If you’ve spent any time in the great outdoors, you probably realize that having the right gear can make or break the experience—and that there are a whole lot of options to choose from. Outdoorspeople are a clever bunch, and there are things being invented all the time that can take your pleasure to the next level.
At Camp Catskill in Tannersville, you can check out a curated selection of the nicest socks, packs, hammocks, gadgets, and more—while enjoying a warm welcome and loads of expert-level local lore.
“I grew up in the woods,” says Ryan Penny, “and I’ve always found something very comforting and nourishing about being out there. Especially in the northern Catskills; that’s where my parents most often took us in the summertime.
It’s an easy drive from Long Island, but when you get there you’re a whole world away.”
An Eagle Scout, he’d learned early to be a good camper, cherishing and protecting the surroundings that nurtured and delighted him. And the woods were always his happy place.
“When I met my wife in 2013, we started coming back to the area to get out of the city, and ended up getting engaged on top of Peekamoose Mountain,” he says. “We continued to return as weekenders before and during the pandemic, which made us decide to make the move full-time, settling in Windham.”
Like many entrepreneurs, Penny had another career before starting his own business. “I was running a nonprofit training program for NYC that helped low-income and unemployed New Yorkers start careers in the TV and film industry. We had a small team, and I ended up wearing a lot of different hats,” he says. “When everything went remote, it became a different job and it felt like the right time to transition out of that role. I decided to pivot to something that I felt like I knew a lot about and always loved, hiking & camping. All the hat-wearing gave me the idea that I could run my own business, and has served me well as we've gotten up and running. And I had never worked in retail before, so when we moved to Windham, I got a job at Home Depot and sold appliances. I’m really glad I did it because it taught me how to listen and solve a customer’s problems.”
At Camp Catskill in Tannersville, you can check out a curated selection of the nicest socks, packs, hammocks, gadgets, and more—while enjoying a warm welcome and loads of expert-level local lore.
That problem-solving ability combined with a commitment to top-shelf customer service and passionate expertise have been keys to Camp Catskill’s success. Penny hopes his customers, “mostly busy people who need the kind of break you can only find in nature,” will consider Camp Catskill an integral part of their journey, and he aims to help them feel at home.
“I grew up in the woods, and I’ve always found something very comforting and nourishing about being out there. Especially in the northern Catskills.” - Ryan Penny
“I truly love talking to people from all over the world, acting as a kind of concierge to help them explore everything the Catskills has to offer, including some of the things that are hard to find on the internet.”- Ryan Penny
After all, the Painted Village in the Sky makes a fantastic base camp. “Where we are in Tannersville, inside the Blue Line of the Catskill Park, is just minutes away from Kaaterskill Falls, the Crown Jewel of the Catskills, and has some amazing restaurants and shops that make it a year-round destination for outdoor enthusiasts. It was really a natural fit for our shop, and it’s worked out great,” he says. As a relative newcomer who’d long considered the Great Northern Catskills a beloved second home, he took a thoughtful approach to moving in and setting up shop. “I really resisted the notion of coming in here with, you know, ‘my way or the highway’ kind of downstate thinking. I wanted to understand why things are the way they are, then try to work with whoever is trying to make things better, rather than just try to steamroll and tell people how they should live.”
Happily, many of his neighbors are on much the same page when it comes to welcoming visitors in search of outdoor adventure. “This is the 200th anniversary of the Catskill Mountain House, and it’s kind of mind-blowing to contemplate that this area has been a tourist destination for two centuries now,” he says. “It’s exciting that there’s such a growing market for outdoor recreation, and I think more is better—these are public lands that belong to everyone. Getting people to fall in love with the beauty here and take responsibility for keeping it beautiful is what we're all about—we want them to come back again and again, to have all kinds of families grow up coming to the Catskills, including people who haven’t always felt welcome for whatever reasons. There’s so much here for people to connect with; we need to take every possible avenue to educate everyone about environmental principles and instill a sense of stewardship along with a desire to keep coming back.”
That educational aspect, says Penny, is at the core of Camp Catskill right along with unique, high-quality merch and exceptional service. “I believe sustainability and limiting our impact on our environment is of paramount importance,” he says. “We call ourselves an ‘Ethical Outdoor Shop,’ meaning that we are conscious of the brands we work with and the products we carry, and as members of 1% For the Planet, we’ve baked that commitment into our business by pledging to donate 1% of our yearly revenues to environmental nonprofits such as the Catskill Center, Catskill Mountainkeeper, and Leave No Trace.” In-house hiking guide Moe is planning a series of educational events and workshops. And with an eye to promoting all-season adventure, Camp Catskill is adding snowshoe and microspike rentals for the coming season. Meanwhile, Penny is having a wonderful time facilitating fun. “I truly love talking to people from all over the world, acting as a kind of concierge to help them explore everything the Catskills has to offer, including some of the things that are hard to find on the internet. Solving a problem, possibly saving a weekend of adventures with a pair of boots or bug spray, is the best feeling.”
camp catskill
6006 Main Street, Tannersville
518-303-6050
campcatskill.co
