Association Office

316 N. Tejon Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

P 719 329 7266
F 719 272 7026

Camp Office

8716 South Y Camp Road
Sedalia, CO 80135

P 303 647 2313
F 303 647 0513

E campinfo@ppymca.org

Map of Locations
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Camp History

A Brief History of YMCA Camp Shady Brook

The YMCA began in London in 1844 and arrived in the US in 1851. In 1885, Sumner Dudley started the first YMCA camp in Westport, New York. The tradition of YMCA camping began.

In 1878 the Pikes Peak YMCA was founded. By 1901, the YMCA operated out of a large building in Colorado Springs dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt with hundreds of men and boys engaged in regular activities.

In 1894, Lizzie and Robert Bandhauer purchased a valley near Four Mile Creek and the South Platte River as a summer home and retreat. In 1896 they built the Ranch House which has been restored and today serves as a program office and welcome center for campers. Each summer the Bandhauer family rode the train to Deckers from Denver, then took a wagon up to the site. The family originally obtained water from Four Mile Creek before building the Spring House. They built a dance hall in 1901 to host their neighbors and for young men to come court the four Bandhauer daughters. Today this building serves as the Dining Hall for hungry campers and staff.

The Bandhauer family graced this shady paradise for 36 years until the 1920’s when they sold the property to the Day family. Horses were brought to the site and small cabins were built. The Day’s Dude Ranch stayed in existence until the YMCA bought the 140 acre property in 1948 for $15,000.

It was obvious from the beginning of Camp Shady Brook that in order to make a successful camp, facility improvements would be required. The 1950’s saw extraordinary contributions from service organizations of Colorado Springs. The Rotary Club built Rotary cabin, the Pikes Peak Sertoma Club built Sertoman and La Sertoma cabins, the Lions Club built the Lion’s Lodge, and the Colorado Springs Kiwanis club donated funds to dam Four Mile Creek and create Kiwanis Lake. Additionally, in the 1960’s, the Y’s Mens Club built the current Health Center.

In 1968 the YWCA merged with the YMCA in Colorado Springs, thus creating a demand for both girls and boys to attend Shady Brook. This necessitated additional facilities, so Ute Cabin, Hoddy Hut Cabin, and the Outpost were built as well as tent platforms to handle older youth.

The 1970’s saw the beginning of “caravanning” camping with staff leading trips of campers to destinations such as the Boundary Waters, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and even Disneyland! Thirty years later, we are still carrying on our tripping tradition for teen campers.

The early 1980’s brought many facility improvements with the Pikes Peak Sertoma Club donating Pikes Peak Cabin which was originally used as a Nature and Crafts center. A couple of years later, the Luther T. McCaulery Trust donated $20,000 to improve our aquatic program. These funds were used to dredge the lake, reconstruct the upper dam, create a shallow swimming beach, new docks, install a waterslide, and purchase canoes and rowboats.

The late 1990’s was a period of enormous growth for Shady Brook. Under strong camp leadership, interest in camping grew and many tent platforms were added. Capacity doubled from just over 100 beds a session to over 200. Camp grew to include new teen trips and several specialty camps such as drama, bike, and art camp began. A new ropes course made its debut. During this time, Shady Brook also began hosting more partnering organizations and guests in the spring and fall. Nearby schools began bringing students to participate in outdoor education, and many other youth groups began visiting camp. Spring and Fall family camp and volunteer work weekends expanded during this time as well.

In 2002, Shady Brook experienced a tragedy which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A week before Memorial Day, lightning caused the Schoonover Fire which damaged a significant area of camp. Nine structures burned to the ground and camp was quickly closed for the summer. On June 8th, the Hayman Fire, the largest in Colorado state history, erupted north of Lake George, and eventually burned 137,760 acres. This fire burned on all sides of Shady Brook and it is believed that if not for the previous smaller fire, all of Shady Brook would have been lost. Instead, camp became a small island of green in a sea of black when viewed from above. The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region responded to these fires remarkably and soon began rebuilding.

We have continued to construct new facilities in order to better serve camp’s mission. New volleyball and basketball courts, a new outdoor chapel, new campfire areas, new archery and riflery centers, refurbished high and low ropes courses, a new lake waterfront, five new tent platforms, a new camp directors home, a new and expanded maintenance center and a new parking lot were added in the year shortly after the fires. In addition, two new wells and a state of the art septic system were also added. In the spring of 2006, two brand new camper lodges were added. These lodges are fully winterized, feature two sleeping areas each, have interior bathrooms, and share a beautiful common porch for programming on rainy days. A new dining hall is planned for 2009.

The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region has invested $6 million into Camp Shady Brook since the fires. This level of commitment shows its support of camp in fulfilling its goal of serving youth and giving thousands of children each year a natural setting in which to develop to their potential.