Timber Lake Camp - Shandaken, New York

Jessica Mitchell

We just got home from a wedding that was hosted at TLC this past weekend and we had such an unforgettable experience.

The grounds are gorgeous and well maintained. The kitchen staff was next level, I’m not sure what I was expecting but each member of my family was full and happy after each meal.

There were a few things in the cabins that could maybe get a little update (and doors put on the bathrooms?) but it was picked up and surprisingly comfortable.

The highlight for sure had to be the staff. They were incredibly attentive and kind. We were in an off limits area and my son was pretty bummed out we had to leave but Willow turned that frown upside down so fast with a golf cart ride. Every time my son saw him, he had to say hi. The staff truly went above and beyond. I was genuinely bummed out when it was time to head home.

Thank you all for an incredible weekend. ❤️

Neil Redfield

We got married at Timber Lake last September, and it was truly magical. The setting is gorgeous and it’s wonderful to have full reign of the camp. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming and always happy to help us with whatever we needed.
When we were first planning our wedding, we were looking for a more traditional venue for a standard, one-day ceremony. We stumbled across Timber Lake Camp, and we are so glad that we pivoted to planning a weekend affair. Choosing a venue like Timber Lake allowed us to create a multi-day event that was specific and meaningful to us and our guests. Having the full weekend meant we had time to have meaningful interactions with everyone there, which is much more difficult during a one-day affair. Timber Lake’s staff supported us from start to finish. In the planning process, our coordinator, Meredith, was very accessible and we had multiple zoom meetings with her leading up to the wedding. She answered our long lists of questions diligently, and gave us all the information we needed to know. Meredith worked with us to create exactly the weekend we wanted to create. There are several standard events they provide (the late night bonfire with smores was a hit with our guests), but they are also open to any other activities you suggest. We had a cabaret night in their theater on Friday, a partner dance class the morning of the ceremony (so guests could learn a few moves), and an arts and crafts table accessible all weekend long. They were happy to accommodate whatever activity we wanted. Once we were there for the weekend, the staff was accessible and always looking to solve problems. The kitchen staff was incredibly generous in making sure that everyone was always happily fed. We felt well taken care of and always had someone to ask questions when they inevitably came up. Special shout out to Alice, who helped one of our groomspeople to decorate our arch with wildflowers picked on the campus! We want to note that Timber Lake is not primarily a wedding venue, and it has all the advantages and disadvantages that entails. This allowed us to have the level of personalization and involvement that we wanted and that made our weekend so special. It also means the process is a little more hands-on for us as the couple and for the wedding party. We really enjoyed being part of setting up on the day before the guests arrived and having our wedding party there for an extra night to help, but we know that’s not for everyone. This may be less true depending on the caterers or wedding planner you hire, but we really loved that all parts of the weekend came from us and our loved ones. Also because the staff needed to deal with the camp, sometimes emails took a day or two to get a reply, but they were always answered thoroughly and within a reasonable amount of time. We are so happy with our experience at Timber Lake camp and could not recommend it more highly to anyone interested in a personalized, full wedding weekend!

Kyle Allen

I remember being a High school football player and my best experience at football camp was with the Timberlake family. So upon becoming Head Coach of my Alma mater it was a no brainer for me to return to my roots. This was the best decision I made so far. Robbie Josh and the Timberlake staff are so welcoming and accommodating. The facilities are top of the line and the service is unmatched. No camp can compare to Reggie and his staff and their excellent meals. I have never had food at a camp so delicious and filling. My team is sad to leave each time we go and we look forward to returning the following year. Timberlake is by far the best camp around.

Hillary Goldstein

Where do I even begin?
When I first introduced the idea of a summer camp wedding to my parents they thought the idea was outrageous and they were truthfully uncomfortable with the idea of a non-formal, DIY wedding. My husband and I, on the other hand, could not imagine celebrating any other way, as it was incredibly important for us to celebrate with our friends and family over an extended period of time. Plus, I grew up going to sleep-away camp and loved the idea of staying in the cabins, playing games all day and all night long, and living among nature for the weekend.
From the moment we reached out to the camp, Jordan Cooper was professional, responsive, and provided us with enough information that we felt 100% confident moving forward with planning our dream camp wedding. Jordan provided us with information on wonderful vendors for rentals and reception servers, he invited us to visit the camp on every occasion we asked (about 5 times), and he was always quick to reply to our emails and my (sometimes silly) questions. Jordan’s Google Drive planner helped us to organize the weekend timeline, menus, and cabins, and this support was huge in easing my pre-wedding anxiety.
When the wedding weekend came, all staff at the camp was extremely accommodating and did not set any restrictions on the types of activities we planned or how we wanted the weekend to run. We had full reign and access to the walk-in fridges in the dining hall at all times, all cabins were clean and ready with towels and linins before our guests arrived, and when I had a little snafu and needed to print out new seating charts Jordan stopped what he was doing and let me use his computer for hours until I fixed the issue.
And the weekend was absolutely perfect!! TLC staff was readily accessible to help out our guests, including those who needed a golf cart to get around. They made sure all activity areas were set up for us, they helped coordinate activities and they checked in on us throughout the weekend to make sure everything was running smoothly. My husband and I felt safe, confident in the process, and well-taken care of.
And our guests – they still cannot stop raving about the weekend! They felt that the camp grounds and cabins were beautiful and clean, they loved being able to take full advantage of the camp, including the pool and lake, canteen and karaoke room, basketball courts and hiking trails, etc. Our guests loved that we gave them this opportunity to reunite and spend a full weekend with distant family members, and they appreciated the low-key and comfortable vibes of the weekend. My mom, who I mentioned was not keen on the idea of a non-traditional wedding, is still raving about how impressed she was with the food that Reggie, Sheila and their team provided for each meal. In the word of my mom, “No wedding, moving forward, will ever compare to this!”
Overall, everything about the weekend – the support and help from Jordan and his team, the food, the activities, the quality of the cabins and beauty and cleanliness of the camp – exceeded our expectations. I was genuinely sad when the weekend and all of the planning (and my way-too-frequent email sending to Jordan) was over. The weekend was better than my husband, family, friends and I ever could have imagined and I would not change a single thing.

Jasmine S

We were drawn to have our wedding at Timber Lake Camp (TLC) after seeing a video of a previous wedding there! We reached out to this couple and they assured us it was the most magical weekend they ever had, and we in turn became friends and went all-in on our camp wedding. We were all set to wed in Fall of 2020, but then COVID hit, we were panicked about what to do, but Meredith of the TLC events team held our hand, listened to our concerns, and even helped to arrange to reschedule our wedding to the Fall of 2021 without any hassle or additional costs.We were so relieved and grateful!

So, now on to the lead-up to our wedding weekend! The TLC team was a delight to work with on site tours, Scott was super knowledgeable and laid back, and Reggie won us over with his intimate understanding of the camp paired with his enthusiasm and charm! They were great at keeping our planner in the loop and always had a team approach from start to finish. We are a very laid-back couple, so the TLC approach to planning was the perfect fit for us, as they are not micro-managers they serve up what they offer and then match your needs and energy.

When the start of our wedding weekend began, we and our guests were greeted and directed to our cabins with warmth and care. Our welcome events were amazing. The barbeque was flawless with Reggie at the helm! We hosted a Roller Disco at the Timber Dome (TLC's roller-hockey rink). The music system worked well, Scott was such a great help at making this all come to life, and it really was a dream come true. My only note would be to practice walkie-talkie communication with the staff at your venue tours, because it can become a little tricky to acclimate and make multiple welcome events run smoothly (In our case, barbeque, roller disco, and bonfire).

Now for the main event, the day went off without a hitch! Reggie and crew were at the helm for breakfast, and all of our guests fell in love with him. The activities for the day involved the waterfront, pool, zip line, and adventure course. The team at each activity station was more than gracious and helpful whilst always keeping safety at the forefront. Special shout-out to the zip-line and adventure course team for really allowing for flexibility for our guests. The ceremony and wedding reception were expertly prepared by the TLC staff and our vendors. All seating was set to our specifications, they really made that day easy for us by ushering and helping guests down the ceremony site and reception sites. The show stopper was definitely the saddleback mountain that served as the backdrop for our wedding and reflected creating a mirror image in the lake! Our ceremony and subsequent reception were absolutely magical, they managed to be a little elevated, a little casual, but all together unforgettable! The majority of our guests had never been to a camp wedding and were completely blown away by the experience and now over a month later I am still getting constant texts from guests saying that they're dreaming of going back to TLC. The weekend was absolutely transformative and it's everything that getting married should be it was a relaxing environment for folks to let their guard down, connect with each other, and celebrate not only the love of the couple getting married but love in general. I would get married there again if I could.

Jaclyn Vecchione

We, like many other brides and grooms had an expectation of what our wedding day/weekend would look like... With all of the planning, work effort and love that went into it, we'd expected it to be the best weekend and day of our lives. Our expectations had been clearly explained in detail with our "event coordinator". However, they WERE not even close to met.

We arrived on Thursday morning only to be greeted by Reggie and Sheila who live on site and manage the day to day operations of the camp. They were incredible, and did everything in their power to help us have a great weekend, we loved them... however.. we're pretty sure they didn't know a wedding was happening that weekend.

When we arrived many of the cabins were still dirty from the weekend before. Half of the private cabins (that we'd been promised were going to be fully renovated) were disgusting and filthy.. with graffiti written on the walls, and dirt, grime and empty liquor bottles among them. OUR BRIDAL SUITE had a moldy fridge, and dirty linens wrapped in a ball on the floor, along with the filthy towels from the weekend prior. Our BRIDAL SUITE REMAINED THIS WAY FOR THE DURATION OF THE WEEKEND, EVEN AFTER REPEATEDLY ASKING FOR IT TO BE CLEANED ON THURSDAY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. It's a good thing that the groom had brought sleeping bags with him.. otherwise we would have been sleeping on that dirty mattress.

Our Event Coordinator didn't show up until about 8pm that night... alone... We had been promised a team of 6 staff to help us with setup.. Instead, we had our family running around like slaves.. in a commercial kitchen cleaning the glassware and silverware we had had to purchase and bring ourselves, since they didn't provide anything wedding-appropriate. All of the things wed made 7-8 trips to camp with and left in a storage area had to be carted to the dining hall. We had to move every single table and chair in the dining room ourselves to set it up. (Thankfully Reggie was able to help us with some of this) Our question is... where was the rest of the staff? I certainly didn't expect I would be breaking my back the two days before my wedding day!

Friday, again we ran around like nut-jobs to set up the dining room, at some point 2 other staff members showed up, alongside the owner Jay Jacobs. We practically missed our entire rehearsal bbq because we were busy trying to salvage what was left of the weekend with Jay Jacobs..in HIS IMMACULATE HOME, we met with him to express our discontent, he simply stated " Perhaps your expectations are the problem, and not the service".... meanwhile.. our bridal suite remained littered with previous guests filth. See pics... it was truly lovely.

Saturday... our makeup and hair artists arrived and were shown to the dance studio where I would be getting ready. The mirrors were filthy... and there was a GIANT broken window on the right side... In the 33 degree weather and hurricane like winds... the room was freezing cold and for FOUR hours we battled the weather.. and asked repeatedly that they cover the window with SOMETHING, ANYTHING, wood, plastic garbage bags, or anything to keep the wind out... The breaker kept blowing every time a hair dryer or space heater was turned on, and each time that happened it delayed us getting ready by an HOUR because of the severely understaffed camp and their inability to react to loss of power with any kind of haste. By the time I was ready to get into my gown, not only was I an HOUR and a HALF LATE for my ceremony, but I was freezing to death, had not taken a single photo with my mother, bridesmaids, or family... (to no fault of the photographer) and was forced to PUT MY GOWN ON IN A HALLWAY!
We paid an extra couple of thousand dollars to have the zipline and pools open.. the only problem is that 90% of the guests had no idea they were open... since the pool was covered in leaves. Oh yeah, we also froze all weekend since the only space heater that was available was that little JOKE shown in the picture).HONESTLY I CAN GO ON... SAVE YOUR WEDDING AND DONT DO IT HERE!!!!!!!

Halley Kaye-Kauderer

We were married in late september of 2023 at Timber Lake Camp and it was an unbelievable weekend. We walked away not just filled with so much love and joy, but feeling so eternally grateful that we chose Timber Lake Camp as our venue and had the pleasure of working with their amazing staff. We were initially drawn to the venue for its stunning beauty and because we wanted to maximize quality time, fun, and ease for our guests. The idea of having all of our guests stay together at one property was hard to find for a group of our size (180 people). We also loved the idea of bringing our guests' inner child out and forcing them to disconnect for a couple days from the outside world. Thank gosh we found Timber Lake Camp and decided to book it. The entire weekend from beginning to end completely surpassed our expectations, even with unanticipated rain that caused us to make several last minute adjustments and decisions. The process of planning with Meredith was seamless and stress-free. She was available to speak whenever we needed to and passed along all of our information so carefully to the team that would be present for the actual event. The entire staff on camp for the weekend including Scott, Liz, and Sheila were amazing. They worked so hard to make sure our wedding weekend went perfectly and were able to help make last minute adjustments to handle the rain. So many guests came up to us raving about the service they received as they described feeling like everything was completely taken care of. They also raved about the food, which is really quite delicious. Guests were also blown away by how "us" the wedding felt. This was probably the most special and unique part of Timber Lake Camp as they allowed us to craft our perfect weekend. We had a bbq and outdoor kickball-esque game with a campfire on Friday night followed by a full day of camp activities on Saturday including a pickleball and basketball tournament. Our ceremony occurred later in the evening followed by cocktails and a reception in the gorgeous dining hall and new pavilion. This may not be everyone, but the "do it yourself," laidback, and flexile feel of Timber Lake Camp really captivated us. I could not recommend Timber Lake Camp more highly. It was a magical, joyful, insanely special weekend that we will never forget!

Anthony Risaliti

Our wedding at Timber Lake Camp was unforgettable, and our guests still tell us how unique and special the weekend was!
When looking for a venue for our wedding we wanted unrushed time with our guests, a beautiful ceremony location, and a place that captured the relaxed bliss of a summer lake getaway. Winding up the road to get to our site visit, the treeline opens up to TLC's well-kept grounds within the mountains. We knew it was what we were looking for.

As we began to plan with Meredith, she was always willing to schedule a call with us, welcoming all our questions (there were a lot). She made time in her evenings for us; always with a positive attitude when exploring customizing activities, meals, and set-ups. I am so grateful to her for her help in what was a stressful time.

When our guests began arriving, the TLC staff welcomed our guests at the gate, gave directions to the parking lot, and seamlessly coordinated golf cart transportation to their cabins. Willow, Craig, Liz, Sheila and numerous other staff members were always kind and willing to help. Scott, our main on site contact, had such a calming demeanor and was immensely helpful.

Under the beautiful brand-new outdoor pavilion (we had no idea this was being built!) the meals were delicious!! We had multiple guests that commented on the quality of the food.
As a former wedding planner, I will note that this type of wedding weekend does add additional planning on your plate! There is no cell service on site and cabin plans are like a seating chart times ten! The biggest challenge was finding/creating a website (that doesn't keep a large $%) for the guests to purchase accommodations for the weekend rather than an easy RSVP.

Inevitably, with any venue you are going to run into a few hiccups!
1. Upon arrival with an hourly detailed Thursday set-up plan (our immediate family came in early to help), the dining hall was not ready. There was actually a band camp still on site that we weren't aware of, on campus until Friday. My family and I had to work late into the evening and shift Fri plans after it was set- everything worked out, it was just a stressful note to begin on.
2. The groom's brother was driving overnight to allow his baby to sleep with plans to arrive at 1am. We noted it on the shared excel sheet, talked with Meredith multiple times about it, discussed it with Scott more on site, and unfortunately the cabin was locked. They arrived and couldn't get into their room, having to share/set up the baby in one of the bunk rooms for that night.

Additional Considerations:
While there are many aspects of the venue that are bundled, there are additive costs to consider.
The pool + lake are not included in the venue, in order to swim it's an additional $1200
$3000 for the zip line and climbing wall (we opted to keep them closed)
$300 venue insurance
$100 additive bonfire fee
$$$ Reception Dinner - Catering, Beverages, DJ, Linens, Decor (note: you can't have candles at this venue), Flowers, etc
$ Ceremony - If you don't want white plastic ceremony chairs, you may want to factor in rentals

We overall truly cherished the full weekend and are infinitely grateful to the team that helped make it happen!! I hope this is helpful.