The Recreation Camp

05/15/2026

REMINDER - In-Person Registration tomorrow 5/16 from 9:30am-11:00am down the Camp!

05/05/2026

REMINDER: In-Person registration has been moved to Saturday, May 16th, 9:30am - 11:00am

04/25/2026

CHANGE: "In-Person" registration got pushed back a week. It's now Saturday May 16th, 2026 from 9:30am - 11:00am down at Camp.

Again...this is NOT MANDATORY...you can just mail Mike your stuff and pay with your credit card but...if you miss him and must see him... he'll be down there on the 16th!

04/17/2026

We're looking to distribute our "Flyer" in any or all of Ansonia Public Schools, Seymour Public Schools, or Oxford Public Schools. We have Shelton and Derby covered! We've found the best way "in" is to know someone who either works in the school or is part of the PTA for any of the schools, and can physically get the flyers into the building for distribution via teacher mailboxes. Since the Newtown tragedy, they don't just let strangers walk into the schools anymore. If you or someone you know either works or is part of the PTA in Ansonia, Seymour, or Oxford, and would like to help us out, we'd be willing to offer summer camp weekly discounts! Email Mike at [email protected].

04/03/2026

SUMMER 2026!!!

Registration Open… dates, forms, pricing, FAQS - you name it… we got it!

www.TheRecreationCamp.com

Here’s The Big Thing- I’m NOT taking anything digitally this year. No email attachments, no cell phone pics with your kitchen countertops as the border, NO uploading. We’re completely eliminating the following phrase from the Monday morning mayhem, “Oh, I emailed Mike my blah, blah, blah”. NOTHING DIGITAL. You guys have almost 3 months to get your paperwork in order!

This year’s “registration flow” is as follows:

1. You guys download and complete the Camp App… it’s on website AND I emailed it to everyone in the database yesterday. You guys PRINT IT.

2. You guys PRINT a copy of an updated physical- school, sports team, local Voodoo healer… anything within 3 years signed (and preferably “stamped” by a doctor.

Take these two documents that you guys printed and snail mail to:

Mike Drew
9 Hosner Mountain Rd
Hopewell Junction, NY 12533

WE NEED THESE HARD COPIES FOR THE BINDERS DOWN AT CAMP. We need quick access to emergency contact info and sometimes medical care plans without reliance on wi-fi to try and find your previously mentioned cell phone pic of your kid’s health form with your kitchen counter top as a background!

3. Complete the Google Form so your kid(s) are now “ in the computer”. Now… if you need to add weeks, switch weeks, drop a week, etc. it’s all in the computer and super-easy.

4. Pay with Credit Card. We were pretty much done with checks last summer but let’s make it official… NO MORE CHECKS. You can pay credit card in website, and credit card or cash down the Camp…

PS… thank you to those who voted for us with Ion Bank’s commmunity awards… I think we received $400!

The Recreation CampThe Recreation Camp is a non profit member of the Valley United Way, and hascontinuously operated a summer camp on the Housatonic River in Derby since 1917. Read More The Recreation CampThe Recreation Camp is a non profit member of the Valley United Way, and hascontinuously operat...

02/28/2026

If you are an ION Bank member - VOTE FOR US!!! We're under "Children and Youth" and get $25 per vote. Share with your family and friends who are Ion Bank members! It costs nothing and takes like...30 seconds to vote and again...we get $25/vote!!! You gotta' do it this weekend though... voting closes Monday.

The Ion Bank Foundation continues to make a difference in the communities we serve through our support of a variety of causes by contributing millions of dollars to various non-profit organizations that need our help.

02/09/2026

Not to be outdone by the campers in the summer, Mike, Ronnie, and Pedro braved the -15 degree real feel yesterday morning down the Camp attempting to reel in "The Big One"... At one point, Pedro thought he had something, but it turned out to be Mike's tanning chair from Summer 2004.

12/15/2025

Waterbury Schools were closed today due to a water main break. Mike, Ronnie, Pedro, and Casey took advantage of the day off to do a little holiday decorating down the Camp...when we were done we called Dan the Man to climb up on the roof and snap this pic! From all of us to all of you... Happy Holidays!!!

08/17/2025

How's that for a crew! We can definitely say we had a safe and successful summer!

We succeeded in getting your kids to play outside...all day...every day...make friends...be safe....have fun...be nice to people....learn a few things about themselves...learn a few things about life...learn how to share...learn (without helicopter parents) how to work out differences...yet learn that WE'RE ALL BASICALLY THE SAME no matter what color we are or how much money we have in our bank accounts.

We all wonder where that world went? We're tellin' ya'...there were glimpses of it for 8 weeks this summer...on those hot, sweaty days, (and we had A LOT of them this summer - opening day was 100°!!!) on the days we swam in the river ALL day, across at the field, in the Rec Room...it was there...at our place....our place that's always been there...109 years and counting!!!

We'll be there next summer too...right on RT. 34 in Derby...where we've always been.

Check back in with us next March for Summer 2026 registration information and...

Spread the word...tell your friends!!!

www.TheRecreationCamp.com

08/15/2025

Tradition!!! The campers love helping us “swim the raft back in” and this one capped off a really great summer!