Happy Fall, happy start to the school year, and happy memories of the fabulous summer we had at Camp Echo Lake! To all of you who were campers, staff, and parents this past summer, we hope you are savoring every “memory of Echo!” To all of you new to CEL campers, staff, and parents, we are thrilled to have you in the CEL family and look forward to connecting with you and helping you feel like you are in a community where you truly belong. Super exciting, right?! In the Autumn months, we find ourselves not only treasuring the memories of Echo but also looking critically at all we do to raise t ..read more

By Laurie – 2023 Summer Echoes Campfire I am 48-years-old, have a Masters in Social Work, and have held many jobs and responsibilities in my life. While I have learned a lot from my family and friends, from school, and from my life experience, all I ever really needed to know, the truly important stuff, I learned from Camp Echo Lake. Here are the things I learned at camp: You can feel two feelings at once, even if they are opposite feelings. I have such vivid memories of being a camper here. One of the most powerful memories is feeling how much I missed my family and also feeling how much I l ..read more

When you wake up in the morning, what do you do right away? When you fall asleep at night, what are you doing before you fall asleep? When you are sitting in a parking lot waiting for a practice, rehearsal, or class to be over, what are you doing? If you are watching TV and a commercial comes on, what do you do? For many of us, the answer to one – or all – of these questions is… you are on your cell phone / iPad or other device. No judgement – this is the world we live in. Our Smartphones and iPads keep us connected, help us map out directions, house our calendars, allow us to order food, book ..read more

We are so excited to introduce to you the 2023 Camp Echo Lake Leadership Team! This summer we have an incredible team of seasoned CEL staff that are dedicated to making 2023 the best summer ever. Their passion for camp, love of working with children, and hard-working nature make this team of individuals the perfect people to bring summer 2023 to life!  The 2023 CEL Leadership team has an impressive combined 255 years of Echo Lake experience – we can’t wait for you and your campers to get to know them this summer! Age Groups:   Juniors – campers entering 5th grade and younger Inters ..read more

The festive holiday and reunion season is upon us and we want to talk to you about CBGB. Many parents reading this may think we are talking about CBGB’s (Country, Bluegrass, and Blues) the club in NYC that launched many punk, new wave, rock, and folk music groups in the 70’s and 80’s. While fun to talk about, that is not the CBGB we are referring to. Our CBGB is Connection, Belonging, and Giving Back. We have read many books, articles, and studies. We have spent decades of dedication to human development with hundreds of campers and staff each summer. When you boil down all the advice, self-h ..read more

We are beyond excited to announce Camp Echo Lake’s 2022 Leadership Team! This group is made up of individuals who are passionate about camp, bring a wealth of experience, and are dedicated to making Summer 2022 the best summer yet! Our 2022 Leadership Team brings an incredible combined 206 summers of Echo Lake experience. We can’t wait for you to get to know them this summer! Age Groups:   Juniors – campers entering 5th grade and younger Inters – campers entering 6th and 7th grade LITs – campers entering 11th and 12th grades Main Village – campers entering 7th grade and younger and our L ..read more

With flowers blooming and the temperature warming, many parents want to know what they should do to help prepare their child(ren) for sleep away camp this summer. There are many things that parents can do to help prepare your child for a most successful summer and an easy adjustment to sleepaway camp. Feel free to read the entire list and/or focus on the things that are bigger concerns for your child(ren), but here are a few helpful tools… Let’s begin with the myth that they “have to have a successful sleepover” to be ready for camp. Think back to sleepovers as a child. Sleepovers tend to be o ..read more

Back home in Irleand, March is the month when we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll often hear people talking about the “luck of the Irish.” I don’t consider myself a particularly lucky person, but I do feel very lucky to have Camp Echo Lake in my life!  Where I grew up, there was no such thing as a sleepaway camp. During the summer, I would mostly spend time at home with my family, see my friends, and help with jobs around the house. When I learned about Echo Lake, my mind was blown! I would have absolutely loved spending my whole summer outdoors with my friends playing sports and doing ..read more

Happy New Year to all! Can you believe it is January of 2022 already?! It’s amazing how time flies – sometimes very slowly and sometimes at lightning speed. While we at the winter office are bursting with excitement about having our entire camp community back together in Warrensburg this summer, we know that as camp approaches and begins to feel more “real” it sometimes causes nervousness to mix in with excitement for both new and returning campers. Here are a few things to remember… Nervousness is ok. As Karen Young says, “Anxiety is not a sign they can’t cope. It is a call to action. A call ..read more

Hi Echo Lakers!  Happy December! What an exciting time of year we find ourselves in between all of the holidays and festivities! I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of 2021 and taking advantage of all the opportunities to be surrounded by family and friends. December is one of my favorite months (second to June of course) for all of these reasons AND because I have plenty of time to reconnect with camp friends! Whether virtually or in person, I try to catch up with my camp friends before schedules get busy again in the new year. Since it’s that time of year again, I started thi ..read more