Director Jud's Blog

Irrespective of whether you are an new camper eight year- old battling with anxiety, a 12-year-old veteran camper struggling with concentration and expressive regulation, or a counselor who is just anxious and astounded, these three simple practices and breathing exercises can lessen tension, increase contentment, and generate permanent behaviors for wellness and pliability.

During the summer of 2018 Stone Mountain Adventures offered a Dream Day Camp for kids ages 8 to 12 year old.  The was the second summer we offered this awesome program.  The following Blog Post was written by Merina Madina who was a Counselor In Training this past summer.  

In February of 2018 one of Pam's prized horses was selected by Hope in the Saddle as the Therapy Horse of the year!  

Selected from more than 120 entries, Ebony was chosen as the grand-prize winner of the contest. Ebony (along with her human friend, Pam Hayes-Houldin) received a one-year supply of Nutrena feed, a $250 Tractor Supply Co. Gift Card, Hope in the Saddle gear and a commemorative trophy.  In addition a film crew traveled to Horsepower Farm from Boulder, Colorado to shoot the following video: 

Camping is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, especially among millennials, with 77 million households having at least one person who camps occasionally. And what’s not to love? Being surrounded by nature, enjoying fresh air, and creating memorable experiences is all a part of the journey. Plus, being around nature has a very positive impact on kids and teens, and with organized trips such as Stone Mountain Adventures, you can rest assured that safety is guaranteed.

The article appeared in the Huntingdon Daily News on July, 17 2018.  This article was written by form SMA Camper Molly Biddle:

"Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) summer camp, nestled in Donation, Oneida Township, has had a long tradition of hosting international campers and counselors since the mid-1980s.

The camp, founded by Pam and Biff Houldin and now run by their son, Jud Millar, brings teenage campers, 12-16 years old, from all over the country and all over the world to water ski on Raystown Lake and hike the Thousand Steps, among other activities. The camp has hosted international campers from about a dozen countries, including Colombia, Peru, Italy, Spain, and France, but, this summer marks a new first.

Here are our 2019 Dates:

Choose from any combination of 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8-week sessions!

2 Week Sessions                     Enroll Online    

• Session 1 (SMA1)         Sun 6/23           to       Sat 7/6
• Session 2 (SMA2)         Sun 7/7             to       Sat 7/20      
• Session 3 (SMA3)         Sun 7/21           to       Sat 8/3
• Session 4 (SMA4)**      Mon 8/5             to       Sun 8/18** Tuition Discount

4 Week Sessions                          Enroll Online   

• Session 1 + 2                Sun 6/23           to       Sat 7/20       
• Session 2 + 3                Sun 7/7             to       Sat 8/3  
• Session 3 + 4                Sun 7/21           to       Sun 8/18

6 Week Sessions                      Enroll Online

• Session 1 + 2 + 3          Sun 6/23           to      Sat 8/3
• Session 2 + 3 + 4          Sun 7/7             to      Sun 8/18

8 Week Session                          Enroll Online

• Session 1 + 2 + 3 + 4     Sun 6/23          to       Sun 8/18

1 Week Sessions                         Enroll Online

• Session 4-1 (SMA4-1)    Mon 8/5           to       Sun 8/11
• Session 4-2 (SMA4-2)    Mon 8/12         to       Sun 8/18

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are so excited to share the Session 1, 2018 Slideshow with you!

I love to spend time with friends sitting around a campfire.  My favorite things to do around a campfire include: telling ghost stories, playing the guitar and making smores.

Click Here to Download the Session 4 Camper and Staff Memory Book 

I love to go camping and every year I look forward to the summer months when I can sleep under the stars.  This summer at Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp we offered 16 camping trips!

Camper and Staff Memory Book

Session 3 2018

Click Here to Download the Session 3 Camper and Staff Memory Book 

Liz Feldstein-Nixon

This session flew by faster than the past two. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow we all have to leave this magical place. This was my first time staying session 3 and I’ve had a blast. The people here that I’ve met have a contagious energy that even made the rain fun. Mattawanna was awesome and we all got super close. Sup n Sail with Seb was definitely a high point along with the hiking overnight. I did the Yough with Babs + Helen, but then Helen left ( thanks for that Helen). We crushed it. It rained. It poured. Abbey got cold. All in all a good time. It sucks that so many of my friends won’t be back next year, but I’m so grateful to have met them. Thank you guys for making this summer so special.

We had an incredible summer at Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp.  Third Session was so awesome.  Here is the Third Session Slideshow from SMA, Enjoy!

Greetings from the Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) family. It is hard to believe that the summer of 2018 has come and gone so fast. It seems like only yesterday we were dusting off the canoes and tuning up the mountain bikes, and now this incredible summer is in the history books. The remainder of August was great, but we often found ourselves playing “remember that time in first session... that was awesome!” during our down time

On the last full day of the session we asked each member of our group to take a few moments and "reflect" about his or her experience at Stone Mountain Adventures. Enclosed are the written reflections of campers as well as a brief description of many of the activities that we did at camp written by our stellar staff.  We hope you enjoy this SMA Memory Book and these reflections as much as we do!

Click Here to Download the Session 2 Camper and Staff Memory Book 

Alyssa Phillips (Billy Jean Johnson)

This was my second year of SMA and it just keeps getting better and better! It went by so fast but when I look back it feels slow. This year I became very close to many people. Last year I feel like I closed myself off to only two people. This year was way more fun and I’m going to miss everyone so much. Besides spraining my thumb I couldn’t have asked for a better two weeks! I feel like this is the only place on earth where I can be myself and live in the moment.

Here is the Stone Mountain Adventures Session 2, 2018 Slideshow! Photos in this awesome slideshow include: Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking, White Water Rafting, Evening Activities and So Much More!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are so excited to share the Session 1, 2018 Slideshow with you!

 Click Here to Download the Session 1 Camper and Staff Memory Book 

Scout Kranick

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love Stone Mountain Adventures!! This is my second year coming to camp and its been amazing. I got to see my old friends from last year; Tyler, Odessa and Jordyn and it was so nice to see them again, I also made new friends; Kaylen, Kendal and Lily. We all had a lot of fun together getting to know each other, making each other laugh and having adventures. We’re all very different in our own ways but I think that’s what made us all click somehow. I’m so glad I met all of them.

My favourite activity at Stone Mountain was SUP and sail! Always getting to go with Jordyn and Odessa was fun because we just hung out on the paddle boards, talked and laughed. Jordyns shenanigans are always funny to watch! It was the best activity because of the heat wave that had come through as well… it was pretty refreshing. SUP and sail was just really fun all the time. I love SUP and sail.

SMA is a wonderful place. The energy of this place cannot be replicated anywhere else. It’s amazing here and when you come you never want to leave!

I LOVE SMA!

Daniel Bosch

Session 1 was way bigger than session 4 last year. This being my second year I felt like a veteran camper already. Besides seeing old friends and making new ones I think this session was pretty nice. I tried some new activities and had fun trying them. I’m not writing too much because im here for two sessions so will probably write more at the end of session 2. Well between Tim, Jim and Kim I prefer Kim. While ash and Beth are bugging me while I’m alone in a boat and Jess is broken and Swags is sick it has been a great group of councillors. With flat Matt and flannel Matt and a group more that includes Jellie (Jordan and Ellie), Helen, Nathan, Cassie and Diego. With doing things in power hour like watching the World Cup or the dancing fire (Helen) or the cat in the bush debacle; I don’t know, session 1 was not as close as session 4 last year but that’s because of there being more campers. Having so many 4^th year and up campers really added to the experience.

Well, session 1 SMA ’18 has come to a close.

The Stone Mountain Adventures Summer of 2018 has officially come to a close.  It is hard wrap my head around that fact that it's already August 24th but it's true.

• Our Campers departed on Sunday 8/19/18 (5 days ago)
• Our Camp Counselors departed yesterday (8/23/18)
• Wyatt and Molly (and Anne) started the school year on Wednesday 8/22/18

Amid all these endings, departures and new beginnings Stone Mountain Adventures has become a very quiet place.  Today it was just Jack, Comet, Barney, the bunnies here at camp with the horses, the chickens (bak, bak) Pam, Biff, Tammy in the barn.  

Please keep an eye on your Inbox as in the weeks to come we plan to send out:

• Community Service Hours Certificates
• SMA Session Slideshows
• SMA Session Memory Books

Session four is off to a flying start! All camp day has arrived! There is blue sky and the sun is shining! We enjoyed bagels and donuts for breakfast this morning and we’re having a party camp clean up and skits before heading out on community projects and reconvening for a tasty cook out this evening.

It's hard to believe we are already two days into SMA Session 4, but we are so excited to welcome in this new group of campers, with many new faces and a few returning to make this the best session ever! After some volleyball and swimming at Whipple Dam on opening day, we were happy to get the final campers arriving from the DC airport on Monday night for a good night of rest before the first full day of activities!

Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp is still enrolling kids the following summer sessions taking place in August:

• 1 or 2 Week Overnight Camp for Teens (Ages 12 to 16)

• 1 or 2 Week Teen Day Camp (Ages 12 to 16)  *Transportation from State College 

• 1 or 2 Week Dream Day Camp (Ages 8 to 11) *Transportation from State College 

• 1 or 2 Week Horseback Riding Camp, (Ages 8 to 16) *Transportation from State College