Program Pricing
$675/person - Shared Bathroom
$750/person - Private Bathroom (tub only)
$825/person - Private Bathroom (w/ shower)
* All Inclusive
Join us for this three night program as we explore the legacy of Adirondack visionary, William West Durant! This program includes an in depth exploration of the three camps built by William West Durant and their influence in the Adirondack Great Camp movement of the Gilded Age.
During this program, guests will tour three of Durant’s camps, including Sagamore, Pine Knot and Uncas. As we visit each camp, we’ll learn the story of their visionary, William West Durant. He dreamed that by building lakefront luxury estates, he’d attract ultra rich buyers to the Adirondack wilderness. These 1890s compounds were designed with bark-clad siding, native stone, and robust beams of locally harvested timber, but spared no new technology. Equipped with running water, electric light, and other innovations, Durant’s buildings still appear to have risen up out of the earth. They blend perfectly with the rocky lakeshores of the central Adirondacks. This program allows you to learn, sleep, and dine among these idyllic examples of rustic architecture.
While visiting each property, we’ll learn about the colorful ensemble of historic characters who once lived there. The lives of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and Collis P. Huntington intersected in the piney woods of Raquette Lake, where they all purchased Durant’s properties. We’ll delve into the story of Margaret Emerson, Alfred Vanderbilt’s second wife, as well as the stories of those who worked at these opulent camps, such as Richard Collins, Sagamore’s first superintendent. These stories intertwine as we discuss the camps’ rich histories.
On top of the guided tours, this experience includes an introduction to the great camps, a lunch cruise aboard the W.W. Durant steamboat, a sunrise paddle, evening campfire, and all the amenities and opportunities of a stay at Great Camp Sagamore.
Instructor
Robert Engel, Sagamore Historian
Robert grew up in Syracuse and, with his eight siblings, spent as much time as possible at his grandparent’s home on Blue Mt. Lake. His vast network of cousins, descendants of Richard and Margaret Collins, Great Camp Sagamore’s original caretakers, usually expect that Robert will do the cooking.
Robert earned a master’s degree in history museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. From there, he researched the art collection at the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Wyoming, was assistant curator at the Adirondack Museum, was curator at the Clermont State Historic Site, exhibits coordinator at the New-York Historical Society and director of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum in the Bronx and the Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy. Along the way, he earned a diploma from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust.
Robert’s office at Sagamore was his grandfather’s living room more than a century ago. He and his wife Judy split their time between Manhattan and their 1870s farmhouse on the back side of Gore Mountain.
Schedule Overview
Sunday: Check-in runs from 4:00 to 6:00 pm followed by dinner and camp orientation. We’ll end the night with a presentation introducing the Great Camps.
Monday Morning: Early risers may choose to join a guided paddle on Sagamore Lake’s calm water before breakfast. After breakfast we’ll learn about Great Camp Sagamore, Durant’s masterpiece, by exploring the buildings and grounds with our historian.
Monday Afternoon: After lunch, we’ll travel two miles down the road by car to visit Camp Uncas. Participants must transport themselves. At Uncas, we’ll tour the grounds, visit the shore of Mohegan Lake, and learn more about the rustic buildings of Durant’s second camp. Upon return to Great Camp Sagamore, there will be free time before dinner to bowl on the open air lanes, paddle, hike, or relax.
Monday Evening: After dinner, join Adirondack singer, songwriter and stroyteller, Dan Berggren, for songs and stories in the Playhouse.
Tuesday Morning: An early morning continental breakfast will be served in the Dining Hall. At 8:00 am, we’ll depart for the hamlet of Raquette Lake. Participants must transport themselves. From 8:15 – 8:30 am we’ll board the W.W. Durant Steamboat and cross Raquette Lake to arrive at Camp Pine Knot. At Pine Knot, we’ll discuss William West Durant’s first use of the rustic style while touring the buildings and grounds. Following the tour, we’ll board the steamboat at Pine Knot and enjoy lunch as we cruise around Raquette Lake. We’ll return to the dock at Raquette Lake Village at 1:00 pm.
Tuesday Afternoon: Head back to camp for an optional guided historic hike to the site of Sagamore’s former farm complex or relax and enjoy free time before dinner.
Tuesday Evening: Settle in around the camp fire at Sagamore’s historic lean-to. S’mores included!
Wednesday Morning: Breakfast and check-out at 10:00am.
