Online registration opened Sunday, January 26th, for the State’s 2020 Summer Camp season and in less than 24 hours, 90 percent of spaces were filled with 22 weeks for boys and 13 for girls already booked.

DEC’s Summer Camp program began in 1947 and today operates four residential camps for children ages 11 to 17: Camp Colby in Saranac Lake; Camp DeBruce in Livingston Manor (Sullivan County); Camp Rushford in Caneadea (Allegany County), and Pack Forest in Warrensburg.

Along with adventure experiences, DEC campers engage in hands-on activities and outdoor exploration focused on field, forest, stream, and pond ecological principles as well as a human dimension component. One hunter education program for either gun, bow, or trapping is offered at each camp each week. Class size is limited for hunter education programs and campers must sign up for it during registration and complete the homework in advance.

There are different weeks for 11 to 13-year-olds and 14 to 17-year-olds. Applications should be submitted through the online registration program available on DEC’s Summer Camps website. Parents and guardians can view the complete schedule of camp weeks and ages on this page, and find camp weeks that still have spaces available.

Drop-off time is 3 pm on Sunday, and the closing ceremony and pick-up time is Friday at 4:30 pm. One week of camp remains $350 per child for 2020, and includes meals, local trips, an overnight outdoor camping experience, and a camp t-shirt.

More information is available on DEC’s website, by calling (518) 402-8014, or by writing to DEC Camps, 3rd Floor, 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-5256.