Camp Santanoni to open for skiers, snowshoers

Tours will be Presidents’ Day weekend Feb. 17-19 and the weekend of March 16-17

NEWCOMB — Now that there is snow in the Adirondacks, cross-country skiers and snowshoers can get guided tours of the historic Camp Santanoni, one of the best-preserved “great camps” of years gone by.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Adirondack Architectural Heritage group hosted one such tour this past weekend and will host two more, on Presidents’ Day weekend, Feb. 17-19, and the weekend of March 16-17.

Camp Santanoni and the Santanoni Preserve were on a private estate of almost 13,000 acres owned by Albany banker Robert Pruyn and his wife, Anna.

Robert Pruyn was president of National Commercial Bank, which eventually became Key Bank.

Started in 1892, the Santanoni property had a farm, nearly four dozen buildings and a giant log cabin on Newcomb Lake, which was inspired by Japanese architecture. Robert Pruyn’s father was an envoy to Japan.

Pruyn’s heirs sold the property in 1953 to the Syracuse-based Melvin family, according to Adirondack Architectural Heritage. One of the Melvin grandchildren, Douglas Legg, age 8, became lost in the woods and was never found. The family then sold the property to the Nature Conservancy, which sold it to New York state. It is the only publicly owned Adirondack great camp.

Conservationists with the AARCH have worked to restore the camp buildings and the visitors weekends allow for tours of some of the historic structures.

Skiers and snowshoers can reach the camp during winter along the 9.8-mile carriage road, which is open to horses and hikers the rest of the year.

But during the weekends, visitors can enjoy interpretative talks about the camp and visit the wood-heated Artist’s Studio, a stone building along Newcomb Lake.

Reservations are not required and there is no cost associated with the events. For more information, contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328.

Thanks to its 1,600-foot elevation, the Santanoni trail often has good snow cover when other Adirondack trails don’t.

According to the Barkeater Trails Alliance website, other Adirondack cross-country ski centers, including Mt. Van Hoevenberg Center in Lake Placid and Paul Smith’s Visitors Interpretive Center in Paul Smith’s are now opening.

Other trails in the region have received snow but there may be icy spots due to rain last week and the recent drop in temperatures.