Stories to fuel your mind

10 Great Summer Camp Stories

Summer camp memories—whether glorious or traumatic—last a lifetime. Scratch your nostalgia itch with this collection of great long reads about the loved and loathed summer ritual.

Pocket Editors

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

The loss of a carefree summer, how to find an adult summer camp, and the stories and movies to take you back to the bunks.

Image by Maskot/Getty Images

Adult Summer Camp Is Absolutely A Thing And Should Be Your Next Getaway

Whether you want to reminisce or feel like a kid at heart for the first time, summer camp is for grown folks, too.

What Happened to Kids’ Summers?

Summer camps are impossible to book and too expensive. It’s the result of a toxic combination of problems.

How to Identify Rocks, the Ultimate Summer Camp Souvenir

Who hasn’t stopped to marvel over a cool rock along the lakeshore or on the trail? Here’s how to learn its backstory.

Summer Camp and Parenting Panics

Camps once sold a story about social improvement. Now we just can’t conceive of an unscheduled moment.

8 Thrillers and Horror Novels Set at Terrible Summer Camps

Not since Allan Sherman first sang “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah” have tales of summer camp woes been quite so entertaining.

What Happens to Your Marriage When Your Kids Go to Camp

Curious about the parents’ point of view? “I’m alone with my husband for the first time in 10 years.”

17 Classic Summer-Camp Movies, Ranked

Summer-camp movies are less about applying bug spray, and more about like-minded people banding together to make something impossible and wonderful happen.

A Brief History of the S'more, America’s Favorite Campfire Snack

The gooey treat couldn’t have become popularized without the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, which brought cheap sweets to the masses.

How I Lost My Faith at a Boot Camp for Christian Kids

At twelve years old I was sent away for one long hot summer of obediently serving the Lord. But instead of finding God, I discovered my rebellious streak.

Dickens in Eden

What would Charles Dickens say if he knew that two hundred and sixty people had given up a precious week of summer vacation just to talk about him?

Hungry for More Summer Fun? Check Out 12 Summer Dessert Recipes

Make the most of fresh summer flavors with a dozen warm-weather treats to add to your repertoire.

Pocket is shutting down