The Camp Wanapitei experience promotes self-reliance, cooperation, resilience and personal growth, through fun and challenging canoe trips in Canada’s north. Our highly skilled staff has introduced young people from around the world to adventures in beautiful and majestic northern landscapes. An experience with Wanapitei is a life long investment and life long friendships.

The Our Kids review of Camp Wanapitei

For some, the concept of canoe tripping can be a bit daunting, something that Wanapitei director Eoin Wood readily admits. Wrapped up within the concept, at least to the uninitiated, is the need for parents to let their kids get out there, to make their own experiences, and find their own place in the world. Tripping is conducted with those kinds of goals in mind. Member of Parliament Carolyn Bennett, a great proponent of canoe tripping, has said that “kids need to be able to forge friendships and again experience and take risks … Figuring out who you can trust and who you go to with problems, how you sort out who is a leader you can trust.” She notes that the people she has brought along with her, particularly around the development of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, are the people she has been on canoe trips with. It’s precisely in that spirit that Wanapitei has developed its tripping programs since it was founded in 1931. It’s challenging, and that’s part of it, though the risks are personal, not physical—the leadership at Wanapitei is as good as it gets, and the strength of the program is a testament to that. The experience of being out in nature, far from the noise and bustle of the world, working closely together with a group of peers and leaders is one that can be utterly transformative in the life of a young person.

Camp Address

Sandy Inlet, Temagami, Ontario, P0H 2H0, Canada

Erin Sunstrum and Gill Thompson, Director
Over 30 years combined experience

I fell in love with summer camp immediately upon starting my first camp job in 2004.  I started as an Outdoor Centre staff and Arts and Crafts instructor at Camp White Pine and knew right away I had found my calling.  After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Education, I spent a year teaching abroad… but camp was calling me home.  In November of 2010, I accepted a position with Camp Wanapitei to cover a maternity leave.  I spent an amazing year getting to know the community and knew that I had found my place.  After some part-time work as the Administrative Director, I joined the full-time staff team officially in January of 2015.  Fast forward to the fall of 2019 when I accepted the role of Director.

I come into the position with tonnes of institutional knowledge and training from our outgoing leadership team.  I am an active member of the Ontario Camps Association, sitting on the Annual Conference Committee since 2016 and presenting at camping conferences on topics such as Wilderness Trips and Your Health Centre and Incorporating Mindfulness Programming into Summer Camp.  I am certified in Mental Health and Psychological First Aid, as well as a trainer for Project Wild and AdventureSmart.  I am currently pursuing post-graduate studies in the field of Counselling Psychology, with the hopes of finishing my Masters in the next three years.

I believe the most important part of summer camp is the community – a place for children and youth to find a sense of belonging away from the pressures of an increasingly challenging world.  The Wanapitei experience allows for campers and their leaders to have that sense of place while challenging themselves in new and exciting ways, all with the backdrop of some of the most beautiful parts of our country.  We are passionate about our programs and all that they offer.

We invite you to call or email us to discuss Camp Wanapitei with you and your family. Phone: 519-767-91714 or email: [email protected]

Erin Sunstrum

I love Wanapitei!  I first came here as a 2-week Pioneer camper in 2004 and haven’t really left.  As a camper I felt immediately connected to this community.  My leaders were positive and inspiring role models who encouraged my love of adventure, and who helped me learn how to be comfortable in my own skin.  I want to help others find that same sense of belonging.  

After my camper career, I was a Wanapitei trip leader for seven summers, and trip director for three summers.  I led every level of trip that Wanapitei offers, travelling through incredible places with wonderful people.  After finishing school for Outdoor Recreation in 2012, I spent my time travelling and working at different camps and outdoor centres.  In 2014 I started working at the Kandalore Outdoor Centre where I was an instructor for several seasons before moving to a full time position as Program Director in 2017.  Although I will always love being out on the “front lines” on canoe trips or at activities, I also really love approaching camp from a management position, and I’m grateful to continue doing that work at Wanapitei.  I feel very fortunate to be able to do this job with Erin.

We can all learn from being in nature.  Whether it’s self discovery, making connections with others, or just learning some cool facts about frogs, being on a canoe trip can really give you a new perspective.  I love hearing stories about trip - paddling the beautiful waters of Temagami, making your way to James Bay, or even dragging your boat up some unnamed creek in the north.  Our experiences may be different, but the common thread of our community ties us together.  Looking forward to hearing your stories next.  

Gill Thompson

Sleeping Accommodations

Washrooms Facilities

Sports facilities

Landscape

• Reflections 52 years Later

  Here it is 52, yes 52 years, since i first started at camp with Stan and Laura Belle...we went to their home in Kitchener from Windsor, met up with other campers and continued with the Hodgins on to Wanapitei ...as a small child it was hard the first time, but over the next seven years it was the best experiences of my life. To this day, I remember camp like it was yesterday. It shaped me into the person i am today, and i am forever grateful. We have a cottage,and I still canoe and appreciate all that mother nature has to offer. Thanks again Wanapitei!

• ORCKA Clinic

  Each session our Wilderness Leaders in Training take part in a seven day moving-water clinic run by an ORCKA certified instructor. This past summer our August WLIT group traveled to the Dumoine River, where they had the opportunity to learn new paddling skills. All of the campers worked extremely hard and achieved levels through the ORCKA program.

• Going Bananas

  To mark the beginning of each session, we like to welcome the campers with an Opening Campfire. The Wanapitei staff truly enjoys nothing more than dressing-up in costumes and leading the campers in both new and old songs and skits. Whether a camper is at his or her first or fifth campfire they are guaranteed to have fun.

• Taking in Centre Falls

  This past July, our Temagami campers (ages 10-11) set out on a six day canoe trip in the Temagami area. The group left from Wanapitei and paddled to Diamond Lake, with its ancient pictographs, and into the famous Lady Evelyn Lake. From there they paddled up the south channel of Lady Evelyn to Center Falls. At Center Falls the group took a well deserved break from paddling and the heat. An afternoon of playing in the water at the base of the falls was exactly what the group needed before they began their journey back to the shores of Sandy Inlet and Wanapitei.

• 50 Days in the North

  This past summer a group of 12 Voyageur II campers and two leaders set off at the beginning of July for the Yukon Territories. The group flew to Whitehorse and then took a shuttle to the South MacMillian River, where they began their 50 day adventure. From the South MacMillian, the group began a challenging up-stream portion that brought them to the South Nahanni River. After paddling down the South Nahanni for a few days, they headed up-stream to the Natla River. The group followed the Natla to the Keele River and ultimately to the MacKenzie and their final destination of Norman Wells. The group traveled through two territories, completed two challenging up-streams, and paddled some amazing whitewater. Their stories and pictures of the landscapes they saw are absolutely breathtaking. The trip truly was the experience of a lifetime.

• The Best Summer

  I completed the Wanapitei Leader in Training program and it was the best summer of my life so far. I was having adventures with my best friends, doing worthwhile work and learning a wide variety of new skills that will serve me well in whatever path I choose to follow. Most importantly for me, however, is that I spent almost every day, 24 hours a day, with my friends; creating together, supporting each other and learning from each other. Another thing that made it significant is that I spent time as a counselor and got to share what I love about camp with young children. The only downside was having to go back to school after such a fabulous summer.