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Thanks for taking the time to learn more about Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA)! This page should give you a better idea of what to expect from a summer experience at our camp.
Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) is a co-ed, overnight summer camp for teens ages 12-16 nestled in the heart of beautiful Central Pennsylvania. Every day we offer tons of awesome activities that campers pick themselves, and because we’re a smaller camp, it’s easy to be a first-time camper and make friends. SMA has a really positive vibe and because our campers are older, campers have more freedom than they would at larger, more traditional camps.
The mission of Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) is to provide growth experiences for teens ages 12 to 16 through outdoor adventure activities, water sports, traditional sports, creative arts, community service, and the cooperative process of living together at camp. Every day, we create opportunities for teens to challenge themselves: to ride a horse, to rock climb with good technique, to wakeboard or waterski, and most importantly of all, to develop lasting friendships. Developing self-reliance, trusting in new friendships, and learning to be sensitive to the needs of others in a community are all important parts of the SMA experience. Building confidence and having fun are our goals; freedom to explore, positive reinforcement, and a superstar staff are our tools.
Over the years we have kept our promise of staying a small, family-oriented summer camp for teens. We believe that our camp’s small size enhances our programming, as camp quickly becomes a tight-knit community that creates strong, positive social relationships. Campers are challenged on activities every day, which builds confidence. The combination of mutual respect among campers and staff and the increased self-confidence through adventure activities helps teens to begin to discover who they really are and how they fit into this world. Being a young teen can be a challenging time and SMA is a fun, safe place for teens to grow emotionally and physically.
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Leaving home to go to a new overnight summer camp can be an emotional experience. Some campers might feel anxious about fitting in at camp and feeling like a new camper. But don’t worry! These feelings are normal, and thanks to our small size and culture of fun and acceptance, new campers at Stone Mountain Adventures easily feel connected to our wonderful summer community. This is so important because until a camper has felt this acceptance, none of the lofty goals in our mission statement can be achieved.
Our small number of campers (never more than 60 or so per session) and familial staff team make each session group at Stone Mountain Adventures feel just like family. This ensures that campers connect with everybody at camp within just a few days! Through activities that are adventurous, team-oriented, sometimes challenging, and always fun, they’ll build deeper relationships with their fellow campers and counselors. This feeling of connection is very powerful, and a central part of why we make the decision, year after year, to stay a small summer camp.
Director Jud and his wife Anne take time to communicate with each family before camp, so each camper starts out with a connection to SMA. Once camp begins, the staff connects with each camper very quickly, learning their likes and dislikes, their strengths and challenges. These connections are important in tailoring the summer experience to each camper with input from the parents. This way, each camper gets the most from their Stone Mountain Adventures experience!
Our daily schedule provides the rhythm and routine that we all need, balanced with the excitement of activities which you choose yourselves! While certain days are special (like our All Camp Days, community service days, camping overnights, and more), we typically offer a morning activity, afternoon activity, an hour of free time before dinner, an “all-camp” meeting, and finally an evening activity. Click here to learn more about the daily schedule at SMA.
Stone Mountain Adventures is a summer camp for teens, and we feel it’s important that our campers have as much control over their summer as possible. So, here at SMA, you get to choose your own activities every day! Each night we have an evening meeting, during which you’ll choose from groups of activities for both morning and afternoon activity slots. Read on to learn more about the activities you could participate in during your summer at SMA!
Every day at SMA we offer a variety of outdoor adventure activities that give campers the opportunity to challenge themselves while learning new skills and gaining confidence. Our experienced and caring staff members teach important skills, set guidelines, and share their passions with campers in ways that are motivating and fun. Outdoor adventure activities at SMA include mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, hiking, and camping overnights.
For campers interested in focusing on mountain biking or horseback riding, check out our fantastic Mountain Bike Masters and Horsemasters programs!
We love water sports at Stone Mountain Adventures! Thanks to our small camp size and close proximity to gorgeous Raystown Lake (the largest lake in Pennsylvania), we can offer exciting water sports every day and teach them effectively with a great camper to counselor ratio. Water sports at SMA include wakeboarding, waterskiing, kneeboarding, sailing, stand-up paddleboarding, whitewater rafting, canoeing, and fishing.
For campers interested in focusing on wakeboarding and waterskiing, check out our fantastic Wakemasters program!
Although Stone Mountain Adventures isn’t a “sports camp,” every day we offer at least one traditional sport for anybody to participate in. Our sports tend to be like “intramural sports,” with a focus on fun, positive competition, skill development, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Traditional sports at SMA include tennis, soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, touch rugby, softball, disc golf, and volleyball.
At Stone Mountain Adventures, the Art Studio is the place to go for campers wanting to explore their creative side. Campers can express themselves and practice mosaic making, linoleum block painting, candle making, basic ceramics, jewelry making, and tie-dying (always a favorite). For campers interested in music and performing arts, we offer music jam in our recently built SMA Music Studio as well as the opportunity to host a radio show or two at our camp station, WSMA. Campers will also have the option to adopt a bunny to care for and play with.
We’re very fortunate to be able to provide and participate in all of the wonderful things that make SMA awesome, so giving back has always been one of our core values. Each session, we set aside a half-day for service projects which give campers the chance to shape the future by showing commitment to themselves, others, and the community. Campers can choose from multiple projects each session, such as maintenance at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, retirement home visits, collecting donations for pediatric cancer research with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, working at Plowshare Organic CSA Farm, landscaping with local land management agencies, building bike trails on camp land, and much more! Click here to learn more about community service at SMA.
The Masters programs at Stone Mountain Adventures give campers the chance to focus on a favorite activity while at camp. Campers signed up for one of these programs can expect to spend more time participating in their chosen activity than other campers might. These Masters Programs are open to all levels of skill and experience. Check them out below! Campers who do not sign up for one of these programs will still have the chance to participate in the activity while at SMA.
Evening Activities
Evenings are a magical time at SMA because we all get to be together as a group at the end of an exciting day of fun. Each night we offer awesome evening activities, some of which we do in-camp and some of which we do out-of-camp.
“In-Camp” Evening Activities
These engaging, high energy activities are intended to be fun, outrageous, and bring our group closer together. These activities include:
"Out-of-Camp” Evening Activities
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At camp, it’s always exciting to get in the vans, turn on some tunes, and go somewhere together as a group! Our out-of-camp evening activities include:
We also offer Camping Overnights for small groups of 8-12 campers.
Click Here to learn more about our Camping Overnights.
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