Director Jud's Blog

Stone Mountain Adventures Session 1, 2017 was an incredible experience for all involved.  Now that summer has ended we have had time to recover and reflect on what an amazing experience this 2 week session was for all involved!  We have also gathered all the best photos from Session 1 and put them in a slideshow... Enjoy!

2018 Dates at Stone Mountain Adventures

SMA Dream Day Camp Was Awesome!

Here is the Dream Day Camp Slideshow!

Stone Mountain Adventures is excited to announce that we are offering an Explorers Teen Day Camp this August!

We are thrilled to offer a new Explorers Teen Day Camp this August for 12 to 16 year olds.  Each week campers will experience adventure activities, water sports, traditional sports, and creative arts.  Explorers will have the opportunity to challenge themselves on activities while making new friends. Transportation will be provided from State College. 

Activities in the SMA Explorers Teen Day Camp May include:

• Team building activities and events
• Disc Golf
• Arts and Crafts
• Horseback Riding!
• Rock Climbing
• Traditional Sports
• Sailing
• Stand Up Paddle Boarding
• Hiking
• Mountain Biking
• Swimming
• Day trips to Greenwood Furnace and/or Whipples Dam State Parks

SMA Explorers Teen Day Camp: Ages 12 to 16

Dates: 

• Monday 8/7 to Friday 8/11
• Monday 8/14 to Friday 8/18

Times: 9am to 5.30pm 

Cost: $475

Contact Camp Director Jud Millar to learn more:

Jud@sma-summers.com 814-667-3874

Click Here to Register

Here are our 2017 SMA

Session 2 Campers!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are so excited the Session 2 is finally here!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp for Teens are Super excited about the 2017 SMA Staff Team... 

Chase Cloward

Age: 26

Chase has made a very long journey from Southern California to be with us for his 4^th Summer at Stone Mountain. Well liked for his down-to-Earth personality and admired for out-of-this-world climbing skills, he sets a great example for us all. This year not only will Chase be giving the local camp-gibbons a run for their money on the rocks, but he is taking a spin on the bike trails and creating a splash on the wake-boat.

SMA Session 1 All Camp Day Blog Post

The start of the SMA summer 2017 went off like all sessions do- an evening meeting in the barn, complete with a mix of both excitement and nerves. During our first full day of camp, we started off with our masters programs going out and since then they have been super busy each day-the Horsemasters in the barn each morning- working on position, rising and sitting trots, and going on trail rides through the woods. While, the bike masters are killing it on the Allegrippis- biking miles and miles of the winding, wooded, hardest single-track on the East Coast and learning bike maintenance as they go.

On the first day we also have belay school and swim check for all our campers, just to get everyone heading to kick SMA into high gear. Since then, we’ve had SMA biking, wakeboarding, tennis better than Wimbledon, freezing headlong sprints into Greenwood Furnace, games of ultimate, successful fishing trips (catching fish, sticks, and the occasional super secretive boots), soccer better than the pros, volleyball and ‘nuke ‘em’ tournaments, campers climbing conquering rocks, Power Hour games of basketball, knock-out, pool, touch rugby, keep-away, cuddle-puddles, ukulele jams, and many a relaxing afternoon doing SUP and sail on the shores of Raystown Lake.

Stone Mountain Explorers Dream Day Camp

We welcome you to join us this August at the Stone Mountain Explorers Dream Day Camp!  This program is designed to introduce younger campers to everything that is Stone Mountain Adventures. Campers will explore the wonders of the natural world around our camp and be exposed to many of the summer camp activities that we offer for older campers. A daily lunch will be provided while campers will need to bring a daypack, a full water bottle, sunscreen, and their sense of adventure!! Dream Day Camp activities may include:

• Team building activities and events
• Disc Golf
• Arts and Crafts
• Horseback Riding!
• Rock Climbing
• Traditional Sports
• Stream Exploration
• Hiking
• Scavenger Hunts
• Biking
• Swimming
• Shelter Building
• Day trips to Greenwood Furnace and/or Whipples Dam State Parks
• An overnight at camp on Wednesday, August 16 complete with a campfire, s'mores, skits and sleeping in a cabin
• Parents are invited to join us for an ice cream social on the closing day of camp - Thursday, August 17 from 2 to 4pm

Dream Day Camp Ages: 8-12

Dates: Sunday, August 13 to Thursday, August 17 (5 Days)

Times: 9am to 4pm with an Overnight on Wednesday, August 16

Cost: $290

I was 14 when I first set foot on Stone Mountain Adventures.

I was gangly, in the midst of a growth spurt that never quite happened, and terrified. The summer before, I had a not-great camp experience and I thought that SMA Teen Summer Camp would be more of the same. Worst yet- I also thought I wouldn’t be strong enough or good enough to do any of the activities. I did not want to have my folks leave me for four weeks. I wanted to go home. Immediately. Safe to say- my parents left me. My fears were proven wrong. And I had the best summer of my life. I got the best nickname. I made some amazing friends. I learned how to rock climb, I failed at wake-boarding, and I went white water rafting and swam my first rapid. I continued to go to SMA until I was 17 before finally having to come to the realization that I had to wait to become a counselor.

After almost 2 years of waiting the Raystown Mountain Bike Skills Park will be Open for Dirt Fest 2017 + will feature a New Dirt Fest Expo Area!

This years edition of Dirt Rag Dirt Fest PA will take place Thu. May 18, 2017 12:00 pm - Sun. May 21, 2017 5:00 pm at the Allegrippis Trails of fantastic Raystown Lake.  This will be the first year that the Raystown Mountain Bike Skills Park will be open for Dirt Fest.  The folks at Dirt Rag expect this new feature to be very popular at Dirt Fest 2017.  It is also conveniently located adjacent to the Raystown Lake Visitors Center and closer to many of the outer campgrounds.  There also happens to be a big open field adjacent to the Raystown Mountain Bike Skills Park and this is where the New Expo will be located for Dirt Rag Dirt Fest.  

What: New Skills Park Expo Area

Where: Located adjacent to the Raystown Mountain Bike Skills Park and next to the Raystown Lake Visitor Center

When: Thu. May 18, 2017 12:00 pm - Sun. May 21, 2017 5:00 pm

You can still Register for the Teen Events at this years Dirt Rag Dirt Fest!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) are excited to be able to share the magic of mountain biking AND the incredible Allegrippis trails with the kids and teens who attend Dirt Fest. We work hand-in-hand with Dirt Rag to continue to make Dirt Fest PA a family friendly event!

3 Summer Activities to Help Kids Unplug at a Summer Camp for Teens

Rothrock Outfitters is central PA's premier outdoor gear shop located in Historic Downtown Huntingdon at 418 Penns St.  Rothrock Outfitters opened its doors on November 13, 2000. This historic building was built in the early 1800's.  According to Rothrock's webiste the building was "originally home to Steeles pharmacy with two additional floors housing fine apartments. During the early part of the 20th century the top floor burned off in a cold january fire. After some remodeling the building was again reopened under the Steeles name. by the middle of the 1900's the building and ownership had changed hands later becoming a hardware store, army navy store, doctors office, and most recently the huntingdon drop in center."

Learn How You Can Improve Your Child's Vestibular System and Proprioception at an Adventure Summer Camp

Adventure activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, wakeboarding, water skiing and horseback riding are ideal developmental mediums for balance, body awareness, and coordination.  This includes bilateral integration which is the use of both sides of our body at the same time). These adventure activities require balance and coordination, and as you improve and develop withing these sports the levels of balance and coordination needed continues to rise. Most of us learn about the 5 basic “extrinsic” senses of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Many of us do not learn about two very important “hidden intrinsic” senses known as the vestibular and proprioceptive senses.

This blog post is intended to act as an introduction to understanding your vestibular system/sense (balance and coordination), proprioception (body awareness) and  their inherent relationship to adventure activities, and how adventure activities require you to maximize your potential if you are to continue developing with them.

The American urban and sub-urban environments do not tend to offer many opportunities to get to know, and thus, master our ability to balance and coordinate our whole selves. Nor, does our success in everyday societal life tend to depend on our amount of body awareness. Balance and body awareness are experientially learned abilities, meaning if you never experience them you will never develop them. Continued exposure and experience gives us opportunities to learn about, assess, and master…most anything! Crawling, childhood play, and organized sports is where most of our relationships begin and end with balance, body awareness and coordination. This lack of exposure in most Americans everyday life to activities and experiences that require an understanding and extensive use of balance (amoung other things) is exactly why adventure based activities are so important! To maximize your overall potential as a human being, you have to address your understanding of, and relationship with balance, body awareness and coordination. Period.

Staying balanced over a wakeboard, precarious rock climbing footholds on a crag, a mountain bike or skis requires constant balance, body awareness and coordination. Everyday common tasks such as sitting at your desk or in front of your television, walking to your car or class ordriving pushes you very little to get better at balancing, or getting to know yourself at all in any really valuable way. Adventure activities force you to get to know yourself at an expedited rate, compared to modern everyday societal life.  Attending one of the many overnight adventure summer camps for teens that offer adventure activities is a fantastic way to have the opportunity to be exposed to these activities.

Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp is excited to announce we will offer a Day Camp at Dirt Rag Dirt Fest PA 2017! We are excited to offer this service to families this year.  

Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) is a co-ed, overnight summer camp for teens located in central PA (Ages 12 to 16) We offer:

• Adventure Activities (Including Mountain Biking)
• Water Sports
• Traditional Sports
• Creative Arts and
• Community Service
• We also have a specialized Mountain Biking program for kids who want to ride the Alligrippis Trails everyday that they are at SMA called Mountain Bike Masters.

What: Kids and Teen Day Camp at Dirt Rag Dirt Fest PA 2017!

When: Friday from 1-4pm; Saturday 9am to Noon, Saturday 1 to 4pm

Where: This Day Camp will take place in and around the Seven Points                Recreation Area

Who: Ages 8 to 16 (Campers will be split into groups)

Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp is excited to announce we will host a kids and teen ride on Sunday morning of Dirt Fest! We are thrilled to be able to share the magic of mountain biking AND the incredible Allegrippis trails with the kids and teens who attend Dirt Fest.

Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) is a co-ed, overnight summer camp for teenagers located in central PA offering Adventure Activities (Including Mountain Biking), Water Sports, Traditional Sports, Creative Arts and Community Service. We also have a specialized Mountain Biking program for kids who want to ride the Alligrippis Trails everyday that they are at SMA called Mountain Bike Masters.

What: Kids and Teen Mountain Bike Ride at Dirt Rage Dirt Fest PA       

When: Sunday, May 21st from 9.30am to 1pm

Where: (Option 1): Meet at 9.30am at the SMA Both at the Bike Park                                       Expo to catch the shuttle the Bakers Hollow Lot

             (Option 2): Meet at the Bakers Hollow Parking Lot at 10am

Stone Mountain Adventures Teen Summer Camps will have a booth at the Spring Outdoor Expo this Saturday in State College on Allen Street!

What: the Appalachian Outdoors Spring Outdoor Exp

When: Saturday, April 8th from 10am to 6pm

Where: In front of the Appalachian Outdoors Store on Allen Street

    (123 S Allen St, State College, Pennsylvania 16801)

Who: Come see "Swaggers" Rose Miller and Nick Giltrow