Generation After Generation: Why Parents' Day Feels Like a Family Reunion at ADK

ADK has been around for over 120 years, and it shows up in ways beyond the buildings and the trees. We have campers, and counselors on staff right now whose parents were campers here. Alumni come by throughout the summer, not just on Parents’ Day, and some end up teaching an activity or helping out for the week.

We’d argue that’s a real measure of whether a camp community is working: people keep coming back. Not just for one good summer, but year after year, and often across generations of the same family. That kind of return rate doesn’t happen by accident.

Parents’ Day Itself

The weather worked in our favor this year. Parents’ Day came in with clear skies and warm temperatures, and cars started rolling in during the morning as families arrived for the first time in weeks. Most families set up under the trees for some shade and spent the day at their own pace and enjoying time with their kids. Swimming, pickup ball games, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, and fishing were all going on. It was also a chance for parents to meet their kids’ counselors and friends in person after a summer of hearing about them secondhand.

Campers without visitors weren’t left out. The office handed out snacks and candy, and there were various picnics on the ballfield for anyone who wanted to join in.

A number of alumni were around for the day as well, visiting their kids who are here for the summer and catching up with old friends. Others visit at various points throughout the summer without any particular occasion, sometimes to help teach a class or run an activity while they’re here.

It’s a pattern that shows up consistently: campers become counselors, counselors become parents who send their own kids to ADK, and alumni keep finding reasons to stop by years or decades later. After 120 years, that’s less a coincidence and more just how the place works, and a testament to the community we’ve built here.

Stay connected with camp! Visit our alumni page here for ways to stay in touch.