome were so great…you could feel it was authentic and this was the right place for him. I also appreciated how easy it was to find info on the website to get him ready.

  • Sumner had the best year yet!! We are always so impressed by the kindness of the campers and leaders. 
  • Our son returns having personally grown in all ways. This is an important community for him.
  • Great experience with the opportunity to take advantage of everything Camp has to offer.
  • Sumner came back from camp happy and excited to continue at Camp Dudley. Prior to the session starting, he said it would probably be his last summer. After this summer, he was rejuvenated and re-inspired to continue. His two leaders were instrumental in this change of thought. I was not there, but I believe they were both great leaders and were strong role models.

While I could go on, and on, about how great I think Camp Dudley is I want to conclude by saying that Camp Dudley is incredibly well run. I was so impressed by the number of years each Junior Aide, Aide, Leader and Division Leader spent at Camp Dudley. The devotion which they have to Camp Dudley really shown through.

  • As always, best part of the summer for Sumner! 
  • Parker had an amazing summer at Dudley – – – he went in a bit tentative, but came home with oodles of stories, songs and memories.    All of our children came back with big smiles, and they can’t wait to return to the shores of Lake Champlain.  Even Graham wants to come back as an Aide! Thank you!

My son had an amazing experience at Camp Dudley. He loved every minute of his time at Camp Dudley and now, weeks after camp has ended, will talk about things he enjoyed doing at camp as well things he learned at camp. He is looking forward to returning next year.

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