Three Winter Weekend events will be held for the fifth consecutive year at Camp Santanoni.  The events will take place during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, January 16-18; President’s Day holiday weekend, February 13-15; and the weekend of March 12-13.

Cross-country skiers and snowshoers will have access to the historic camp properties located in the town of Newcomb in Essex County to rest and view interpretative displays. While people may visit Camp Santanoni 365 days a year, the buildings are not typically open to the public during the winter months. 

A 9.8-mile round trip cross-country ski or snowshoe excursion traverses from Camp Santanoni’s Gate House complex to the remote lakeside main lodge complex. The trip provides a moderate physical activity and a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.

The Winter Weekend Events continue to grow in popularity each year, more than 400 people attended last year according to organizers. The Winter Weekend Event in February will coincide with Newcomb’s Winter Carnival on February 13.

During the three Winter Weekend events, cross-country skiers and snowshoers will be able to visit both the Gate Lodge and Main Lodge of Camp Santanoni, view displays about the great camp and take interpretive tours with Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) staff. The Artist’s Studio, a log and stone building near the main lodge on the shores of Newcomb Lake, will be open as a warming hut. Visitors can bring their own cup to enjoy free coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The Adirondack Interpretive Center will provide snowshoes at the Gate Lodge for any visitors without their own.

The three Winter Weekend events are being hosted by DEC, AARCH, the town of Newcomb and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s (ESF) Adirondack Interpretive Center.

In addition to the popular 9.8-mile round trip from the Gate Lodge to the Main Lodge, cross-country skiers and snowshoers are encouraged to take the half mile-trail that connects Camp Santanoni to the nearby Adirondack Interpretive Center’s 3.6-mile trail system. The Center’s buildings will be open 10 am to 4 pm during the Winter Weekend Events.

Construction of Camp Santanoni began in 1892 by Robert and Anna Pruyn of Albany and eventually consisted of more than four dozen buildings on 12,900 acres including a working farm, the Gate Lodge complex, and a huge rustic Main Lodge and other buildings situated on Newcomb Lake. Camp Santanoni was in private ownership until 1972. Over the last several decades of state ownership, the camp has gradually been restored through a partnership between DEC, AARCH and the town of Newcomb. Santanoni is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark. Camp Santanoni is considered by many to be the classic Adirondack Great Camp.

Reservations are not required. Contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328 for more information on the winter weekends.