Rick Littlefield proudly proclaims that no other children’s summer camp in the U.S. has the unique advantage of being located directly on both a freshwater lake and the ocean. All other camps that shared this advantage have regrettably closed and been sold off due to high real estate values.
Rick Littlefield also proudly states that the Littlefield family property has been able to remain in the family since 1763 through the fierce determination of 8 generations of Littlefields despite many obstacles, pressures, and financial temptation. The current generation is motivated to continue our legacy for generations to come. I have recently purchased an additional abutting property to increase our family footprint. In addition, I am proud of what we have been able to create, grow, and sustain at Robin Hood for 93 summers in just 2 generations. It’s been a great run and I am looking forward to celebrating the 100th season of Robin Hood in 2027.
The oceanside property is my personal favorite as it contains 2 private beaches and has remarkable views of the Camden Hills across Penobscot Bay, also views of nearby Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, Little Deer Isle, and many small islands. For 45 years my favorite experience has been the tradition of taking campers on my Boston Whaler powerboats to swim with seals on a nearby ledge no more than 10 minutes from our dock. We also regularly see small herds of porpoise surfacing along the way, and even encounter whales as we did several times last summer, including one that surfaced no more than 100’ away from our dock. We explore islands and have picnic lunches and dinners. I often take campers to nearby ports for lobster and steak dinners. Powering across our bay at sunset can be an unforgettable experience and one of the highlights of the summer for campers and myself. This is something I have been blessed to experience hundreds of times and never grow tired of.
In addition, we have ocean kayaking, sailing, paddle boarding, canoeing, Marine Biology, and 3-day sailing cruising excursions out into the islands and harbors. Perhaps the greatest camper challenge is to complete a 12-hour canoe experience that starts on our lakeside property and finishes on our ocean beach.
Then there is our abutting lakeside property where the vast majority of our activities happen. Waterskiing, Wakeboarding, and Wakesurfing are wildly popular and we are able to ski more than 100 campers every day of the week thanks to having 8 competition boats and 18 coaches and drivers. 6 time World Champion Wakeboarder Dean Lavelle has run a Wakeboard Academy for the past 5 seasons, and the Woman’s Jr. World Champion Wakesurfer from Brazil was with us 2 seasons ago for a month. In addition, we have a Colombian National Waterski Champion with us this coming 2020 season plus several other top skis, wakeboard, and wake surf competitors.
Our lake sailing program is considered one of the best camp sailing programs in camping with fleets of Quest 15’s, 420s, Lasers, Optis, Hobie Cats, and Sunfish led by a Champion from Monaco now going to school in the U.S, Rick Littlefield says.
Our kayak program begins on the lake and graduates to the oceanside. We have single and double crew shells and we recently had a National Champion rowers from the UK for 3 seasons and will have a top competitor coach this coming summer.
The Canoe program is exceptional thanks to our good fortune of having Dan Ryan, a registered Maine Guide with 40 years of canoeing experience who leads river whitewater excursions. Dan is also a registered Maine Fishing Guide and expert Fly Fisherman. He teaches both Fly Fishing and spin casting. He oversees our Canoeing, Fishing, and Survival Programs.
A member of the U.S. Windsurfing Team created our Windsurf program, and our Paddleboarding is also popular. Ironically, despite all of the talented water sports coaches and equipment available, playing on our inflatable water toys is a camper favorite.
Then there are 2 PADI Scuba certification courses available for any camper age 11 and over who wish to get certified in a one-week intensive course. A Master Dive Instructor runs these certification courses lakeside.
I may need to leave talking about our land activities for another interview unless you want this article to become a novel, but I’ll tease you by mentioning that we have the Harvard Women’s Varsity Squash Coach, Hameed Ahmed, to run our Squash Academy, Muy Thai Kickboxing Champion Nghia Tran who trains almost 100 campers daily and has been named our favorite counselor every year for 19 summers by campers. Lastly, I’ll mention that our Tennis Program is exceptional and coached by 4 USTA certified coaches in addition to other Tennis staffers, and our golf program is run by a PGA Pro from Santa Barbara California, Dave Dehares, who coaches the University of Santa Barbara Golf teams. Needless to say, I believe we offer the most qualified and talented staff in the world of summer camps. I’ll elaborate further in our next interview.
