Packing List

What To Bring?

Getting ready for camp is an exciting process!  We hope you find this guide helpful as you pack your trunks and duffels in preparation for summer at camp.  Items are optional unless noted, and should be labeled clearly with your camper’s first and last name.  We are not responsible for lost or damaged items – please keep valuable items at home.  We recommend packing belongings in two soft-sided duffels.

Very important: please clearly label the outside of all luggage (suitcases, duffles, trunks, etc.) with your Camper’s FIRST & LAST NAME.  It’s very difficult for our team to account for unlabeled luggage.  Thank you in advance for your assistance with this – it makes a huge difference!

Clothing

The camp uniform consists of a Camp Nicolet Camper polo (in yellow/maize) from Lands End, khaki/tan shorts or pants, and white tennis shoes or sneakers.  The camp uniform is required – however it is not worn daily.  It’s worn for travel days, on photo day, a weekly Vespers ceremony, and other times as requested.

To order the Camper polo shirt, visit Lands End and select “Show Packing List” at the top. On the left hand side you will see “Required Items”. This is where you can find the “Uniform Women’s Short Sleeve Fem Fit Mesh Polo.”  When this shirt is selected it automatically adds the Camp Nicolet logo after you select your camper’s size.

Please send a variety of camp-appropriate shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, jeans, sweatpants, bras, underwear, and socks that will get your camper through a week-long stay. Laundry is sent to a commercial laundry in Eagle River once each week.  Your camper also wants to have an assortment of colorful clothing and various fun costumes for special days!  If you do not have these items, no worries – there is a lot of sharing at camp!

The Camper Jacket

A Charles River forest green anorak pullover is the latest and greatest “camper jacket” – a non-required Nicolet tradition of many decades.  Consistently available for purchase, campers take pride in sewing activity area patches earned each summer on the jacket – showcasing accomplishments in a wearable manner year after year, like a High School “letter jacket” (is that still a thing?).  Unfortunately, camper jackets arrive with no logo or artwork.  We have a relationship with a local embroidery shop, and the camp logo can be added for $15, charged to your camp store account.  The camper jacket is purchased by clicking here.

The Nicolet Spirit Shop

Like the Canteen but open year-round, check out the alumni-inspired Nicolet Spirit Shop to purchase other great non-required Nicolet gear!  Selection varies from season to season, and proceeds benefit the Camp Nicolet Foundation, helping support Camperships (financial aid) and the general Nicolet mission.  Shop Now!

Outerwear

Weather at camp can be cold and rainy at times. Please send a rain jacket/poncho, a heavyweight jacket, and/or a fleece jacket. We also recommend sending a pair of rain boots.

Swimwear

Please send at least four or five swimsuits with your camper. These can be of any color (EXCEPT RED) and style but must be comfortable and provide enough coverage to wear during activities such as Water Skiing. Also useful: two beach towels, water shoes, sunscreen, nose clips, ear plugs, swim goggles, and UV protection shirts. We have wetsuits available for camper use, but you may send one if you choose.

Camping Gear

If your camper is participating in a Northpoint Adventures trip, please visit npadventures.org and obtain a Packing List for your camper’s specific trip.  Find Packing Lists for each trip on the individual trip pages.  If your camper is not participating in a Northpoint trip, for Outpost Overnights she should still bring:

• A sleeping bag with stuff sack
• A backpack or daypack
• A flashlight or headlamp with extra batteries
• At least one 32-ounce water bottle
• Small bottles of bug spray & sunscreen

Linens

Please send the following with your Camper:

• A twin size (small) mattress pad (not egg crate-style)
• A set of twin size (small) sheets (2 sets are recommended)
• A pillow & pillow case
• At least two blankets of varied weights to accommodate multiple temperatures
• Two bath towels
• A wash cloth and a hand / face towel
• A laundry bag (that can go through the wash)
• The above linens, except the laundry bag, are provided to International Campers & Staff

Please label all clothing items, camping items, linen items, personal items, and the laundry bag with your camper’s FIRST & LAST NAME.  Being able to easily identify personal belongings is the only way the commercial laundry service can return items to their owners.

Bath Items

We recommend sending the following with your Camper:

• A bath robe
• A bathroom organizer caddy (to easily transport toiletries to the Shower House)
• Shampoo & conditioner
• Body wash or soap
• Hand or body lotion
• Chapstick
• A toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash (as desired)
• A hairbrush
• Deodorant
• Sanitary supplies

Sports Gear

If your Camper is participating in Horseback Riding while at camp, we require that you send an ASTM/SEI-approved helmet, riding boots or smooth-soled shoes with a defined heel, and riding jodhpurs or jeans. Shorts, leggings, flip-flops, and sandals are not allowed in the Riding Area. We do have a limited supply of helmets and boots for use by novice Riding Campers.

All other sports equipment – including tennis racquets and balls, soccer uniforms, softball gloves, wakeboards, water skis, bike helmets, and more – are provided by Camp Nicolet.  However, if your camper prefers to use their own personal items, they may bring them.  Again, please label all personal sports equipment with Camper FIRST & LAST NAME.  Personal sports items are generally stored in camper cabins (except skis and wakeboards) and are the responsibility of the owner.

Other fun items

There are a couple of other optional fun items which a Camper could bring, if they choose:

• Crazy Creek camp chairs (available for purchase at the Canteen at camp)
• Musical instruments
• Stationery & stamps
• Pre-addressed envelopes or address book (useful for younger campers)
• A camera (digital is OK – as long as it doesn’t connect to the Internet)
• Books
• Cards & non-electronic games
• Sunglasses
• A watch

Leave No Trace

Generally applying to outdoor ethics (wilderness camping), we also follow a “Leave No Trace” principle in camp:

“If you pack it in, pack it out”

With increasing frequency, Campers and Staff are leaving many personal items behind each season.  This creates a difficult situation for our team, and we encourage Campers and Staff to go home with what they brought to camp.  Being accountable for your personal items is one of those “life lessons” which an adventure at camp helps teach.  We encourage people to care for and keep track of their belongings.

Items left behind at the conclusion of a session are considered “Lost & Found.”  Our procedure is to hold Lost & Found items for up to three weeks.  At that time, items are donated to local charities and we are no longer responsible.  If something is missing when your Camper returns home, please contact the office immediately so we can attempt to locate the item(s).

Camp Nicolet will ship forgotten items home to families – however, UPS or US Mail shipping rates apply, plus a $25 minimum handling fee.  The handling fee increases with large items (like a water ski) which are left behind.  Shipping fees are charged to your Camper’s camp store account and billed at the conclusion of the season, typically in late-August.  Please encourage your daughter to return home with everything she brought to camp – as this saves a lot of time for our team at the conclusion of each session.  Gaining this time back allows us to focus on other, more constructive tasks than “Lost & Found.”  Thank you in advance for your assistance with this!

Keep at Home (or not at all)

These items are better left at home:

• Hair dryers
• Straighteners
• Curling irons
• Expensive jewelry
• Designer clothing
• Family pets
• Food, candy, and beverages
• Drugs (having drugs at camp results in immediate dismissal without refund)
• Alcohol (having alcohol at camp results in immediate dismissal without refund)
• Tobacco (will be confiscated and a warning issued – second offense results in dismissal without refund)
• Fireworks or flammables (we have lighters you can use on Cookouts and trips)
• Weapons [excluding pocket knives] of any kind (having weapons at camp results in immediate dismissal without refund)

Please contact the camp office or a Leadership Team member if you have any questions about items permitted at camp.