Kristy McNichol took up smoking as part of the preparation for the role, but couldn't quit the habit. She was a regular smoker for nearly 10 years after finishing the movie.
The movie's summer camp scenes were filmed at Hard Labor Creek State Park on Fairplay Road, Rutledge, approximately fifty miles east of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Apparently, props and signage manufactured for the movie still remain there today.
The film had one of the longest jumps in home video formats, approximately 40 years. Licensing rights problems resulted in a number of songs being removed from its videocassette and laserdisc releases. The songs were replaced with sound alike songs. Efforts to restore the original soundtrack delayed future domestic home video and streaming releases until 2023, when boutique label Vinegar Syndrome released a 4K UHD special edition in 2023.
Tatum O'Neal taught Kristy McNichol how to smoke for her role. Ironically, Tatum had taken up smoking for her last huge role; her Oscar winning turn as Addie Pray in Paper Moon (1973).
Film debut of actress Cynthia Nixon, the future Miranda Hobbes from the iconic HBO series Sex and the City (1998). Nixon played Sunshine, the little Hippie flower-power girl.