In an increasingly virtual world, Ashokan Center is a place where visitors can truly experience nature, history and the arts. Many school and retreat groups have also found Ashokan to be a place that fosters community and here's how.

THE PLACE
As you enter Ashokan and pass through the forest down successive levels of terrain, it feels as though you're going back in time and are leaving the hustle and bustle of the modern world behind. You soon arrive at "the village," a cluster of 18th and 19th century craft shops: the blacksmith shop, the print shop, the candle shop, the tin and broom shops, and a meeting hall/classroom with a colonial kitchen in back. Think fresh baked cookies!

Climb the sheep meadow and you can look down on the farmhouse and farmyard where you can visit the animals and walk through the fields. Or continue down the inner road to the athletic field and outdoor pavilion where you may be greeted by delightful aromas wafting up from the kitchen as the dinner bell beckons you on to the camp buildings nestled below along the stream.

THE PROGRAMS
Ashokan has been a pioneer in the world of outdoor and environmental education and living history since 1967. We've also hosted a wide range of cultural retreats since the early 1980s. While we continue these programs, we seek to increase our focus on sustainable living, community and the arts.

THE PEOPLE
The Ashokan Center staff are not only committed to preserving the 374 acres of forests and fields, the gorge, the waterfall, the 1830s homestead hidden out on the back 50, they are also committed to making visitors feel welcome while experiencing all that Ashokan has to offer — a window on the past and a doorway to the future.

A BRIEF HISTORY
Formerly known as the Ashokan Field Campus, Ashokan Center is located in Olivebridge, NY sixteen miles west of Kingston. Our proximity to the Ashokan Reservoir, the largest in New York City's water system, provides countless teachable moments for history, science, and watershed education. More than 5,000 school children attend our programs each year, and many organizations and retreat groups such as Fiddle & Dance Camps, Summersongs, Wayfinders and the Northeast Blacksmiths Association, also call Ashokan their home.

Ashokan was owned and operated by SUNY New Paltz from 1967 until 2008. When the college decided to sell the facility the Ashokan Foundation was formed to preserve the property, continue the programs and rebuild the camp to be a green, sustainable learning community. The Ashokan Foundation and it's partners, the Open Space Institute and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, are working together to make these goals a reality.

To learn about Ashokan's future and our green building project, an opportunty born out of necessity, watch Our Video. And please visit our Support Page to help with our ongoing efforts.