Last Updated on May 29, 2025 by Matt Staff
Before smartphones, social media, and air-conditioned cabins, summer camp was a place where muddy knees, mosquito bites, and marshmallow roasts ruled the day. From the 1930s through the 1980s, kids across the country packed their duffel bags and headed into the woods for weeks of carefree adventure, awkward talent shows, and mischief under the stars.
Whether it was canoe races gone wrong, questionable campfire cooking, or the eternal quest to win the shaving cream war, these snapshots offer a charming glimpse into a wilder, freer childhood. Here are 20 vintage photos of summer camp shenanigans.
1. Riding the water skis at camp, early 1970s
2. Summer camp in South Dakota, 1930s
3. Playing some tetherball at camp, 1970s
4. Counselors at summer camp, 1981
5. Heading off to summer camp with a Walkman, 1982
6. Young pioneers at summer camp, early 1970s
7. “One of my in-laws at summer camp with Chris Farley, 1974”
8. Boy Scout summer camp, 1987
9. Meeting Wilt Chamberlain at All Sports Summer Camp, 1965
10. YMCA Camp Oakes, 1983
11. Reading at summer camp, 1967
12. Summer camp at Camp Mountain Lake, North Carolina, 1977
13. Dungeons and Dragons summer camp, 1985
14. Harassing the camp counselor, 1970s
15. Archery class at Mountain Lake Camp, 1970s
16. SoCal summer camp, 1981
17. Celebrating the end of Andy Sweet’s Summer Camp, 1977
18. Camp counselors at Camp Kon-O-Kwee, 1972
19. Holding a pet skunk at summer camp, 1963
20. The aftermath of a shaving cream fight at summer camp in Texas
Want to see more vintage content from the 20th century?
Check out 20 Colorized Photos Of Steelworkers and Miners in the Early 1900s, or take a look at 20 Vintage Photos of Safari Trips in the late 1900s. Finally, if you want to see what the life of a strongman or strongwoman looked like in the 1900s, check out 19 Vintage Photos of Strongmen and Strongwomen from the 1900s.
