Winter Weekends: Jan. 13-15, Feb. 17-19, and March 16-17
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced three Winter Weekend events will be held in 2024 at the historic Camp Santanoni in the town of Newcomb in the Adirondacks. Hosted by DEC and Friends of Camp Santanoni, along with partners Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the town of Newcomb, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry's Adirondack Interpretive Center, the Winter Weekends invite visitors to enjoy winter recreation and exclusive winter access to the preserved buildings of the former great camp. The 2024 Winter Weekend events will take place during the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend, Jan. 13-15; Presidents’ Day holiday weekend, Feb. 17-19; and the weekend of March 16-17.
Commissioner Seggos said, "DEC and our partners, the Friends of Camp Santanoni, AARCH, the town of Newcomb, and SUNY ESF’s Adirondack Interpretive Center, are proud to continue offering annual winter weekends at this historic great camp. These weekends offer a unique opportunity for visitors to ski or snowshoe to the camp, take a break in a warming hut, and enjoy a guided interpretive tour at one of the oldest great camps in the Adirondack Forest Preserve.”
Camp Santanoni provides a 9.8-mile round-trip cross-country ski or snowshoe excursion. The trail traverses from the Gate Lodge Complex (map PDF), past the Farm Complex (map PDF), to the remote lakeside Main Camp Complex (map PDF), providing a moderate ski and a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. For those who don't have their own skis or snowshoes, the Adirondack Interpretive Center provides snowshoes free of charge to visitors at the Gate Lodge.
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 on these Winter Weekends.
Skiers and snowshoers are welcome to recreate on the trail and surrounding lands every day during the winter months. However, during the Winter Weekend events cross-country skiers and snowshoers are able to visit both the Gate Lodge and Main Lodge of Camp Santanoni, view displays about the great camp, take interpretive tours with AARCH volunteers, and learn more of the camp’s history with DEC Historic Preservation Officer Charles Vandrei.
The Artist's Studio, a stone building near the main lodge on the shores of Newcomb Lake, is open as a warming hut during Winter Weekend events. Visitors can reheat by the woodstove before heading back outdoors for their return trip. Camp Santanoni buildings will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Reservations are not required and there is no cost associated with the events. For more information, contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328.
