As campus transforms, staff eye a Camp Thoreau redux

Acton’s historic Camp Thoreau may be busy this summer — but not because of an influx of kids.

Instead, construction crews could start clearing the site for 237 new apartments.

“We’re still very committed to camp,” Thoreau Club General Manager Jay Herson told The Acton Bridge. 

What that might look like isn’t clear yet.

Camp Thoreau dates back to 1951 at various locations around Acton. It now shares a Forest Ridge Road campus with the Thoreau Club. 

The Boston-based Pinebrook group bought the camp and the club in 2022 from second- and third-generation owners Todd and Faith Pulis.

Pavement and five-story buildings for Pinebrook’s Residences at Thoreau will cover what’s now the camp pool, cabins, and an open field. Through the Thoreau Club website, officials announced their decision to “discontinue” 2026 Camp Thoreau offerings.  

Apartment construction isn’t affecting the rest of the campus. Herson said he couldn’t make any guarantees, but staff have already met with a civil engineer to discuss how they might use their remaining acreage. 

“It’s a big part of our heritage,” he said last month.

Possible reconfiguration 

Camp Thoreau has offered swimming, archery, high ropes courses, and more. 

Former campers and counselors who spoke with The Bridge last year said they’d be sad to see the site bulldozed, but planned affordable units within the development would be a perk.

Leaders looked at acquiring a new property and relocating the camp. They had trouble finding an affordable spot, Herson said.

In one case, staff were eyeing land in a nearby town. It was the right size, he said, but the team would have needed to change the zoning.

“It was more residential,” Herson said. “I’m not sure [the neighbors] would have been thrilled with a summer camp.”

A move is still on the table, but the most likely outcome “is that we would re-create the rustic feel on our campus,” Herson said.

Workers could relocate some of the camp buildings. A future camp could use the Thoreau Club’s pools. Some of the ropes courses might not have to come down, and crews could move the camp’s climbing wall. “We might not have the same number of features,” Herson said, “but we could still have that camp feel to it.”

Remaining options

Although the classic day camp is closed, the Thoreau Club has added daily swim lessons to its junior tennis camp for this summer. 

Ann Marie Gallo founded the Summer’s Edge day camp in 1991 and moved her program to Camp Thoreau after Pinebrook bought the parcel. The program operated as “Summer’s Edge at Camp Thoreau” in recent years.

“We were honored to be part of the Pulis family legacy and operate camp on the nostalgic Thoreau property,” she wrote in an email to The Bridge. 

Gallo is planning a Summer’s Edge season at Minuteman High School in Lexington this year. She wasn’t available for follow-up questions about her plans beyond 2026.

Pinebrook executives haven’t publicly confirmed their construction plans but have been in touch with town officials. Town Manager Kerry Lafleur recently said they were looking to pull a building permit in June.

Herson said he’s too far from the process, and “it would be a mistake” for him to comment on the project timeline.