Vanderkamp Center | Retreat Center and Christian Summer Camp

Farming Comes back to Van...

With 850 Acres, Running a Summer Camp Isn’t Enough Last week, we received news of an incredible blessing: the Walmarts of Cicero and East Syracuse responded to a grant proposal we’d written to convert a portion of our summer camp into a community garden that would help supplement our kitchen with organically grown produce, and also help people in this area get healthy food. Our summer campers will have...

Alternative Spring Break ...

Grow at Summer Camp, Give back on a Retreat If you grew up going to summer camp, you know it’s a place where the formation of faith and friends happens more rapidly than anywhere else. An interesting thing happens, however, when one transitions from being a summer camper into a summer staff member. All of a sudden, the focus becomes more on providing faith formation for other people. It’s about...

Summer Camp 2012 Informat...

Since summer camp ended last year, you’ve been holding your breath wondering when our offerings for 2012 will be available, haven’t you? We know you too well Head over to our summer camp page and check out our offerings for 2012 – REGISTRATION IS LIVE! Just in time for Christmas! If you’re dying to see your summer camp friends before then, nothing would be easier than heading over to...

The Retreat You’ve ...

Vanderkamp’s spacious 850 acres and 45 acre lake include facilities for: Archery Group Building Activities Boating Swimming Fishing Soccer Softball Volleyball Hiking Cross-Country Skiing Sledding Four seasons of the year Vanderkamp welcomes guests from all over the country to enjoy God’s incredible creation and the regal splendor of nature here in central New York. During spring when the earth is...

Who We Are

Retreat Center & Christian Summer Camp

Vanderkamp operates with its partners in the Lutheran and Presbyterian churches in our area. Embedded in an incredible landscape near Syracuse, NY, we offer facilities and support for retreats, meetings, and gatherings, and provide Christian summer camp programs for youth. We’re rethinking what it means to run a Christian summer camp, and hope you’ll join us in re-writing the rules for peaceful and loving adult-child interactions. Click here for a sitemap of our entire website!

What Makes us Special?

We are a retreat center and summer camp that operates a lot differently than most you’ll encounter. Now, we understand you’ve probably heard that a lot – but we intend to prove it to you. Over the next several months, we plan on releasing essays and articles on what we call “The Vanderkamp Method” which details our approach to summer camp. We’re not just a summer camp – our retreat facilities and hospitality are wonderful as well!

Upcoming Events

Welcome to Vanderkamp! We are excited for you to explore all the wonderful things that our outdoor ministry has to offer. We are always happy to host a retreat in any of our facilities, or provide programming for you to help fulfill the goals of your organization. We love to serve a wide variety of groups and individuals explore their faith while sharing in fellowship, having fun, and exploring the beauty of God’s creation. Summer Camp information is here! Retreats are available year round! We’ve got it all!