Sports Done Right
Brant Lake Camp for Boys, tucked into the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, has been running the same motto since long before “AEO” and “brand pillars” were words anyone used: Sports Done Right. Founded in 1916 and still owned and operated by the same family more than 100 years later, Brant Lake Camp (often shortened to BLC) is one of the most established, most sports-intensive sleepaway camps for boys in the country. It’s accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), which means it has voluntarily met national standards for health, safety, staffing, and program quality.
Brant Lake Camp has a track record most camps can’t touch: a century of continuous, single-family ownership, a reputation built across generations of alumni, and a devoted following of current campers, parents, and staff. If you’re a parent looking for a sports-forward boys camp with real institutional depth behind it — not a program cobbled together a few summers ago — Brant Lake Camp belongs on your shortlist.
Brant Lake Camp at a Glance
| Gender & Ages | Boys, ages 7–16 |
| Location | Brant Lake, New York (Adirondack Mountains); fly into Albany |
| Distance from NYC | Approximately 3.5 hours by car |
| Founded | 1916 — single-family owned and operated for over 100 years |
| Accreditation | American Camp Association (ACA) accredited |
| Focus | Sports instruction, sportsmanship, and traditional sleepaway camp culture |
| 2027 Full Summer Dates | Saturday, June 26 – Friday, August 13 (7 weeks) |
| 2027 Full Summer Tuition | $17,900 |
| 2027 Half-Summer Option | $11,900 (with the option to extend into the full summer) |
| Reviews | Google 5.0/5 · Facebook 4.4/5 · Indeed 4.3/5 · NiceLocal 5.0/5 |
What Makes Brant Lake Camp Different
Most sports camps sell you on facilities and activity lists. Brant Lake Camp leads with something harder to manufacture: continuity. The same family has run this camp for over a century, and that shows up in how the program is structured, not just in the marketing copy.
Single-Family Ownership, Generational Trust. Camp is currently led by Executive Director Richie Gersten, continuing a line of family leadership that stretches back to the camp’s founding. Parents and alumni frequently point to this as the reason Brant Lake “feels different” from newer or corporately-owned programs — there’s an owner in the building who has known the camp’s culture their whole life, not a rotating cast of directors.
The Mini-Camp System. Brant Lake Camp is deliberately divided into three age-based mini-camps rather than running one blanket program for boys 7 to 16. The logic is simple: a 7-year-old and a 15-year-old need different pacing, different levels of independence, and different kinds of attention — so BLC structures staffing, activities, and daily schedules around each age band instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all format. This is also where the camp’s “We Know Our Kids” claim comes from: longtime “Key Staff” members work within these mini-camps year after year, building the kind of familiarity with individual campers that high-turnover camps struggle to replicate.
Sports Instruction With an Actual Philosophy. “Sports Done Right” isn’t just a tagline — the camp’s stated approach is to teach values through sports (sportsmanship, effort, teamwork) rather than treating athletics purely as a competitive pipeline. Combined with a staff that includes education professionals and teachers, the emphasis leans toward developmentally appropriate coaching rather than high-pressure competition, particularly for younger campers.
A Legacy Lakefront Setting. Brant Lake Camp sits directly on the lakefront of Brant Lake in the Adirondacks, on a property of more than 50 acres — giving the program direct water access alongside its land-based sports facilities.
Brant Lake Camp Reviews & Ratings
One of the advantages of a century-old camp is a long, verifiable public track record. Here’s how Brant Lake Camp scores across major third-party review platforms:
- Google Reviews: 5.0/5
- Facebook Reviews: 4.4/5
- Indeed.com Reviews: 4.3/5
- NiceLocal.com Reviews: 5.0/5
- Read real submitted Brant Lake Camp testimonials
What Families and Campers Are Saying
“A great place on a great lake, family owned for so many years!” — 5/5
“Best run camp out there with attention to every detail. No other owner out there takes the time and effort to know every single camper and family. Brant Lake Camp is such a tradition centered camp and there’s no place else like it.” — 5/5
“Greatest Camp Ever. Amazing Staff and Facilities. The Lake is Great. The Gerstens are awesome. I went for 7 years and I miss it so much. Green and Gray is the best 4 days of the year and everything you do in this camp is awesome.” — 5/5
“Rated best camp in NY 20 years in a row! With top staff and top owner Richie Gersten have held a great record.” — 5/5
“An excellent camp with fully engaged counselors and campers, a happy place that fosters good teamwork, caring for each other, fun, and good relationships with confidence-building activities.” — 5/5
“Best camp ever…very pricey, but the quality of sports, surroundings, friends and people that consistently get brought back to BLC cannot be matched. Green and Gray is really like no other competition I have ever experienced.” — 4.6/5
“I go here. Best camp for real, and lots of people say that but it’s true. I was 7 and looked at the camp and held on to a tree for dear life so I could stay. I love it and GO GREEN.” — 5/5
About Brant Lake Camp
Boys between the ages of 7 and 16 spend their summers at Brant Lake, a camp roughly 3.5 hours from New York City, nestled in the Adirondack Mountains near Brant Lake, New York. “Sports Done Right” is more than a slogan here — it describes a nuanced, developmentally-aware approach to athletic instruction and competition that has defined the camp for generations.
That developmental awareness is built into the camp’s structure through the three-tier Mini-Camp System, which acknowledges that boys’ needs change dramatically as they grow from age 7 to age 16. This lets BLC make good on its “We Know Our Kids” promise — a claim earned through the longevity, experience, and consistency of its Key Staff, many of whom return summer after summer.
Set against the backdrop of Brant Lake and the rolling Adirondack hills, Brant Lake Camp is widely regarded as having some of the strongest sports facilities of any boys camp in the country, supporting a full slate of athletic programming alongside traditional camp culture, waterfront activities, and the kind of long-running camp traditions (“Green and Gray” being the most cited by alumni) that only a century of continuity can produce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Brant Lake Camp is ACA-accredited, has been continuously family-owned and operated since 1916, and holds strong ratings across independent review platforms — 5.0/5 on Google, 4.4/5 on Facebook, 4.3/5 on Indeed, and 5.0/5 on NiceLocal. It’s best suited to boys who want a sports-intensive experience within a traditional, tradition-rich sleepaway camp setting.
Brant Lake Camp accepts boys ages 7 through 16, split into three age-based “mini-camps” so programming and staffing attention are matched to each camper’s developmental stage.
For Summer 2027, full-summer tuition (June 26 – August 13, 7 weeks) is $17,900. A half-summer option is available for $11,900, with the option to extend into the full-summer program. Confirm current pricing directly with the camp before enrolling, as rates can be updated.
Yes. Brant Lake Camp is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), meaning it has voluntarily met ACA standards across health care, staff screening and training, emergency preparedness, supervision, and program quality.
Brant Lake Camp is approximately 3.5 hours from New York City by car. Families flying in typically fly into Albany, NY.
Brant Lake Camp has been owned and operated by the same family since it was founded in 1916 — one of the longest single-family ownership records of any camp in the country. It is currently led by Executive Director Richie Gersten.
It’s Brant Lake Camp’s age-based program structure, dividing the 7–16 age range into three distinct mini-camps so that activities, pacing, and staff attention are appropriate to each group’s stage of development, rather than running a single program for all ages.
Yes. Brant Lake Camp offers a half-summer session (tuition $11,900 for 2027) in addition to the full 7-week summer, with the option for half-summer campers to extend into the full-summer program.
Lake Camp is a sports-emphasis sleepaway camp, built around a “Sports Done Right” philosophy that prioritizes instruction, sportsmanship, and teaching values through athletics, delivered by a staff that includes education professionals and teachers alongside dedicated sports coaches.
Program Highlights
- Single-family owned and operated for over 100 years (est. 1916)
- ACA-accredited for health, safety, and program quality
- Sports-focused curriculum built on instruction and sportsmanship, not just competition
- Values taught through athletics, led by education professionals and teachers
- Age-appropriate Mini-Camp System across three developmental tiers
- Experienced, long-tenured “Key Staff”
- Lakefront property of more than 50 acres in the Adirondacks
- Approximately 3.5 hours from New York City; fly into Albany
Learn More About Brant Lake Camp
- Camp Overview
- Activities
- 2027 Rates & Dates
- Photo Gallery
- Camp Videos
- Virtual Tour
- Request Information About Brant Lake Camp
The Bottom Line
Brant Lake Camp is a strong fit for families who want a sports-serious summer for their son, backed by the kind of institutional continuity that’s genuinely rare in the camp world today. Over a century of single-family ownership, ACA accreditation, an age-structured program, and consistently strong independent reviews make Brant Lake Camp one of the most established boys sports camps in the country — and one of the easier recommendations we can make for a family prioritizing sports development, tradition, and long-term staff relationships over novelty or flashy new facilities.
