Frequently Asked Questions

All female camp counselors live with campers in bunks. The Pinecliffe bunks are wood cabins, with electricity throughout and bathrooms containing sinks and toilets in each. Shower houses are located throughout the girls camp with hot water, dressing areas and mirrors with electrical outlets. All male camp counselors live in a male staff cabin with toilets, sinks and showers.

Camp Pinecliffe is a uniform camp, which makes your life and the campers’ lives very easy! Campers wear their brown and blue uniform and staff is required to wear khaki (tan) shorts and white shirts. The shorts and shirt styles are flexible, but they must be appropriate at all times. Shorts can be no shorter than a 5 inch inseam. White shirts can be t-shirts, polo, or wide tank tops. Certain departments may require different attire (Swimming, Gymnastics, etc.). For those departments, you may wear the appropriate attire and then change into traditional staff uniform for meals and evening activities. On Wednesdays and Sundays we have “color night” and campers and staff may wear appropriate fun clothing if they choose!

Orientation (sometimes called pre-camp) is the phase of camp (before campers arrive) when you have the opportunity to learn about camp life, meet other great staff members, participate in group building activities, and set up your department. During this time, you get to know us and we get to know you! Orientation is extremely important and may NOT be skipped.

We do not place our camp counselors in bunks until the end of orientation. During this time, we get to know a lot about you and your skills. We then match you with campers that we think you would work with best. We know our campers well and we have great confidence in the matching process!

Staff members will have some time off during the week. We rotate our rest hour and evening program duties so you can have some time to catch up with laundry, emails, or just to read a book! Additionally all staff have one full day off a week. Time off begins after bunk ordering and curfew is 1:00 AM. Staff must sign out and in every day off and also if they are riding in camp vehicles.

That being said… we have a ZERO tolerance policy for under age or excessive drinking, drugs and smoking in camp. Additionally you must be 21 to drink in the state of Maine. At all times we have designated drivers and an emergency phone contact if you cannot make it home safely. Remember if you have the night off, you are expected to be working at 100% the next morning!

Camp Pinecliffe has been owned and operated by the same family for 95 years. We follow countless traditions and customs that many of our moms, grandmothers and great grandmothers have been doing for almost a century! In addition to special activities including Brown v. Blue, campfires, tournaments and celebrations, we have other innovative events throughout the summer that include both campers and staff.

No, but we do hold a non-denominational service every Friday evening. The services are lead by the campers and cover general themes such as friendship, peace, the environment and more.

Salary is dependent on experience. You will be paid every two weeks. We do run a seasonal operation and are not set up for Direct Deposit.

Camp offers a travel supplement. It does not cover your entire expense. You must keep receipts and mileage for all travel. You will submit your expenses during orientation and you will be reimbursed for the first half of your travel during the first few weeks of camp. The other half of travel will be given to you upon a successful completion of your summer. You will not be reimbursed for travel if you decide to depart camp early or are dismissed/ terminated by the administration. Camp Pinecliffe’s contract is “at will.”

At Pinecliffe we pride ourselves on our high retention rate of staff. Most of our Heads of Department are teachers who have made Pinecliffe a second home for themselves and their families. We always have an extraordinary group of returning new staff from all over the world including New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico and more! Without a doubt, when speaking to returning staff, they will always tell you that the friendships they have made at camp will last a lifetime, and we truly believe it. Our staff stays in touch throughout the year and get together often!

Yes! We have staff that has supervision training and a background in counseling. You will need to provide the appropriate documentation and contact information for verification.

We have made it all very easy for you. Just click here and fill out our application. If you have the appropriate skills and background we will contact you directly for a phone interview. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us.