IMPORTANT DATES – 2025 SEASON:

Staff are expected to arrive at camp according to the following schedule.  If you cannot arrive by then, you must contact Mike to let us know and to make a plan. 

Kitchen/Maintenance/Housekeeping Staff - Thursday, June 19th by 1:00 PM 

Group Leaders - Tuesday, June 24th by 2:00PM  (CHANGED 5/16/2025)

Nurses/Admin - Monday, June 23th by 2:00 PM 

Program Staff (i.e. Counselors, Specialists) - Thursday,  June 26th by 2:00 PM (CHANGED 4/10/2025)

August only staff - Friday, July 25th by 2:00 PM

A Staff bus will leave from  NYC (Please arrive at the bus stop by 11:00 AM on Thursday, June 26th);  Details below.

Campers Arrive                               Sunday, June 29th

First Session (July) Ends                           FRIDAY, July 25th

2nd Session (August) STAFF arrives                Friday, July 25th

Second Session (August) Begins                     Sunday, July 27th

Camp Season Ends                           Saturday, August 16th

USEFUL INFORMATION for Staff

Your address while at camp:

(Your Name) – “Staff”

c/o Camp Kinderland

1543 Colebrook River Road

Tolland MA 01034

Office Phone:                                                          413-258-4463

Everyone has cell phones, but if for some reason you need to use a camp phone for personal business, we have cell phones available for camper use, which you can also use.  Just check at the office.  

Cell phones: Kids are not allowed to have cell phones.  Please do not use your cell phones in front of the kids -- it's just not that nice.

Computer Access:  We will have one or two computer workstations set up that you are welcome to use during the day and reasonably into the evening.  We also have several laptops available.  Please be mindful when people are waiting to use the computers and try not to monopolize them.  

Laptops: Staff may bring laptops to camp, but please understand that conditions are not optimal: you’re in the woods, it’s damp, there’s endless dirt and dust - so bring a good case.  Wifi is available in/near the office (see below).  We now have a laptop charging cart in the office for staff use.  Please be sure to label your computer clearly so it isn't mistaken for a camp laptop.  Please don't leave laptops around the office with cords draped haphazardly around.

Wifi - We now have Wifi available in some locations around camp (but not in and around camper bunks).  It should cover the office area, staff housing areas, Robeson, and the Rec Hall .  This summer we will be limiting acces to WiFi - only registered devices will be permitted to use it.  We hope that this will solve the problem of campers logging in.    

In order to register your devices (phones, laptops, tablets), please fill out the WiFi access form in CampMinder as soon as you can, and definitely BEFORE arriving at camp.  You will need to identify your MAC (media access control) address.  This is NOT the same as your IP address.  On the form you will find links to instructional videos on how to find this for your type of device.  Please email Joanna or Mike if you have questions.

Travel Policy can be found by following this link.

Packing List: If you're not sure what to pack, here's a handy-dandy packing list.

Dogs: You may not bring your dog to camp.  Bunk staff may not bring pets of any kind.  For those living in staff areas, please contact Cindy Z to discuss.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING…

1 - Pre-Camp Orientation

 Orientation begins on Thursday, June 26th. Please plan to arrive at camp no later than 2:00 pm. Directions by car can be found below. If you need help making travel arrangements to Tolland, please call the camp office at (718) 643-0771.

Kitchen staff should arrive at camp by 1:00 PM on Thursday,  June 19th, unless you've already made other arrangements with Cindy Zingher.  

All July staff members are required to attend Orientation. This DOES NOT include staff who are only working in August - (We will have an abridged orientation for August staff when they arrive on Friday, July 25th). A tremendous amount of communication and integration takes place during Orientation, and participating is both a great experience, and an important part of your job.  In addition, it is the only chance you will have to settle in before the campers arrive.  Again, attendance is required.  (If you haven’t done so already, please call or email to discuss conflicts with graduation, etc.)

2 - Transportation to Camp - Staff bus leaves from the NYC.        

On Thursday, July 26th, a staff bus will leave from New York City -- Buses will depart from Lehman College, Bedford Park Blvd. between Goulden and Paul Avenues in the Bronx.

Please arrive with your luggage no later than 11:00 AM.  We expect to arrive in camp by 2:00 PM.  Please pack a lunch for the bus ride, as we won't be eating until dinner at 5:30.  If you haven’t already done so, please fill out the travel form (accessible through CampMinder), or call or email Mike Salop at mikecampkinderland@gmail.com to indicate whether or not you will need a seat on the bus.  If we do not have your name on a bus list, the bus will not wait.

If you are traveling to camp by car, plan to be there no later than 2:00 PM. Directions by car can be found below.

3 – Nightly camp-wide shut-down time.

In an effort to balance the needs of most staff members to spend significant down-time with one another at night, with the needs of the entire camp community to recharge with a reasonable amount of sleep, Camp Kinderland has a nightly shut-down time of 2:00 A.M.  We think that this time for closing down camp each night will best meet the needs of our camp community at large; it also ensures that there is a set time in camp when everything—canteen, rec hall, kitchen, campfires, vehicle use, etc.—is done for the night, and all facilities are cleared and closed. All camp staff members (program staff, kitchen staff, etc.) will be expected to wrap up any activities they are engaged in, close up all facilities and ‘head home’ for the night by the 2:00 shut down time. Of course, many people choose to go to bed earlier than this, and night-time has to be generally quiet in camp so that campers are not disturbed.  So, as always, it will remain important for everyone to be aware and respectful of one another.

 4 - Staff Drug and Alcohol Policy: If you haven’t already, please read, and fill out the digital signature on the Staff Drug and Alcohol policy form, accessible through CampMinder.

5 - DIRECTIONS to CAMP KINDERLAND

Directions to Bus location:

By Car: From Manhattan, Queens,  Bklyn.- any bridge to the West Bronx.  Take Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) to Van Cortlandt Park South exit. Begin following signs to Herbert Lehman College.  Left turn at traffic light. Continue up hill along Van Cortlandt Ave. West.  At top of hill, turn right onto Goulden Ave.  (Keep following Lehman College signs.)  Go two blocks south to Bedford Park. Blvd. between Goulden and Paul Avenues.

From Queens/Long Island - Whitestone or Throgs Neck Bridge onto Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) to the Bronx River Pkway North.  Exit at Pelham Pkwy Westbound, through Park to Southern Blvd.  Turn right.  At Bedford Park Blvd. turn left about ten blocks to Paul Avenue.

By Train: Lexington Ave. IRT #4 (Woodlawn-Jerome Line) to Bedford Park Blvd. (200th Street).  Walk two blocks west to Paul Ave.

                                                OR

"D" Train to Bedford Park Blvd. Stay in last car (rear exit) and walk two blocks west to Paul Ave.

Car Directions From New York To Camp Kinderland  

     Interstate 684 North into Route 84 (towards Danbury).  Follow 84 to Exit 20 (Waterbury/left-hand exit.)  Take Route 8 North.  (Route 8 as an expressway ends at Winsted, CT., but it continues as a highway.)  At end of expressway Route 8 turn right and continue on Route 8 North approximately 15 miles until intersection with Mass. Route 57 at New Boston (Sandisfield).  Take right turn up steep hill onto route 57; continue 4 miles to Colebrook River Road. Turn right onto Colebrook River Road.  Drive 3 miles to Kinderland sign on left.  Turn left onto the dirt road/driveway.

     You may also take the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Merrit Parkway to Exit 52-Route 8 North.  Follow directions above from Route 8.

Car Directions from Massachusetts Area

     I-91 through Springfield to Exit #3 (to Agawam).  Across Connecticut River pick up Route 57.  Follow signs for 57 through Agawam, Southwick, Granville, to Tolland.  Just after Tolland General Store, which is on the right-hand side of the road, look for Colebrook River Road on left.  Turn left onto Colebrook River Road, stay on exactly 3 miles to Kinderland sign.