Father / Son Camping in the Northeast?

I take the boys (10 & 7) camping at the race track and occasionally just to a lake/park/campground for a weekend or two over the summer but I was thinking that they would enjoy the rock climbing, boating, shooting, hiking etc with a lot of other boys their age but I can't do the commitment of boy scouts with work, all the other sports stuff going on and I don't care to hear about salvation on my own dime. Does anyone have experience with a straight-up camping / adventure for a Father & Sons in the NY/PA/MD/WV/VA area?

Every one I come across seems to be affiliated with a church or requires membership in some organization. I'm looking for the great outdoors equivalent of the dude ranch.

Lake George area is beautiful.

http://www.ridinhy.com/

http://www.1000acres.com/

http://www.lakegeorge.com/Guide/Activities_Adventure.cfm?gclid=CI7Y3tval6ACFQk65QodZ270eg

Some sites are only accessable by boat. http://www.lakegeorge.com/camping/

Dan

You're in a good area for a paid/guided white water rafting trip.

I'd second the lake George/Adirondack park region of NY. Time of year dependant, you have white water rafting. Canoeing/kayaking. Motorboat/jet ski opportunities. Campground and back woods camping. Even an amusement park/waterpark for those days you feel like hanging out in civilization. You can also head over to Lake Placid to look at the winter olympic site. Also in the area are plenty of sites of historical significance.

I have been to the Adirondacks and Lake George camping before - I was looking for the kind of place you go with your kids and they have other people, and organized activities like:

• 10AM - Archery
• 12PM - Canoe trip
• 04PM - Rock Climbing
• 08PM - Big Fire, creepy story, bed

• 10PM - Fathers all swill beer around fire, discuss lewd subjects, I alienate everyone by incessantly talking about cars.

• 6AM - big hangover breakfast in lodge

• 8AM - Repel off huge cliff
• 9AM - Swimming

etc...

Ahh. So you want to go to a camp, that also includes the grown ups.

Maybe Camp North Star is still open. You could even volunteer as a CIT.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: - 8AM - Repel off huge cliff

I've always preferred rappelling, but whatever floats your boat!

how about this place, I saw it on the travel channel. http://www.aceraft.com/

Look into activities put on by the Appalachian Mountain Club in the Delaware River Valley recreation area, in the border between NE PA and NW NJ.

Main AMC site is www.outdoors.org, DE Valley chapter is http://www.amcdv.org/Activities/

Sonic wrote: Look into activities put on by the Appalachian Mountain Club in the Delaware River Valley recreation area, in the border between NE PA and NW NJ. Main AMC site is www.outdoors.org, DE Valley chapter is http://www.amcdv.org/Activities/

Great Idea... the AMC is wonderful.

If the OP wants summer camp like activities, might I suggest the Boy Scouts?

Anywhere in the Adirondacks - although I don't know of any specific father/son related place.

You should rethink the boy scouts, you can do all those things, just minus the drinking, or maybe only in private. The no time because of sports and all is an excuse, the scout will do more for your kids then soccer or baseball. But I won't give you the spiel.

I'll just say both my cousins, are in ivy league colleges because of the boy scouts, they went eagle scout, and both have free rides.

Andrew