Overland Summer camps for 4th - 12th graders
Canada’s maritime province of Nova Scotia offers picturesque shorelines, charming harbors and friendly people. Maine’s Acadia National Park boasts similar delights: waves crashing into rocky coves, lobster boats in morning mist, gulls overhead and seals in the distance. Come explore these extraordinary destinations by bicycle on Nova Scotia & Acadia.
Sunday, June 23 – Friday, July 12
Sunday, July 14 – Friday, August 2
5 (1-10, 1 is easiest)
Portland, Maine
Completing grades 7-10 in 2019
Students grouped by grade
Each group is limited to 12 students
Meals
Group gear
Accommodations
Activities
Personal gear and clothing
(see what to pack)
Airfare to and from the trip start and end
Trip insurance (recommended;
learn more about the benefits)
Bicycle (bring your own or rent a bike and panniers from us for $300 plus tax)
Rocky coves, lobster boats, seals in the distance: this is Nova Scotia & Acadia.
Nova Scotia offers the charms of a foreign country close to home. It’s the little things that stand out: an accent deeply rooted in a centuries-long maritime tradition, a landscape dotted with working farms, small (really small!) towns and big (really big!) seascapes.
Riding with a group and two Overland leaders makes it all so much fun. It’s not just what we’ll see and do—it’s who we’ll do it with that matters. We’ll visit Kejimkujik National Park and explore Kejimkujik Lake; in Lunenburg, we’ll take a break from riding to sea kayak the island-dotted coast. All good stuff, all made so much better by sharing it with a group of enthusiastic new friends and two caring Overland leaders.
Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain: the perfect end to three weeks of riding. Acadia is Maine’s coast distilled: all of the beauty you can imagine—the rocky shoreline, the deep blue water, the seals and bird life—it’s all here. And Cadillac Mountain is the ideal final ride: a challenge (but nothing we can’t handle) and a view (wow!) we’ll always remember.
New friends, great leaders, biking, sea kayaking: when you come right down to it, this is Nova Scotia & Acadia.
Kate’s leaders left a lasting impact on our daughter; she had the best summer of her life. They were phenomenal leaders, and we can’t thank them enough.
- Stephanie Swenson, East Milton, Massachusetts
A Beautiful Ride That’s Close To Home But Feels Far Away!
Days 1 & 2: Trip Start
We’ll meet in Portland, Maine, and drive north to Bangor for our first night together. In the afternoon, we’ll learn how to load our bikes, practice riding as a group and prepare for the journey ahead. The next day, we’ll drive to St. John, Canada, and ferry across the Bay of Fundy to Digby, Nova Scotia.
Days 3-7: Crossing Nova Scotia
Our first few days of riding take us across the peninsula of southern Nova Scotia. While crossing the interior, we’ll swim in large glacial-carved lakes and ride through Kejimkujik National Park, the only inland national park in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Here, we’ll explore the hiking trails and swim in beautiful Lake Kejimkujik. We’ll then continue our ride across the peninsula until we reach Nova Scotia’s beautiful coast.
Day 8: Sea Kayak on Mahone Bay
In Lunenberg, we’ll spend a day sea kayaking with experienced guides on the pristine waters of Mahone Bay. On this full-day excursion, we’ll explore the sheltered coves, rugged coastline and sandy beaches that make Mahone Bay famous.
Days 9-15: Coastal Nova Scotia
We’ll ride along the coast of eastern and southern Nova Scotia. From our bikes, we’ll take in the breathtaking scenery: sandy shorelines, coves and small fjords and an interior boasting beautiful lakes and rolling countryside. Biking from campsite to campsite, we’ll visit quaint seaside towns and stay in some of Canada’s beautiful provincial parks as we make our way along the coast. We’ll head south to Yarmouth and then north to Digby before taking the ferry across the bay.
Days 16-18: Acadia National Park
Once on Mount Desert Island, we’ll bike to our campground, which is ideally situated a short distance from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We’ll spend a day visiting downtown Bar Harbor, and we’ll explore the island by bicycle, along Acadia’s famous carriage roads. Built originally for horse-drawn carriages, this 45-mile network of scenic roads is a great way to explore the national park and its granite hills rising above the Atlantic. We’ll end our adventure with a challenging ride to the top of Cadillac Mountain.
Days 19 & 20: Trip End in Portland
From Acadia we’ll drive to Portland, Maine, for a celebratory dinner before our final farewells.
ACCOMMODATIONS
18 nights of frontcountry camping. Campground facilities will have bathrooms and hot water. Many facilities will have showers and laundry.
1 night in a hostel in Nova Scotia. The hostel is a dormitory style accommodation with access to showers and laundry. The rooms are divided by gender.
Itinerary may vary by group and is subject to change.Luggage
Clothing
Outer Layers
General Gear
Bike Gear
Footwear
Miscellaneous
Important Documents
Spending Money
Things to know
You can expect typical summery weather with lots of sunshine, some rain, warm days and cool nights.
You will need to arrange transportation to and from Portland International Jetport (PWM). We will provide more specific travel information once we have placed you on a trip.
The Nova Scotia & Acadia route offers frequent (but not daily) access to showers. Most groups do laundry once a week.
Safety and risk management are at the forefront of our decision-making–from trip planning to leader training to supporting our groups in the field. We cannot guarantee absolute safety–no program can. All recreational activities include inherent risks. Therefore, we strive to manage the risks that we can, knowing we cannot eliminate them. We work hard to recruit, train and support our trip leaders so they can create the kind of trips that have made us successful for over 30 years. Please click here to read more about our approach to risk management and our accreditation by the American Camp Association.
While no previous experience is required, we have high expectations of our students. We expect your child–with your help–to select a trip that is appropriate for his or her interests and abilities. You should spend some time familiarizing yourself with the details of the specific trip and help your child understand what to expect. We also expect our students to prepare ahead of time: to review the packing list, gather clothing and gear and complete whatever training the trip requires (for recommended training please see the Before You Go tab). Once the trip begins, your child should be ready–and excited–to contribute to a wholesome and enthusiastic group where each group member feels welcomed and valued.
When we receive your application, if your first choice is available, we will: (1) call you to acknowledge our receipt of your application, (2) send you an email with a link to our Admissions Review Forms, and (3) charge a deposit of $795 to your credit card to hold your place in the trip pending a favorable admissions review. If your first choice is not available, we will call you to discuss your second choice, third choice or other options. For more information, and to access our application, please visit our Apply page.
PHONES
To maximize independence and self-reliance, we do not permit phone calls, emails or text messages to or from our campers. Your child will call home on arrival and departure with our phones and assistance, and in the case of an emergency. If your child brings a phone for use while en route to Overland, please do not send an expensive smartphone, instead, an inexpensive prepaid cell phone will do. All phones will be collected on arrival and returned at departure. While we will take reasonable steps to prevent damage, theft or loss, we take no responsibility for phones and we will not make any reimbursements for lost, damaged or stolen phones.
ELECTRONICS
Cameras are welcome but please do not bring any other electronics (e.g., iPods, iPads, Kindles or other readers, GPS or similar devices). All electronics (except cameras) will be mailed home on arrival (at your risk and expense).
COMMUNICATION
We are committed to providing extraordinary support to you and your child; to that end, the Overland office is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. seven days a week during the summer. Outside of office hours our answering service provides emergency coverage. Our leaders in the field are in touch with our office regularly; they carry cell phones (and in some cases satellite phones). Anytime a camper is treated for an injury or illness by a doctor or other medical personnel, parents are notified by our office. A director will call the parents to explain the nature of the injury or illness, the sequence of events leading up to the injury and/or the steps leading to the treatment. Parents are typically able to speak with the medical personnel, with the leaders and with their child.
Getting a letter, card or postcard while on an Overland trip is always exciting. Please keep in mind that sending mail to your child on an Overland trip is different than sending mail to camp because your child will be on the move. Our experience has been that mail often does not arrive on time, and, sometimes, even when it does, post offices, campgrounds and other mail stops do not reliably deliver mail to our groups. For these reasons:
1. Please do not send anything valuable – please send letters, cards or postcards only. If mail is late, lost or misdirected, Overland’s leaders and staff are not able to return to the post office (or other mail stop) to collect it.
2. Please use the US Postal Service first-class mail only; do not use UPS, FedEx or DHL (many of our mail stops accept US Postal Service mail only).
3. Please do not send overnight letters: many overnighted letters arrive before or after we arrive and are then sent back. For this same reason, please do not send mail that requires a signature upon delivery.
4. Please allow one week for postal delivery to U.S. mail stops.
5. Please allow two weeks for postal delivery to international mail stops.
Bike and sea kayak in Nova Scotia and Acadia!
Students going on Nova Scotia & Acadia should prepare for:
We expect you to arrive to your trip fully prepared for all activities.
Preparing for the Biking
Daily rides on Nova Scotia & Acadia average 35 miles over varying terrain. Five days are approximately 45 miles and the longest day is in the 55 to 65 mile range.
Overland bicycle tours are self-contained—there is no van support. You will carry all of your belongings, plus some group gear and food, on a sturdy rack mounted over the back wheel of your bike. You will hang panniers (these are saddlebags, pronounced “pan-yers”) off the rack and attach gear like your sleeping bag and sleeping pad to the top of the rack using bungee cords. On average, you will carry about 40 pounds of equipment on your bike (not including the weight of the bike).
You should come prepared and recognize that some days will be more challenging and longer than others. Delays occur due to a wide range of variables—weather patterns change and road conditions vary. You, or someone in your group, might get a flat tire or encounter another mechanical issue that could delay your group. On some days your group will arrive at camp in the early afternoon, with plenty of time to explore, play games or go swimming, while on other days your group will spend more time on the bike.
Every Nova Scotia & Acadia participant should complete all of the spring training rides, and, once on the trip, must be able to maintain 10 mph over challenging terrain on a fully loaded bicycle. Please keep the following responsible riding practices in mind as you complete your spring training rides.
Responsible riding practices
WEAR A HELMET AND CLOSED-TOED SHOES
Always, no exceptions.
DESIGN A GOOD TRAINING LOOP
To the extent possible, ride on bike paths, bike lanes, and bike routes.
FOLLOW THE LAW
You have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers. Obey traffic signals and stop signs. Ride with traffic; use the rightmost lane headed in the direction you are going.
BE PREDICTABLE
Make your intentions clear to everyone on the road. Ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between parked cars. Signal turns, and check behind you before turning or changing lanes.
BE VISIBLE
Ride where people can see you and wear a hi-vis top. Ride with your rear light on and flashing. Make eye contact with others and don’t ride on sidewalks. When possible, ride with others.
THINK AHEAD
Watch for turning vehicles and ride outside the door zone of parked cars. Look out for debris, potholes, and other road hazards. Cross railroad tracks at right angles.
RIDE READY
Check that your tires are sufficiently inflated, brakes are working, chain runs smoothly, and quick release levers are closed. Carry tools and supplies that are appropriate for your ride.
Pre-trip Training:
All training rides should be at an average speed of between 10 to 12 miles per hour. Once on the trip, you and your group will take multiple short breaks throughout the day—for water and snacks, to stretch and rest, to relax and enjoy the view!
Preparing for an Overland Experience
Overland trips are wholesome, structured experiences with high expectations of each student’s behavior. You are expected to be enthusiastic, positive, helpful and supportive of your trip mates and your leaders. We ask that you leave your cell phone and electronics at home (cameras are always welcome), so you can fully engage with your group and your trip. Arriving ready for a challenge—and prepared to contribute to an enthusiastic group—will go a long way toward creating a successful trip. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss preparing for your Overland trip!
3 weeks
$3,995
