After enrolling three daughters in a surfing camp for years, Scott Forrey saw a sign in 2014 for the new, first-in-the-Northeast Adult Surf Camp.

He’d lived in Hawaii. He’d always wanted to surf.

Last year at 43, Forrey, who lives in Cape Elizabeth and works for a high-tech company in sales operations, hopped on a board for the first time.

This week, he was back in the water for a second session.

“I never was brave enough to kind of go out there on my own,” he said. “The fact that there’s a class, this is the way to go. It looks hard, and it is hard. It’s a blast, though.” 

This summer at camps across Maine, adults are riding the waves. Sketching on the Porcupine Islands. Roasting s’mores with Joan Lunden.*

(*Sorry, that’s for ladies only. And there’s actually a waiting list. It IS Joan Lunden.)

Camp directors and campers say it’s driven by the appeal of learning from an expert, treating yourself, a shot at camaraderie and the chance to let loose.

And also, maybe, getting in touch with your 10-year-old inner camper. With better food this time around.

The state has a long history of adults-only camps — the Audubon’s Hog Island has been offering them since the 1930s — and it’s also part of the growing trend.

The American Camp Association says 1 million adults are heading to camp each year.

In 2014, 26 percent of ACA-accredited camps had an increase in adult programming, according to a spokesperson, and 36 percent saw a rise in adult enrollment.

When it started 19 years ago on the outskirts of western Maine, ‘Camp’ Camp, what may be the first and longest-running full-week camp in the country catering to LGBT adults, drew 88 campers.

Last year, it had more than 240, from 35 states and four countries.

“Summer camps are all the rage now,” said Kerry Riffle, camp director and co-owner.

With more than half a dozen adult-centric options, prices vary by the length and number of days, from Adult Surf Camp (four nights, two hours a night) at $375 to Hog Island’s bird camps (five all-inclusive nights, including lodging) at up to $1,795 and everything in between.

Some are rigorous: The Appalachian Mountain Club’s Adult Adventures takes people paddling and on six- to eight-hour hikes around the Greenville area.

Some are decidedly less so: Lunden’s Camp Reveille in Naples is described as “where spa meets summer camp” with facials, jewelry-making and yoga — or archery, cardio kickboxing and a climbing wall for women looking to take it up a notch.

Bob Strauss, who owns Camp Wigwam in Waterford with his wife, Jane, expects to host 150 adults at Camp Wigwam Fantasy Camp over Labor Day, an adults-only, alumni-only event held every five years. They’ll host color wars, crafts, ball games and “various activities ending in a song-fest.”

“Summer camp isn’t part of the real world in any sense, any way. It exists unto itself,” Strauss said. “Your success at summer camp comes in two ways: a) from just participating, and, b) from learning to grow and live in a community of our peers. And those are things that stick with people always.”

AMC spokesman Rob Burbank said adult campers are drawn to their programs by the security of heading out with a seasoned guide and, since fellow campers have also signed on for a series of daylong hikes, knowing they’ll be among like-minded people with a passion for the outdoors.

“How often is it that you instantly meet people that you have something in common with?” asked Forrest Clift, 48, an associate university director in Michigan who’s attended ‘Camp’ Camp for 10 years. “Besides identifying as LGBT, these are all people who want to be in Maine, camping in the woods. It really was a great unifier and it made it easy to get to know people and to talk to people, and it’s why I keep going back every year.”

Surfer Forrey said an all-day, weeklong, adult version of his daughters’ surf camp would “probably (be) a little too extreme to handle” for him. In that case, the short days of his camp were also part of the draw.

“I appreciate a little bit of the catering as an adult,” he said. “If I want to do something, why not get someone’s expert opinion who’s done it before, who is very good at it,” versus “the old-fashioned way of just slugging through on your own and learning from your mistakes?

“Maine has so many kinds of fun things, like (surfing), but if you didn’t grow up doing it as a kid you might be hesitant as an adult,” Forrey said. “Camps, I think, are a nice way to bridge that gap.”

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Camp Vignettes

• Riding the waves at Adult Surf Camp, Scarborough
• Birding at Audubon’s Hog Island, Bremen
• Getting campy at ‘Camp’ Camp, western Maine
• Star gazing at Camp Reveille, Naples

Adult summer camps around Maine

Adult Surf Camp, Scarborough: Learn to ride and learn the rules of the waves in two, four-evening sessions.

http://www.surfcampme.com/adult-surf-camp

Appalachian Mountain Club’s Adult Adventures, Greenville area: Paddle, hike, tent, repeat with a seasoned guide in five-day stretches or book and create your own custom adventure.

http://www.outdoors.org/recreation/adults/camps/index.cfm

Audubon’s Hog Island programs, Hog Island: Eleven different six-day programs for birding, birders and the people who love them.

http://hogisland.audubon.org/

‘Camp’ Camp, western Maine: A weeklong camp catering to LGBT adults with everything from Broadway dance classes to sailing.

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Camp Mechuwana, Winthrop: This Christian camp offers a Golden Oldies four-day camp for those 55+ with Bible study, swimming and boating.

http://www.mechuwana.org/summer-camps.html

Camp Reveille, Naples: Spend four days making jewelry, competing in archery or a dozen other activities with longtime “Good Morning America” co-host Joan Lunden.

http://www.joanlunden.com/camp-reveille

Camp Wigwam, Waterford: Alumni-only Camp Wigwam Fantasy Camp over four days in September will feature color wars, songs and lots of trips down memory lane.

http://www.campwigwam.com/alumini/

College of the Atlantic’s Summer Programs for Adult Learners, Bar Harbor: Choose from botanical illustration or conservation photography in two, two-week long courses.

http://www.coa.edu/summercoursesforadultlearners.htm

For adults with disabilities:

Oceanwood Camp, Ocean Park: This Christian camp has two six-day summer camp programs geared to people in wheelchairs or people with physical and intellectual disabilities.

http://www.oceanwood.org/2015-summer-camp/adults-with-disabilities/

Pine Tree Camp, Rome: Choose from overnight and day camps and activities like drama class and basketball, or hang out in what, according to the camp, is Maine’s only fully accessible treehouse.

http://www.pinetreesociety.org/camp.asp

Camp CaPella, Dedham: Offering both overnight and day camps and a full slate of activities like fishing, adaptive T-ball and learning about wildlife.

http://campcapella.org/