The circa 1820’s Greek Revival house at the forefront of Camp Stomping Ground’s 70 acres, located along a tributary of Kayaderosseras Creek in Middle Grove, was built a century before the property became the site of a Boy Scout camp. 

By the 1940s, the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the brook that formed the camp’s two lakes, which today, along with the Downtown Stomping Ground’s games, pavilion, pirate ship, and imaginative play spaces, have become the “heart and soul” of this camp in the summer. 

From Solid Foundations

Camp Stomping Ground, a local, independent, non-profit sleepaway summer camp, was founded nearly a decade ago by Laura Kriegel and Jack Schott. 

The concept of the camp’s approach - focusing on radical, collaborative imagination - blossomed out of Camping Coast to Coast, Kriegel and Scott’s epic cross-country adventure visiting 100+ camps. Observing best practices and tough challenges first-hand helped to inform their philosophy of the kind of place camp can be for kids. 

“Children come up with the most spectacular projects together when you trust them to try, and give them the room to make mistakes. They learn best how to make decisions by making them,” said Kriegel. 

After visiting camps that, while well-intentioned, were instituting more skills-based assessments, badges, and honors that categorized and isolated kids, the duo was disillusioned by standardized systems and determined to co-create something different.

“It doesn’t need to be that way. Summer camp should be a sacred place. We’re at the other end of the spectrum, offering kids more autonomy,” she said. 

With the Freedom to Fly

Emphasizing empathy and resilience, Camp Stomping Ground is a respectful, tech-free community where fun feels fulfilling. By infusing the landscape with unbounded creativity, kids ages 6 -16, a handful of year-round and 60+ seasonal staff form friendships and memories while enjoying a range of activities.  

In The Barn’s makerspace, artists of all kinds let their ideas fly into fruition, while upstairs in the library, children perch on each couch cushion or oversized bean bag chair with a curated collection of books. 

The camp’s two basketball courts, athletics field, two gaga ball pits, and free-play zones are great places to get energy out, while canoes and swimming lets them cool off with a lifeguard present. This supportive environment, brimming with possibilities, is further enriched by colorful murals, “Wendy,” an intelligent and affectionate four-year-old Bernese Mountain dog, three cats, and a cackle of chickens. The quiet donor patio (paved with bricks engraved with the names of camp supporters), the sensory and vegetable garden, and ‘The Getaway’ medical center provides kids areas of respite and care. 

Two huge stone fireplaces welcome campers into the dining hall, where Burnt Hills – Ballston Lake Central School District chef Jalena Davis cooks up wholesome, kid-friendly food from scratch while accommodating any allergies and special dietary needs. 

Breaking New Ground

With a 70 percent retention rate and a growing waiting list, Camp Stomping Ground decided to expand this year with the construction of four more cabins and a second bathhouse, thanks to the support of the Dake Foundation for Children, Christopher Dailey Foundation, Nordly’s Foundation, Business for Good, Saratoga’s Children’s Committee, The Charles L. Touhey Foundation, Curtis Lumber, DA Collins, Palette, and others. 

Kriegel said she also feels extremely lucky for John Munter, Sr., founder of Munter Enterprises, the property’s previous owner, for remaining involved in its rejuvenation. He has been like the camp’s guardian angel, she said, especially during the pandemic, when renovations were particularly difficult.

Fees for the two-week camp are determined by a trust-based sliding scale.  As much as $300,000 in scholarships are awarded annually. Sessions start June 30th and registrations are accepted until September. 

For more information, go to https://campstompingground.org