Camp Madron is located an hour and a half from Chicago and just ten miles east of the Lake Michigan resort communities of New Buffalo, Lakeside and Union Pier. Camp Madron is a 300 acre former Boy Scout Camp. Rustic and refined, the forty-nine secluded cottage sites are an ideal simple, romantic retreat.

Lake Madron, a 60 acre private spring fed lake, nestles into the rolling hills of the site. The land is full of changes, from fields to woods, from water lilies to maple and beech trees, from fruit orchards to pine forests. Passing through a single entry, a gravel road winds in and out of shade, wandering past the homesites.

Old trails, for all seasons, can be discovered meandering through the landscape. Entering through Camp Madron's gate, one passes by the Caretaker's Cottage to the Lodge. The Lodge sits atop a small knoll which meanders down to the ballfield and beach.

Over the years, thousands of boy scouts got their marching orders, were issued equipment, stood in the mess line trading secret stories, and witnessed ancient Indian rituals within this timbered Lodge. President Herbert Hoover presented the Boy Scouts with our flag pole.

Camp Madron relies on the Lodge once again to recapture the spirit of those bygone days. With warming room, kitchen and dining hall, the Great Hall and library,as well as card room and Game Hall, days of leisure and activity will be assured.

Limestone terraces orient the Lodge toward the Lake, the beach, the ballfield, and allow one to catch fireflies in between dances. A gazebo is carefully placed to afford views of both land and lake activities. In addition, two tennis courts, parking and support facilities adjacent to the Lodge complete the Camp Center.

Camp Madron is about simple pleasures. The cottages are understated with plans and volumes relating to comfortable living. They are conceived to endure, to wear well, to age gracefully. Great care has been taken to appoint these cottages with working details, whether it be a window seat, a pegrail for skis, or the shaping of the hatch to the crawlspace. Practicality and down-home common sense prevail.

Awards: A.I.A. Award (Lodge)
A.I.A. Award (Cottages)
Progressive Architecture Award