Camp Laoch

In 1993, our Owner/Director, Ryan, who was 8 years old at the time attended a newly opened summer camp where he grew up near Lake Luzerne, NY, for kids with special needs. This camp is called Double H Ranch (or Double H Hole in the Woods). It was started by a local Lake George Entrepreneur and Philanthropist named Charles R. Wood. He was the owner of a small independent theme park called Story Town (later renamed The Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom). Mr. Wood always dreamed of creating a place for young kids to go where they could let their imaginations run wild and have fun with their families. He opened Story Town for the first time, a year before Walt Disney opened Disneyland in California. Mr. Wood is widely regarded as the Father of the modern theme park.

Mr. Wood reached out to a close friend of his, actor Paul Newman who had started a nonprofit organization called The Hole In The Wall Gang (now called the Serious Fun Children's Network). Mr. Newman's organization sought to open Summer camps for kids with varying degrees of medical special needs. His first was Hole in the Wall, in Connecticut.

Though at the time, reluctant, Mr. Wood was able to convince Mr. Newman how much the area of upstate NY, nestled in the Adirondack Mountains would benefit from a camp such as this. Paul came to Lake Luzerne to see the property and quickly agreed with Charlie. So began the process of revamping a resort called Hidden Valley Ranch into what would become the Double H Hole in the Woods Ranch.

Double H opened its doors for its first summer session the week of July 4th 1993. They had only 4 campers show up; however, that did not hurt the spirits of Mr. Wood, Mr. Newman, or their camp staff. Double H, by word of mouth quickly grew into an Upstate NY phenomenon.

Our Owner/Director, Ryan, now 31 was one of the first campers to attend the opening year. He attended from age 8-21. Standard age for campers was 8-18, but after its 10 year anniversary in 2003 Double H instituted an Alumni Camper session every Summer for the campers age 18-21.

Ryan, being born with Spina Bifida benefited from Double H more than words can even describe. He made it his goal when he was out of High School in 2003 to be the first camper from Double H or any of the camps under Mr. Newman's organization, to open, own, and operate his own camp. So is the creation of Camp Laoch. Laoch comes from the Gaelic (specifically Irish origin) meaning Warrior. We believe that every child that comes through Camp Laoch will be a warrior.....tirelessly fighting their challenges simply to live a full life that can lift them up and show them what they are made of. Our goal is to be there to help them relax for a week each Summer so they can leave the outside world behind and connect with people who are like minded and just as driven to experience life to the fullest. We encourage anyone to come and see our operation. See our warriors. Be a part of our family. We cannot wait to meet you. (Camp Laoch is currently in the very early idea stages, but make no mistake, once we get our feet/wheels on the ground, you cannot stop this train from reaching its intended destination. We are warriors. We will be victorious) -The Camp Laoch Family

"We do what we can for society but it must come from our heart." -Charles R. Wood