Our History

Founded in 1925 by F.M. Van Wagner, Camp Nominingue has a long history as one of Canada’s premier sleep-away summer camps for boys. Taking over his father’s legacy, Peter Van Wagner owned and operated the camp until 2015, when he sold the camp to alumni and current owner Erik Blachford and his wife Maryam. Currently, the camp is under the direction of Nomininguer Atie Waxman.

Original Camp

Camp Nominingue came into existence on July 4th, 1925, with ten campers and five staff. After a considerable search, the present site was chosen because of its many desirable features, especially the excellent canoe trip possibilities. It turned out even better than was expected.

Our original area was about 40 acres. Now the camp and tree farm make up over 400 acres. Over 120,000 trees have been planted on the actual tree farm, but hundreds more have been planted throughout the camp since the early years.

A weekly Council Ring has been held since our inception. Our present site was first used in 1930.

Nominingue Canoeing

The camp has a record of all canoe trips taken since 1928. Over the years, over 4,500 trips have left camp and returned safely. From the beginning, camping, canoeing, campcraft and nature were the foundations upon which Camp Nominingue was built.