Our Sleepaway Camp Still Runs on Bugle Time
No Alarms and No Screens, Just Bugle Time
At Adirondack Camp, the day doesn’t begin with an alarm clock or a speaker, it begins with a bugle. Every morning at 7:30, Reveille echoes across our peninsula to tell us it’s time to wake up, and every night, Taps softly closes the day. We don’t use microphones or loudspeakers at camp. Instead, our live bugler’s music carries naturally over all camp, guiding all of us through the day and continuing on a rhythm that has remained unchanged for generations at our traditional sleepaway camp for boys and girls.
How Camp Traditions Connect Generations
Our bugler plays an essential role in daily camp life, signaling transitions between activities and anchoring some of our most meaningful camp traditions. During formal retreat, campers gather as “Retreat (Evening Colors)” is played and the mini cannon fires, followed by “To the Color” as the US flag is lowered. These moments connect today’s campers to more than a century of history and remind us why traditions matter and how they create a real sense of community and belonging at camp.
Being the camp bugler is an important responsibility, it’s one that carries the weight of years of tradition. During the summer, the bugler is also an activity instructor; this past summer, Matt taught swimming. It’s another example of how meaningful traditions and engaged staff combine to create the best camp experience for kids.
Camp Traditions That Create Lifelong Memories
Whether it’s call-to-quarters filling the peninsula before bedtime, or our unique birthday song and celebration, or our closing candlelight ceremony, where campers and counselors hold candles as Taps echoes one final time over the peninsula, our traditions define who we are as a sleepaway camp. Adirondack Camp offers something truly rare today: a place where children don’t need a phone or watch to know the time, and where shared traditions create memories that last a lifetime. It’s that kind of special experience - completely unplugged, running on bugle time, and part of something bigger than yourself - that makes you think, “I know exactly where I want to be,” long after the summer ends.
Read Next:
