Star Lake is a camp in Bloomingdale, Passaic County, New Jersey, run by The Salvation Army. The camp is secluded on 400 acres (1.6Â km2) of woods, lakes and hills. It is abutted by two other large tracts of wooded property giving those who desire a chance to hike and observe all types of wildlife and natural beauty. Its facilities include:
- 2 boating areas
- Softball field
- Private staff rooms
- High ropes course
- 35-foot (11Â m) climbing tower
- Low ropes course
- Boating
- Basketball courts
- Campfire circle
- Staff lounge
- Tennis court
- Hiking trails
- Pioneering village
- Adventure programming
History
Camping is an extension of the mission of The Salvation Army. Star Lake summer camp has provided numerous warm, happy memories for thousands of youngsters from around the Greater New York area dating back to 1923. The camp began as an opportunity for children to escape from the city to spend a day in the country. Eventually over the years, The Salvation Army expanded the camping program by building housing for the children to stay for a week at a time.
The 400-acre (1.6Â km2) camp is located in the beautiful foothills of the Ramapo Mountains in Bloomingdale, New Jersey. The property includes 3 lakes and two waterfalls that offer the campers the experience of fishing, boating and swimming.
Star Lake Camp is designed for the enrichment and development of children. It offers a vacation of joy and an experience that will be treasured for a lifetime. Programs are designed to provide for the various needs of the campers; to promote appreciation of worship and reverence toward God; to nurture the potential good in each child and help them realize a relationship to a world larger than their own.
The camp strives to provide new opportunities for campers to learn positive life skills and for them to engage in a variety of activities different from those available at school and home. Campers are accepted without regard to race, religion, or national origin.
Star Lake camp is accredited by the American Camp Association as well as being a member of the Christian Camp and Conference Association and is inspected periodically by the New Jersey State Board of Health and the New Jersey Health Department.
Tentbernacle
The tentbernacle is a temporary structure (e.g. tent) set up next to, or in close proximity to, the tabernacle on the Star Lake grounds, for the purposes of accommodating large crowds for a short period of time. While this name is unofficial, it has gained popularity like wildfire since 2007.
For example: Over the Labor Day weekend, the Army is expecting 1500 people to come to the camp meetings, so they put up a Tentbernacle on the ball field, since the Tab (Tabernacle) can only hold a few hundred.
Hilltop cabins
The main youth camp area at Star Lake is designated 'Hilltop' (a second, similar, camp area is 'Village'), and contains 7 camper cabins that will house approximately 200 campers. Each cabin is made up of 4 large sleeping areas for campers (designated 'A', 'B', 'C', and 'D' sections), two double counselor rooms, two dormitory style bathrooms, and a "rec room" or large common room in the rear of the cabin.
Cabins 1-3 are built on a raised wooden foundation, and are universally considered to be the superior cabins. Cabins 4-7 are built on concrete slabs directly on the ground. All cabins are equipped with electric heat but not fully winterized, and can provide 3 season camping.
A little known fact is that each cabin, when initially constructed, was given a designated Salvation Army historically based name, but these cabin names are no longer recorded anywhere on the cabins themselves, and no longer generally referred to by name, in favor of simply the cabin numbers. The original names for the Hilltop cabins were:
- Cabin 1 - Evangeline
- Cabin 2 - Catherine
- Cabin 3 - Sally
- Cabin 4 - Turk
- Cabin 5 - Railton
- Cabin 6 - Jakeway
- Cabin 7 - Halleluiah Lassie
External links
- "Star Lake Camp". The Salvation Army of Greater New York. Retrieved 2008-02-01.Â
