Boy playing water basketball

Camp Seneca Lake serves children entering grades 3 through 12. Each cabin group consists of 8-16 campers. Our cabins include bunks, built in storage for clothing and other items and many include indoor bathrooms and showers. Each cabin is staffed by two to three staff members, including some activity specialists. The cabins are grouped by grade and gender. Our camper experience includes some activities with their cabin group, and other activities including individually chosen hobbies, divisional, and all-camp evening programs.

Our Villages

Campers are divided into villages by age and gender. Our youngest campers live in the Cayuga village (male campers entering grades 3-6) and in the Onondaga village (female campers entering grades 3-6). Our middle school aged campers live in the Mohawk village (male campers entering grades 7-9) and in the Seneca village (female campers entering grades 7-9). Our Senior Campers (entering grades 10-11), live in the Tuscarora village.

As our campers transition from unit to unit, the program structure is specialized to each age group in order to provide them intentional and meaningful opportunities to grow and develop.

Cayuga & onondaga

Campers entering 3rd-6th grade

mohawk & seneca

Campers entering 7th-9th grade

tuscarora
(senior camper)

Campers entering 10th grade

CSL in israel 

Campers entering 11th & 12th grade  

sit (staff in training) 

Campers entering 12th grade

Camper Units

Our youngest campers live in the villages of Cayuga and Onondaga. Male campers live in Cayuga while female campers live in Onondaga. As they are just beginning their camp journey, campers in these units are exploring all of the different activity areas and programs while also beginning to build lasting friendships with bunkmates and close bonds with their counselors. 

Campers in Cayuga and Onondaga live in spacious cabins with attached bathrooms. Their counselors live with them in their cabins. Cayuga campers take advantage of their brand new roofs by playing a Camp classic: Roofball. And Friday you can get a front row seat to Onondaga’s Got Talent where campers showcase their hidden talents!

Campers in Mohawk and Seneca are experiencing new challenges and given more opportunities for growth and leadership development. Male campers live in the village of Mohawk while female campers live in the village of Seneca. Campers live in spacious cabins with their counselors. Seneca cabins have attached bathrooms while the village of Mohawk use a shared bathhouse in their village. 

Campers in these villages are able to explore their interests and participate in long standing Camp traditions. Mohawk campers count down the days until the all day Basketball Marathon, have nightly campfires and are the first to lead a cheer in the dining hall at meals. Seneca campers build sisterhood and compete in a Village-wide Speedball league. 

The Senior Camper program (also referred to as Tuscarora or Tusc) has been specially designed to build leadership and growth in our teens. Set a good distance from the other buildings and villages at camp, Senior Campers bring mountain bikes and bike throughout camp. This biking also serves as training for their 3 day, 100 mile bike trip around the Finger Lakes region.

Other special programs and events for Senior Campers include planning and leading the end of session banquet, leading the final camp Shabbat of the summer, and participating in a film series throughout the summer. Senior Campers also go on a trip during intersession to a nearby city. Past trips include Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. The culminating event for Senior Campers is the Triathlon – a challenge by choice swimming, biking, and running event throughout camp. Senior Campers practice for the Triathlon throughout the summer and are supported by their staff and cheered on by the rest of Camp.   

Camp Seneca Lake’s “CSL in Israel” program is our immersive Israel experience for rising high school seniors. This month-long program exposes participants to the beauty, depth, and complexity of Israel from the inside out. Participants will travel the entire country – hiking, touring, tasting, learning, and exploring. Each Shabbat will be celebrated with a different community, enabling participants to experience some of the many ways that Israelis celebrate and observe Shabbat. The program includes time at several kibbutzim, as well as in all major cities. Additionally, the participants will spend some time with families in Modi’in, Rochester’s “P2G” community in Israel. To learn more about the CSL in Israel program, please click here.

The Staff-in-Training (SIT) program is a thoughtfully planned leadership program for rising 12th graders, designed to train camp’s future staff. SIT’s are CSL’s oldest campers who are ready to take on new challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities at camp. SIT’s will become leaders and Jewish role models through youth mentorship, initiative, and self-direction. Program participants will obtain supervised experience caring for youth, planning camp programs, building a resume for the future, and much more. For more information about the SIT program, please click here.