Camp Twelve Trails gives children entering Kindergarten - 10th grade combining the best of specialty camp & the classic day camp experience.

Camp Twelve Trails comprises five Neighborhoods (elective tracks): Play, Create, Explore, Discover, and Grow, which allow campers to strengthen their skills in their favorite specialty while encouraging them to explore new areas. Our program is rooted in universally shared values central to Jewish life. These values are incorporated into everything we do, with the hope that they encourage our staff and campers to be the best versions of themselves. 

Our Neighborhood Approach

Upon registration, campers select from different tracks of interest we call “Neighborhoods.” This concept allows campers to strengthen their skills in their favorite specialty while also encouraging them to explore new areas. Deep friendships evolve as they engage with others who share their interests, and campers begin to learn how to make positive confident choices.

For those entering K – GRADE 2

Children entering Kindergarten through those entering 2nd grade will have a full camp schedule with activities across all Neighborhoods. This allows younger campers to experience a range of activities and empowers them to make informed program choices when they return each year. 

for those entering grades 3 – 6

Each week, campers entering 3rd grade through 6th grade select a Neighborhood that offers them specialized programming. Half the day is spent immersed in the Neighborhood activities, while the rest of the day is spent enjoying traditional camp offerings including instructional and recreational swimming. Campers can focus on one Neighborhood the whole summer or mix it up each week and try a little of everything. Whichever direction they choose, days will be jam-packed with fun. It’s your journey, so you get to do the things you love while trying something new. 

DEVELOPment AND GROWth

All campers will learn about the world around them and about themselves, improve the skills they have, and develop new ones. Campers will participate in this daily excitement as part of a caring community that actively supports its members and tries to make the world a better place. 

Our Connection to Israel as a Jewish Day Camp

Camp Twelve Trails has a long and cherished relationship with Israel and supports its right to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people. We affirm and celebrate this relationship and its diverse cultures, languages, and foods through Israel-inspired programming and the inclusion of Israeli staff each summer. We do not take political positions.

We believe in forging a path where, rather than focusing on what separates us, we can connect with the values that bring us together in a nurturing setting such as Camp Twelve Trails.

Partners

Camp Twelve Trails combines the best of the popular day camps of the Shames JCC on the Hudson, The Riverdale YM-YWHA, and YM&YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood. Warm, accepting, and driven by Jewish values, Camp Twelve Trails brings together the accumulated day camp expertise and tradition of these three organizations. We draw on our collective educational, recreational, and child development experience, our values, and our rich history to give families more than we ever have before.