Atlantic Division

The ACA has a beautiful family camp on Lake Sebago in Sloatsburg, New York. This camp is located 32 miles north of New York City in Harriman State Park. It has been a camp of the American Canoe Association for over five decades. A Camp Committee through the Atlantic Division Board of Directors manages the camp. It is open to members of the American Canoe Association in much the same way as the Sugar Island facility.

The camp encompasses 15 acres of parkland surrounded on three sides by water. We have 21 rustic cabins, 9 tent platforms, and a large rustic lodge. We have a wonderful swim area and many docks. Even though the camp is rustic, we have managed to install hot showers in the main bathhouse.

This camp has historically been a magnet for paddling in the New York vicinity and has also been the training grounds for several large Canoe and Kayak Clubs in the New York Metropolitan area.

Boasting of approximately 10,000 meters of non-power boat flat water, this pristine waterway welcomes some 2,500 visits per year by our ACA members.

There are rental cabins available to ACA members that are comfortable, rustic and very affordable. Although choice weeks in one of these cabins need to be scheduled well in advance (January application for date selection by lottery), weekends in the spring and fall are equally lovely and generally available.

Cabins may also be rented for single overnight stay. There is also a small camping area for tent camping.

In the last five years children who held their first paddle at the ACA Camp on Lake Sebago in New York have competed for and won National titles at the USACK National Sprint Championships many, many times. Going even further, they have traveled to Canada, Japan, Brazil and Germany to represent the United States in Sprint competition. One of our young paddlers has gone as far as Sydney Australia for the 2000 Olympics as the first alternate on the US Olympic Team.

This April, at the US Olympic Trials for Canoe/Kayak, in Oakland, California, there will be five contestants who have come directly out of the program at Lake Sebago.

The ACA Camp at Lake Sebago is the proud base for the majority of the youth programs of the Atlantic Division.

The camp is a "family camp" within the park which means that access is available to ACA members, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day from May 1^st to October 31^st. There are many programs and activities in the camp including Sprint Training Camps, sailing and paddling instruction, canoe sailing instruction and workshops, sailing regattas, sprint regattas, sea kayaking courses, recreational paddling, swimming, fishing, and hiking.

The Atlantic Division supports educational paddling programs through our paddling clubs and Activity Committees for all skill levels and age groups. Many of these educational activities take place at ACA Camp.

The camp also serves as a focal point for groups of experienced paddlers who are training for local, national and international competition in sprint canoe and kayak.

Each year for 44 years the Atlantic Division has co-sponsored a Youth Regatta in Harriman State Park that involves 1,000 paddlers and 800 spectators. There is both a short and long canoe racecourse, and camps in Harriman State Park compete in standard canoes for trophies and recognition for both paddling skills and overall team spirit. We welcome fellow ACA paddlers to help at this wonderful paddling event.

Overall, fellowship and camaraderie at the camp make it a wonderful place to paddle, train and relax. Spend a day or spend a week.

For more information on the ACA Camp at Lake Sebago in New York you can telephone the camp directly at 845- 351-9802 or Camp Director Genie Donahue Kayakuku@aol.com

Updated 01/14/2010