Summer Communications

SLC has a special sense of community you can’t find anywhere else.

– SLC Camper

Summer Communications

Surprise Lake Camp offers lots of ways for you to stay in touch with your child and their activities all summer!

News & UpdatesWatch for highlights

News & Updates

Throughout the summer we will be posting highlights on a regular basis on our Lake Views blog.

We will be posting videos on our Youtube channel throughout the summer and year round.

You can look for photos through your Camp-in-Touch account.

You will received a weekly email update about your camper’s unit.

Postal MailCommunicating with your camper

Postal Mail

Sending Mail

We urge you to start mailing letters about a week before camp begins, so that your child receives mail right away. Address letters to:

CAMPER NAME, UNIT NAME (or Mainside / Teenside if you don’t know the unit name)
Surprise Lake Camp
382 Lake Surprise Road
Cold Spring, NY 10516

Our package policy for summer 2023 will be announced before the summer starts.  

Camper Photos & EmailsConnect through CampinTouch

Camper Photos & Emails

Login to CampInTouch to see the hundreds of photos that SLC uploads each week. Look for your own camper or simply get a sense of what kinds of things are happening at camp. You can share these photos with friends and family.

Follow the “Email” link on your CampInTouch dashboard to send your camper a note of up to 50 lines. We print these emails each morning and deliver them with mail after lunch.

You’ll see that each costs one “CampStamp.” SLC will fill your account, at no charge, with five CampStamps per camper, per parent, per week. That means each parent can send an email almost every day, for free. If you wish to purchase additional stamps, you can so at any time with a credit card. Please note: we print these emails in black-and-white. You can say “no” to the colorful borders (which cost one CampStamp to add) because your camper will not see them.

Families also have the option to have their campers reply to their “eLetters.” With this option, campers can hand-write a reply letter that we can scan back to you through the same system. If you’d like, before you click SEND, you can check the box that says, “I would like a handwritten eLetter reply.” If you click this box, your camper will receive two pieces of paper: one is your eLetter, and the other is the eLetter Reply.  The eLetter Reply is a blank piece of paper with your name and a barcode that is unique to you.  Your camper can then hand-write you a letter on the eLetter Reply and give it to their counselor.  The office will scan the letter to CampInTouch and the eLetter Reply will appear instantly in your inbox.

We recommend that you print a stack (an option found in the email section as well) of eLetter Replies in advance and send them up to camp with your camper.  Don’t forget to explain what they are, so that they are sure to be used.  Please remember that each eLetter you send uses one Camp Stamp, and each eLetter Reply we scan back to you uses one CampStamp.

Please note that our policy is for campers to write letters at least twice a week (some choose to write more). If a camper has already written their letter, they may choose to wait until their next letter writing day to respond to your eLetter.

Phone CallsYou can call us anytime

Phone Calls

If your child will celebrate a birthday at camp, we can pre-arrange a time for your child to call you from the camp office.

Otherwise, the only situations in which we permit phone calls are to help solve a problem or when a camper is sick .

This policy is standard at most sleepaway camps.

Questions or ConcernsContact for when you need it

Questions or Concerns

Each side of camp (Mainside and Teenside) is led by a Division Head and two Head Counselors (one of whom focuses on camper support). Each camper unit is led by an experienced Unit Supervisor.

At any point if you have questions or concerns about your camper please feel free to call our main office (845-265-3616), let our staff know your camper’s name and we will put you directly in touch with one of theses members of our senior staff.

For minor, logistical and / or issues that are not time sensitive you can send an email to these members of senior staff at either:

These emails are not checked until the start of the summer session:

[email protected] or [email protected]

Social MediaConnect with SLC