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DEC Announces Summer Camp 2026 Registration Opens
March 22nd
Published: December 27, 2025
at 11:30 a.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Announces Summer Camp 2026 Registration Opens
March 22, 2026
DEC’s Camps, Centers, and Educators Engaged with More
than 41,000 Youth in 2025
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton has
announced that online registration for DEC’s 2026 Summer Camps program will
open Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 1 p.m. The six weeks of environmental
education-focused outdoor fun is just one of DEC’s many environmental
education offerings that in 2025 alone, engaged
more than 41,000 youth from communities across the state.
“DEC’s Summer
Camp program provides a fun learning experience for kids to develop outdoor
skills, identify wildlife, practice hunting and fishing, and so much
more,” DEC Commissioner Lefton said. “Highly trained camp
staff and professionals organize inclusive camp activities and help the
next generation of outdoor stewards build lifelong memories and skills. It
is one of the many ways DEC’s environmental education teams work each day
to connect New Yorkers of all ages and abilities to our natural resources
and help people take Governor Kathy Hochul’s advice to Get Offline and Get
Outside.”
Now in its 79th year,
the DEC Summer Camps program offers week-long adventures in conservation
education for children ages 11-17. DEC operates four residential camps for
kids: Camp Colby in Saranac Lake, Franklin County; Camp DeBruce in
Livingston Manor, Sullivan County; Camp Pack Forest in Warrensburg, Warren
County; and Camp Rushford in Caneadea, Allegany
County.
DEC's Bureau of
Environmental Education operated all four summer camps in 2025 for the
first time since 2019. There were 1,108 campers and 93 campership youth
(underserved children who receive camper scholarships), an increase of 29%
and 342% over 2024, respectively.
For Summer 2026,
Camp Rushford will offer five weeks of programing for campers aged 11 to
13, and two weeks for 14- to 17-year-olds. Camp Colby will operate four
weeks of camp for 11- to 13-year-olds, and three weeks for campers aged 14
to 17. Camp DeBruce will offer five weeks for kids ages
11 to 13 and two weeks for 14- to 17-year-olds. Camp Pack Forest will host
campers ages 11 to 13 for three weeks, and 14- to 17-year-olds for four
weeks. Camps Colby and Pack Forest will each have one Outdoor
Adventure Week. The complete schedule of camp weeks and ages is
available on the Summer Camps webpage.
At camp, kids
will have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of outdoor
adventures and are encouraged to try new things. Activities that
accommodate all may include fishing, birding, fly-tying, archery, canoeing,
hiking, camping, orienteering, and hunter safety education.
Each camp offers
four or five weeks of Hunter Education Program courses covering riflery,
bowhunter, or trapping safety and education. Class size is limited for
hunter education programs and campers must sign-up during registration and
complete required homework in advance. Registered campers will receive
booklets prior to their session at camp.
DEC campers
engage in fun, hands-on activities and outdoor exploration focused on local
field, forest, and freshwater aquatic ecological principles. Campers might
collect insects in a field, use nets in a stream, investigate soil
composition, measure tree sizes, or practice taking field notes and writing
in journals. Trips to nearby state lands might include kettle bogs, State
parks, fish hatcheries, or nature museums.
Camp Pack Forest
will offer an “Outdoor Adventure Week” during Week 4 (July 19 – 24) and
Camp Colby will offer one during Week 6 (August 2 – 7). DEC encourages
teens ages 14 to 17 who love being outdoors to sign up for this popular
program that will help deepen their enjoyment and widen their horizons.
During these weeks, campers will develop hands-on outdoor skills that go
above and beyond the traditional camp week. In addition to our typical camp
activities, campers may be engaged in team and trust-building activities,
forestry, citizen science, conservation science, and more. Campers will be
introduced to a variety of environmental fields and exciting activities
including longer trips. These weeks are a great option for returning
campers.
All four camps
will offer seven one-week sessions (Sunday to Friday) beginning Sunday,
June 28, 2026. One week of camp is $350 per child for 2026, and includes
meals, trips, and a camp t-shirt.
Parents and
guardians can register youth for a week of camp, manage their account, and
complete required forms and waivers through a link from the DEC Summer Camps webpage.
Guardians are encouraged to register early since many weeks fill up quickly
and are advised to monitor the webpage for upcoming announcements on 2026
camp forms.
In addition to
inviting parents and guardians to register children to participate in the
DEC environmental education Summer Camps program, sporting clubs, civic
groups, and environmental organizations are encouraged to sponsor one or
more children for a week at camp. Information about becoming a sponsor and
managing sponsor accounts is available at Sponsoring Youth to Camp on
DEC’s website.
For more information, please visit the
DEC’s website, email EducationCamps@dec.ny.gov, visit “NYS DEC Summer Camps”
on Facebook or write to DEC Camps, 3rd Floor, 625 Broadway, Albany, New
York 12233-4501.
In addition to
summer camps, through September 2025, DEC's environmental educators engaged
over 41,000 children in youth, school, and afterschool programs from four
environmental education centers and three regional offices. Activities
include the upcoming “First Day Hikes” announced by Governor Kathy Hochul taking
place January 1, 2026. Information about DEC's
environmental education centers and programs is available
on DEC's website.
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