YMCA Camp Letts

Camp Letts is great. I’ve had friends and family who went there 40 years ago who still recall great memories of the place. My 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter have been there for the past few years, and look forward to going every summer. It is somewhat rustic, buggy and, well, has weather. Camp is like that. But… sailing, water skiing, horse riding, arts and crafts, tennis, zip lines, canoeing, lacrosse… and apparently they really like the food! They make new friends every year, have dances and bonfires, and really like the counsellors, who come from many different countries, but tend to come for several years in a row. My 7 year old wants to do the weekend try out camp next summer.

This is the idyllic summer camp you see depicted in movies and TV shows. My children went for a week last year, and talked about it NONSTOP afterwards. We’re going for two different weeks this year. I was really jealous my parents never sent me here.

My wedding was two days ago at Camp Letts. I’m writing this review because I remember being frustrated PRE-​wedding by the lack of information about functions at the camp. It turned out to be EXACTLY what we wanted!
Mother Nature cooperated and we had a great, sunny day. That was key because we had rented the picnic grove and the Boat House (in case we needed indoor space) but we did NOT want to go indoors. Our wedding theme was a picnic and we had many games set up on the expansive green lawn (bocce, badminton, cornhole, whiffle ball, soccer, etc.) for the 100 adults and 30 children. It looked like everyone had a blast.
The food got great reviews. As another review mentioned, you are required to use the Camp Letts catering staff and we didn’t have time for a tasting session. Our leap of faith was rewarded as people spoke highly of the picnic grub we ordered. My 11-​year-​old said his burger was delicious. Other guests raved about the chicken, the cole slaw and the potato salad. My veggie burger was good, too.
The staff, including the always good-​natured Tim Saxton, were friendly and helpful.
If you want a casual wedding in a gorgeous setting, Camp Letts is the place!

There’s only ONE review for Camp Letts? How can that be???
Okay, a little bit of background, here: I have been going to Camp Letts for over forty years (coincidentally, my age is a little over forty years). For once, I’m gonna have to write a relatively irony-​free Unilocal review.
Letts is a YMCA mixed-​use facility situated in a wooded peninsula, on the Rhode river (which feeds right into the Bay). That means you drive a mile and a half down a beautiful forest road to get there, and at the end you’re surrounded on three sides by the tidewater shoreline of the Bay.
Mixed-​use means there’s a variety of reasons you might show up there. Mostly, it’s:
— a summer camp. Woo hoo, summer camp!
— a conference center (church/​synagogue groups, and retreats for local businesses)
— a special events venue (weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc.)
— a family camp. They hold this every Memorial and Labor Day weekend.
In my years there, I’ve experienced all of these facets of Camp: I went there as a summer camper, have been on a religious retreat there when I was a kid, saw my sister get Bat Mitzvahed there, and perhaps most importantly (for me), gone for family camp every year since I was a wee babe. It’s great for all these events.
Why five stars? Because there’s something here for everybody. That means for every purpose you might need (Getting married? check. Sending a kid to summer camp? check), as well as the range of activities, and the range WITHIN those activities. For example, the waterfront is a big part of what make Camp great — but not everybody feels like sailing or water skiing. No problem — you can also just hop in a canoe, and paddle your way around the coves and islands of the river. The staff is professional, and they make sure you’re experience is as good as possible. The food is taken care of by their excellent staff. Accommodations are mostly in cabins, which are relatively gussied-​up (carpeting, bathrooms, and electricity); there is also the econolodge-​like Letts Lodge, «rustic» cabins (no interior bathrooms or carpeting), and yurts.
But really, I’m gonna push for Family Camp, here. Twice a year, you can get away for a weekend, to a place where — like Cheers — everybody knows your name. It’s relaxing, there’s all kinds of activities — from nature walks and tennis to sailing and archery. You can even just relax on a rocking chair overlooking the water and read or knit.
I’ve been going here forever, and hope I’m always able to. I fly back east from California every year, just to grab a weekend here. It’s a big part of growing up for me and for many others. You can’t do better than going to Camp.

Camp Letts is a seriously gorgeous summer camp on a peninsula that juts out into the Chesapeake Bay and Rhode River. There is precious little on the internets about Camp Letts as a wedding venue, so I’m going to try and be comprehensive here. I got engaged around the same time as my brother — he’s getting married at the Four Seasons. We chose Camp Letts, or «the Four Seasons of summer camps» as one guest called it.
Availability — Because it is a functioning summer camp, there aren’t too many summer Saturdays available for weddings (and Memorial and Labor Day weekends are booked for camp retreat events each year). I think they only did 14 total weddings all of last year. If you are doing a fall or spring wedding, you have a good shot at snagging a Saturday. We were lucky to get a June Saturday, right before the campers arrived.
Staff — The original event planner was (thankfully) replaced by Trev Dalton, who was a dream to work with. He was a Grade-​A professional, and responsive to all my e-​mails and calls. And there were many. The camp is a camp before it is a wedding venue, and my folks wanted to do a lot of «sprucing up» around where the outdoor ceremony would be. The camp staff welcomed this, and the lawn and boathouse looked fantastic on the day. Everyone was very helpful on the day, and even provided a little golf cart to get some photos in some of the hidden gems of around the camp for pics. We could cruise around without wasting too much time/​getting dirty/​sweaty en route.
Catering — If you book the camp for your wedding, you sign on to have Chef Betsy (the camp chef) make the food. I was scared about this because I was already in love with the venue when I learned about the exclusive catering, but she DELIVERED. We had crab cakes, prime rib, a summer veggie pasta, and some simple sides of roasted potatoes and roasted vegetables. I’m telling you as a crab cake snob, the crab cakes were to.die.for. Compliments from the guests abounded. Do not be afraid of the catering. Determine what you want and ask for a tasting. They try to combine tastings with other couples (again, it is a non-​profit and not a typical wedding venue, so funds are limited for lots of tastings).
Rentals — The catering at the camp only includes table set-​up, food and bussing of tables, so you do have to rent linens, glassware, etc. A day-​of wedding coordinator is pretty key, unless you have friends/​family members that are game to set the tables and you want to put them to work. I’d recommend a coordinator that can make sure all of your gifts and items you own get into the right cars, so that all of your guests can enjoy drinking and dancing!
Bartenders — You will have to hire a bartender (s) and get a one-​day liquor license. You can order booze and have it delivered, and the bonus is that most liquor stores will take back any unopened bottles for a full refund.
Grounds — So pretty so pretty! We had an outdoor ceremony on the water, flanked by trees and sailboats. The reception was in the dining hall, which is a lodge-​type buidling with high rafters and a giant fireplace. We fit 200 guests with a dance floor. Another bride had a few more guests and did the dancefloor outside under a tent (another option). The boathouse is available to rent for an extra $ 500, and makes a decent place to get ready with your bmaids, though it isn’t the most picturesque on the inside. We did our «first look» on the pier outside, and I can’t wait to see those photos.
Overall, the experience of having our wedding at Camp Letts was five stars. The look and feel of the wedding was the cheerful, natural, fun vibe that we hoped for because of the great venue. It was truly the best day of my life!