Camp Goodacre

Camp Goodacre is one of the most popular summer camps in the country. Eight cabins, four campers to a cabin, and a great deal at stake.

Zebulon Goodacre grew up on a snail farm. His father, Golliver Goodacre, was one of the world's most famous snail farmers, and snail racers.

To earn extra pocket money, little Zebulon often used to babysit the snails on weekends. One Saturday he thought the snails were looking bored, so he decided to build them a summer camp. He built little cabins, and dug a lake, and made a few slides and merry-go-rounds for them. The snails seemed much happier. The next weekend he made little boats for the lake and added a mini restaurant. The snails loved it.

Each weekend the summer camp grew, and within a few months, it was so popular with the 14,000+ snails on the farm, that many of them refused to go back to their milking paddocks on Sunday evenings.

His father had no choice but to shut down the camp.

Several years later, after he finished college, Zebulon was wondering what career to follow, when his dad suggested: "Why not start a summer camp? Not for snails, but for humans!"

And the rest is history.

The camp has won the Golden Paddle for nine years running, 2015 through 2024. Win it ten years in a row and the camp gets to keep it forever, a feat no camp has ever managed. No pressure.

Its great rival is Camp Footmold. The cabins, should you be assigned one, include Willow, Cucumber, Waterfall, Aquamarine and the Rockies, all arranged around Lake Goodacre.