Shares, Summer Membership and Guests

 

• A shareholder is a person or couple who have completed a one-time purchase of a share in the Valley Pond Corporation and is therefore entitled to pay summer membership fees for themselves and other household members and then visit the pond whenever they like during the summer. Shareholders who do not purchase summer memberships are entitled to only three free visits to the pond per year and are not entitled to request off-season access to the pond.
   

• A summer member is a shareholder who has registered and paid member fees in the spring, entitling them and their registered household members to unlimited use of the pond and its facilities that summer, and allowing them to bring guests and register for parties after they've paid annual dues.

 

Shareholders who elect not to pay annual membership fees are still entitled to three free "person-visits" per share per season. For example, one shareholder accompanied by two guests may visit on a single day, or one shareholder may visit on three separate days. 

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Becoming a shareholder

 

Each year, the Valley Pond board invites 15-20 people from the waiting list to become shareholders in the Valley Pond Corporation (the usual wait is three to four years). When your name reaches the tip of the waiting list, you'll get an email from valleypond.clerk@gmail.com inviting you to purchase a share and pay a one-time, non-refundable membership fee. Currently the membership fee is $2,500 and the share price is also $2,500 for a total of $5,000. If you accept the offer, you'll be invoiced for the $5,000 fee and invited to register summer members from your household using the summer registration form.

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Shares are not transferable (except to adult children for a fee) and may be redeemed only by the Corporation for the original share price.

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Summer membership

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If you're already a shareholder, you can register yourself and others who live in your physical household for summer membership each year. After submitting the online Summer Registration Form, you'll get an invoice that you can pay by credit card, debit card or bank transfer. Fees for 2026 are as follows (after prices held steady
 

• $370 for the first household member, plus

• $275 for the next household member, plus

• $180 for each additional household member or au pair (all au pairs must be registered)

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Registration for 2026 summer membership opens on April 27, 2026. 

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If you're a shareholder but elect not to pay summer dues in any given year, you're still entitled to three free visits to the pond (meaning three individuals, not multiple people on three different days). 

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Guests and parties​

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• Guests must be always be accompanied by a summer member. The shareholder will be invoiced in September for accrued guest fees.

• If you plan to bring more than seven guests at a time, you must fill out a Party Request Form in advance to ensure there is sufficient coverage and capacity that day. If you request a party and then cancel after it's approved, you will be charged $25.

 

Guest fees are as follows:
 

• $10 per person per day on Mondays through Thursdays

• $15 per person per day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

 

To discourage overcrowding, guest fees double beginning with the member's 26th guest of the season unless the shareholder has two fully paid memberships. 

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For detailed information, please see the Valley Pond Rules and Policies.

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Redeeming or transferring shares​

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Please see "Share purchases and transfers" on our Rules and Policies page.

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