Painted Pony Performing Arts Camp:  A Creative Summer Camp in the Adirondacks

Deep in the Adirondack Mountains there is a special place...Painted Pony Performing Arts Camp is a place where the great green pine trees hover overhead and the lake water is clear. Birds of many colors swoop down from the blue skies and hummingbirds flit among the colorful flowers in the silent afternoon sun. Welcome to this historic and exceptional summer camp in the Adirondacks.

Children can explore the arts as never before in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains under the direction of professionals in their fields of music, theatre, dance and visual arts.

Along with exploring theatre, dance, visual arts and music at our performing arts camp in scenic Upstate NY, children ages 9-15 will experience all the age-old activities you expect at a summer camp in the Adirondacks, including swimming, hiking, sports, campfires, great food, cookouts, rodeo and boating. Our rustic log cabin rentals are available for the whole family to enjoy.

Come join the fun! Call (518) 696-5353  or Contact Us for more information.

Historic Painted Pony Ranch
IN THE BEAUTIFUL ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS

In 1942, when the Adirondack DUDE RANCH craze was at its height and city folk from the East would pack up their bags and take the long trek to western lands, a man named Larry Isaacson decided to bring the excitement and rustic sentiments of the Wild West to the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. He bought a picturesque and secluded tract of land in the Historic Ferguson Hollow in a town called Lake Luzerne. Lake Luzerne was established in 1792 and still retains the rustic charm of days gone by.

Larry built a large Main Lodge and four smaller cabins from native White Pine. He dammed up the stream to create a small lake for swimming, boating and water sports. Soon after, Guests arrived and dined on Family Style meals where great platters of food adorned the long wooden tables. Western music floated through the air at night and a good time was had by all. Barns were built and many a guest departed into the deep green woodlands atop a horse followed by real Cowboys from all over the country. Lake Luzerne became a Dude Ranch hotspot with over twenty ranches springing up within a 25 mile radius of Painted Pony Ranch.

Later, the Painted Pony Rodeo Arena was built along with a Saloon called The Longhorn. Across Route 9, Hidden Valley Ranch was built and ran successfully as the premier Dude Ranch in the area for many years. It is now called Hole in the Woods Ranch—a haven for seriously ill children which was created by the Actor/Entrepreneur Paul Newman and the local Charles R. Wood, a great Philanthropist. North Woods Dude Ranch was built nearby and at one time was a shining star in the trail of ranches in the North Country. North Woods is nothing more then a faded memory, its grounds long ago divided up and dispersed, its main buildings languor in disrepair, and its barn sold off for a home.

This summer camp in the Adirondacks has also gone through some changes over the years. After some declining seasons due to the drop-off of the Dude Ranch enthusiasm, the ranch sat lonely and still, seemingly abandoned for over 20 years. Some hard working folks tried to bring it back to the grandeur of its heyday, but the grounds got more neglected and the buildings became a landmark memory of a vital sub-culture that New York State has officially dubbed The Dude Ranch Trail.