ROME, Maine — This year, Pine Tree Camp celebrates its significant 80th anniversary milestone. Founded on the heels of the Great Depression, two world wars, and the effects of polio, Pine Tree Camp was built on the belief that access to nature and recreation is essential for people of all abilities. It was an idea ahead of its time and one that has since shaped the lives of tens of thousands of Maine people. 

It’s remarkable that Pine Tree Camp was founded in the heart of Maine’s rustic Belgrade Lakes Region 45 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. It’s even more remarkable that campers like Kristin Selwood of Winthrop, Addie Bowden of Augusta and Michael Thibodeau of Woolwich have called camp home each summer since childhood.

Now 58 years old, Kristin Selwood, of Winthrop, started coming to camp when she was 12. When the group home she lived in closed, her family advocated for her to live independently in her own apartment. The confidence she developed at camp contributed to that success.  

Addie Bowden, of Augusta, is 25 years old and has attended Pine Tree Camp since she was nine. The “then” photo of her with a friend was the very first time Addie let another child hug her. ”It was lovely,” her mother, Heidi, recalled. “And it answered a big question for us: will she ever want to have that interaction with other people?” Because of her experience making a first friend at camp, Addie went on to make a new friend at school, join the theatre program and pursue her passion for singing.

Woolwich resident Michael Thibodeau is 25 and has been coming to Pine Tree Camp since he was in elementary school. “He talks about it every day and tells people ‘Pine Tree Camp is my camp!’,” said his mother, Nicole. At camp, he loves drama, dancing, swimming, kayaking and fishing. At home, he’s active in his community, is part of a dance program and makes friends everywhere he goes.

For all three of these campers — and thousands of other Mainers who have come through camp’s gates since 1945 — their experiences at Pine Tree Camp inspired the confidence, skills and lifelong friendships that set them on a course to live independently and thrive. Many of our adult campers have been coming to camp for over 60 years. This year, Pine Tree Camp’s youngest camper was 5 and the oldest was 80. Every camper who came down the road to North Pond this summer had the chance to do anything they wanted to try, with no limits holding them back.  

Pine Tree Camp, which celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2025, is a program of Pine Tree Society and an American Camp Association-accredited camp for people with disabilities. Every year, hundreds of Maine children and adults with disabilities arrive at Pine Tree Camp in Rome and their lives are transformed. Year-round, campers experience freedom and independence by actively participating in outdoor activities like kayaking, boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, biking, archery, snowshoeing and cross country skiing thanks to camp’s 285-acre, fully-accessible campus on North Pond. Full tuition assistance is available. Since 1945, no camper has ever been turned away due to their ability to pay. www.pinetreesociety.org/camp-home