History

Over Fifty years ago, on February 28th, 1958 Allan and Ellen Bonwill incorporated Skycroft. In its earlier days it was operated in Connecticut as a day camp. Later in 1958 they purchased the property in Canada on which Skycroft now resides. Then they would bring the children up to the Canadian property, which provided opportunities for wilderness tent camping (no hydro in those days) and exploring Lake Opinicon. It was the Bonwill’s goal to educate people, especially young people about the outdoors and care of the planet. In that regard they were well ahead of their time. In 1973 the Bonwills moved to Canada as permanent residents. They continued to operate Skycroft at its present location but now the children were brought up by their families. It was a natural progression that the parents requested to stay while their children attended the camp. The Bonwills found that with the parents here taking care of their own children, it provided more time for them to devote to outdoor education. Slowly the camp evolved into a family campground. As time marched on the Bonwills found they were getting too old to carry on alone in Canada so they invited their daughter Anne, and her husband Jim Barton to join them and continue to develop Skycroft as a family camp for income purposes. Anne and Jim moved to Canada on September 1, 1983 and began the work of building and improving the facilities to accommodate the needs and desires of today’s camping public.
Well it’s hard to believe that 25 years have gone by since then but here we are now celebrating 50 years of Skycroft. We still enjoy seeing people who come to share the many wonders and pleasures available to outdoor enthusiasts. We look forward to another season of sun, fun and happy campers.

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