Director Jud's Blog

A truly S’MAzing summer at Stone Mountain Adventures has come to a close. We ended the summer as we began it with an incredible final two week session!

The summer of 2014 at Stone Mountain Adventures Teen Summer Camp really was one for the ages. We had campers from 16 states and five foreign countries including Spain, the UK, France, Switzerland and Dubai.  Our staff was equally diverse with a total of 15 full time camp counselors from nine states as well as “funny-talkers” from England, Northern Ireland, and Australia.  Of those counselors, five were former SMA Campers. 

Topics: Summer camp, Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, 2 Week Summer Camp, A Message from Director Jud

Every year children go to overnight summer camps for the experiences of a lifetime. As your child gets older he or she may outgrow or age out of their camp. When that happens, it might be time to consider a teen summer camp. Attending a teen summer camp can have profoundpositive effects on your teen now and later in life.Here are just some of the many benefits of choosing a teen summer camp:

 

Topics: teenage summer camp, camp, Why Choose a Teen Summer Camp, Teen Focused Activities

Topics: Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, 2 Week Summer Camp, camp, camp fair, Arlington Camp Fair

Outside Magazine has name Dirt Rag's Dirt Fest as one of the nations top Mountain Biking Festivals in the USA!

Dirtfest is a fantastic event that is weekend long mountain bike festival promoting a hearty spirit for adventure, festivity and camaraderie. DirtFest features clinics on sustainable trail building, entry level mountain biking, sustainable trail maintenance; and includes organized events such as a womens skills series, kids mountain bike rides, unicycle course and an epic all day group ride that departs on a houseboat shuttle. Hosted by the Raystown Mountain Bike Association (RMBA).

Topics: Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, Mountain Biking, mountain biking summer camp, SMA Teen Camp, Outside Magazine, Dirtfest

It is hard to believe that 3rd Session at SMA Teen Summer Camp and August have already arrived and we are nearly half way through session three. This summer has gone by so unbelievably fast and before we know it all the campers will be on the road home. The weather this summer has been quite the roller coaster, ranging from scorching hot during session two to raining almost every day of session one. For 3rd Session it has finally leveled out with warm days and cool nights!

Topics: Summer camp, Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, Summer Camp PA

At Stone Mountain Adventures we ride the Allegrippis Trails everyday.  Here are a few new sweet videos on YouTube about the Allegrippis Trails that are worth checking out!

Topics: Summer camp, Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, Mountain Biking, mountain biking summer camp

Stone Mountain Adventures Teen Summer Camp will have a booth at the Appalachian Outdoors Spring Outdoor Expo which will take place on Saturday, April 13 from 10 to 5pm.  We are excited to see our State College friends, former campers and former camp counselors at the Expo.  Former camper and camp counselor this summer Ali Sanzo will be covering the booth for part of the day and Jud Millar will be there as we.  

Topics: Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, Spring Outdoor Expo

Topics: Summer camp, Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, choosing a teen summer camp

Topics: Summer camp, Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, summer camp in the media

Spending  46 hours of my life with no sitting or sleeping has to be the most unique experience I have ever  had the opportunity to be a part of. Getting  the honor to dance in THON 2013 was an amazing time full of moments that I will never forget. Inside the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University from 4:00pm on Friday February 15th 2013 until 4:00pm on Sunday February 17th 2013 there was always something going on and more than enough people to pass the time with.  My journey started early Friday morning, I woke up around 8:00 am, had breakfast, went to class at 11:00 am, packed my things, and then headed to the BJC at 2:30 pm. Technically, over the weekend I was probably awake for a total of 58 hours without sleeping.

Topics: Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, THON, camp counselor, DANCE

A few weeks ago I traveled to Manchester, England, for three days. It was a quick trip, but an incredible experience. The purpose of my trip was to attend a "staff fair" hosted by Camp America, a company that helps camps like SMA Teen Camp find international staff and then arranges their J1 work visas.  The staff fair was a smashing success with about 60 camps in attendance and more 2100 potential camp counselors trying to find the perfect camp for them.   

Topics: Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, Manchester, Camp America

Session Slideshows -On the last night of each session we gather in the barn and watch the session slideshow. All Session we take pictures of campers and staff on activities (rock climbing, wakeboarding, art studio, etc.), doing community service, evening activities (Jud Games, yea!) and hanging around camp with friends. We gather the best of these photos, add a summer soundtrack and put together a slideshow that really captures the crazy, silly, amazing, magical moments of each session.

Topics: Summer camp, Teen summer camp, teenage summer camp, Reflection packets, camp, slideshow