Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp is open year-round and is run by the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh. In Somerset County at the base of Mount Davis (the highest point in Pennsylvania), Deer Valley has 742 acres with woods, hills, fields, and a lake for watersports and fishing in summer, ice-fishing and skating in the winter time. Driving time from Pittsburgh is 2 hours; three hours, from Washington DC.
A Lodge has fireplace and activity rooms, and meals are served in a lakeside dining hall. Guests can stay in dorm-style bedrooms, with private bathrooms, in the Lodge, or in cottages and (heated) cabins with queen and bunk beds and bathrooms; cabins are near a washhouse with showers and washers and dryers.
Sports include tennis, volleyball, basketball, horseshoes, bocce, Frisbee golf, rock-climbing, archery, and a BB range; and windsurfing, canoeing, kayaking on the lake. Trails and woods are the setting for hiking, biking, bird-watching, animal tracking, nature scavenger hunts, and horse-riding. In winter, guests can try skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and tubing.
Arts and crafts: all ages can enjoy the Craft Shop, which has potter's wheels, jewelry making, clay sculpting, leather-tooling, and more, with staff on hand to help.
Horse Barn: offers a variety of rides, from beginner to experienced, and lessons in riding and horse-grooming.
Nearby attractions: whitewater rafting; the famous house, Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; local festivals.
This brief profile is meant to introduce this resort to family vacationers; please note that the writer has not visited in person.
Always check destination websites for updates!
Summer Family Camp: a morning day camp has educational activities and fun for kids age three and up; teen program has supervised outings and social events.
Special Weekends: Deer Valley has many seasonal special programs. For example, Fall Foliage family weekend has hikes, hayrides, and a demonstration of apple-cider making: parents and kids participate from crushing the apples, to sipping the cider.
