Camp Tamarack

Overview

Camp Tamarack was founded by Donna Gill of Lebanon and Lucille Murphy of Portland, who leased the land for the camp from the USDA Forest Service (The Sunday Oregonian 1960:33). The camp was established not long after a 1933 Recreation Handbook was issued by the Forest Service that prioritized the type of development that organization camps, including private camps, could use to create their own facilities under a special use permit. Private organization camps like Camp Tamarack were usually allotted lands that were off a main road with adequate acreage, capacity, water, seclusion, and safe sanitation (Throop 2003:37). Prior to Forest Service ownership, the land was used as traditional hunting and gathering lands of the Northern Paiute and peoples of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Today, over 3,000 5th/6th grade students come to Camp Tamarack in the spring and fall for Outdoor School for 2 nights and three days and about 1,000 campers get to spend a week of their summer, playing, bonding, taking risks and trying new things during summer programming.

With a 1 to 4 staff to camper ratio, we offer campers ages 8-12 a wide variety of activities -- from tee shirt printing to ceramics, paddle boarding to snorkeling, and extreme sports to camping, just to name a few! With a rotating activities schedule, there’s never a dull moment. You’ll find campers making friendship bracelets or ice cream, learning archery, on a camp-wide scavenger hunt, canoeing on our lake, hiking and exploring, and jumping on our water trampoline. And of course the gaga ball pit is never empty. After dinner, campers participate in the evening olympic games and campfire. The days are full and the days are fun!