Best of Arlington 2016

Education & Family

Best Sleepaway Camp

Sandy Hill Camp and Retreat Center

At Sandy Hill Camp, students who have completed second through 10th grade can enjoy more than 50 activities—from archery and waterskiing to cooking and musical theater—in one- or two-week sessions on 211 acres of unspoiled forests, fields and beaches overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. But that’s not even the camp’s best selling point, according to co-directors Greg Joseph and his wife, Kathy Ann. It’s their staff. The camp has a “better than 3:1 camper-to-staff ratio,” Joseph says, and the two most important lessons counselors learn during training are: Always put your campers first; and be a positive adult role model. Welcoming 3,000 students during the summer is “an incredible responsibility that we don’t take lightly,” he says. Nearly 10 percent of those campers hail from Arlington.
–Lisa Rabasca Roepe

3380 Turkey Point Road, North East, Maryland, 410-287-5554, sandyhillcamp.com

Other top vote-getters:

Camp Friendship
Camp Rim Rock for Girls
Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab
YMCA Camp Sea Gull/Camp Seafarer