You never outgrow summer camp. Not if you’re an ACA member, anyway. Just a one-hour drive from the concrete jungle of New York City puts you in something close to the real thing—spiders, poison ivy and all. Ahhh, the American Canoe Association camp at Lake Sebago in Harriman State Park! Meeting place of paddlers of all stripes, from budding canoeists to Olympic racing champions. Local paddling clubs maintain rustic cabins here so that club members (and their boats) can come on up to practice and “hang.”

This is where sky meets water. And weekdays (finally!) meet weekends.

We meet lots of new people here. Like baby Juniper, who has already obtained her ACA membership number. (Remember her kayak-coach parents, Kam and Gwen, from last summer’s pre-Juniper rolling class?) And of course, we run into old friends all over the place.

At ACA summer camp, slow meets fast….

…and traditional meets hi-tech.

Flying bugs meet their doom…

…and in the late afternoon sky, summer clouds and swifts gather.

ACA camp is a great place to try new things. Here, Alex tests a surfski…

…while Juniper gums a new PFD before launching on her very first paddle.

More photos from our day with YPRC (Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club) friends at ACA camp. Click on first pic for slideshow.