This Labor Day Weekend, Camp DeForest is taking the holiday extremely literally.

Clock out, put down the to-do list, and escape to the coast of Maine for three days devoted to the fine art of accomplishing absolutely nothing. There will be campfires, s’mores, schooners, cocktails, competitive lounging, and the World’s Least Productive Field Day.

No deadlines. No deliverables. No team-building exercises. Just one final, gloriously unproductive taste of summer.

BOOK NOW

Your Official Excuse to Do Nothing

Arrive at Camp DeForest and receive your Officially Off Duty welcome kit, complete with everything you need to abandon responsibility for the weekend. Spend Friday and Saturday exploring the Camden Windjammer Festival, wandering down to the beach at Point Howe, ordering a tasty cocktail at Lantern Bar, or sitting on the porch without any discernible purpose.

On Sunday, report for the World’s Least Productive Field Day — a fiercely unserious afternoon of events designed to test skills that have no practical application whatsoever. The weekend culminates with our Retirement of Summer Campfire, where unwanted to-do lists are ceremonially consigned to the flames and everyone receives one last chance to make a perfectly unreasonable s’more.

Guests who demonstrate a sufficiently profound lack of ambition will earn Camp DeForest’s coveted No-Labor Merit Badge.

The No-Labor Day Package

Included with a qualifying three-night stay from September 4–7, 2026:

An Officially Off Duty welcome kit
Daily Camp breakfast
Admission to the World’s Least Productive Field Day
A complimentary s’mores kit
The Retirement of Summer Campfire
A luxuriously late 1:00 p.m. checkout on Labor Day
Absolutely no increase in productivity

All activities are optional. Participation in nothing whatsoever is entirely acceptable!

The World’s Least Productive Field Day

On Sunday afternoon, campers of all ages are invited to compete for almost no glory whatsoever. Events may include:

The Slowest Sack Race

The last camper across the finish line wins. Forward progress is discouraged.

Competitive Hammock Lounging

Judged on posture, serenity, snack placement, and apparent indifference to the passage of time.

S’more Architecture

Construct a marshmallow-and-chocolate monument of questionable structural integrity before eating the evidence.

The Out-of-Office Championships

Compose the most convincing, creative, or magnificently unhelpful automatic reply.

The Great Camp Stare-Off

Choose a tree, cloud, campfire, or distant point on the horizon. Continue looking at it until something more urgent fails to arise.

The final event will be announced if and when we get around to organizing it.

A Proper Maine Summer Send-Off

Friday, September 4: Clock Out

Check in from 4:00 p.m., collect your Officially Off Duty kit, and begin easing into a state of total non-productivity. Enjoy cocktails at Scout Tiki, reserve a campfire, or simply disappear onto the porch with a good book.

Saturday, September 5: Schooners and Sea Shanties

Head into Camden for the annual Camden Windjammer Festival, where the schooner fleet gathers in the harbor alongside live music, maritime demonstrations, local makers, a lobster bake, and the famous lobster-crate race.

Return to Camp for an evening at the Lantern Bar, followed by s’mores beneath the stars.

Sunday, September 6: Do Less

Sleep late. Eat breakfast. Walk to the beach at Howe Point. Then report—or fail to report—to the World’s Least Productive Field Day.

As evening falls, gather around the Retirement of Summer Campfire. Write down a task, deadline, obligation, or irritatingly unanswered email you would like to forget. Our Rangers will ceremonially consign the collected lists to the fire while campers roast marshmallows and give summer one final salute.

Monday, September 7: Remain Unavailable

Enjoy a leisurely Camp breakfast and a late 1:00 p.m. checkout.

Any return to normal levels of productivity should be attempted gradually.

Camden Windjammer Festival

Camp DeForest makes an ideal basecamp for the Camden Windjammer Festival, taking place Friday and Saturday, September 4–5, 2026.

Watch the historic windjammer fleet sail into Camden Harbor, tour schooners, hear live music and sea shanties, explore maritime exhibits, and witness brave—or foolhardy—contestants attempt the lobster-crate race.

Camp DeForest is about 12 minutes from downtown Camden, allowing you to enjoy the festival before retreating to the comparative tranquility of Camp!

Stay at Camp

Choose one of our nostalgic lodge rooms or settle into a private cabin beneath the Maine pines. Every stay includes Camp breakfast, access to our lawn games and shared spaces, and the freedom to spend the weekend doing as much—or as little—as you please.

The beach at Howe Point is just a short walk away, while Camden, Belfast, hiking trails, swimming holes, schooner sails, galleries, and some of Midcoast Maine’s best restaurants are all within easy reach.

Then again, you could simply stay at Camp.

We would respect that.

Explore our Rooms and Cabins

Book No-Labor Day Weekend

The No-Labor Day package is available for qualifying three-night stays arriving Friday, September 4 and departing Monday, September 7, 2026.

Availability is limited, and all rooms and cabins are subject to prior booking.