Oct 10 – 12 2025
YMCA OF THE PINES, Medford Lakes, New Jersey
Fall in love with canoeing.
The 2025 Pine Barrens Workshop is a place for you to fall in love with canoeing! It offers Functional FreeStyle to canoeists, whether they paddle solo or tandem. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce some techniques and maneuvers that will increase your canoeing enjoyment. Participants learn and practice basic FreeStyle skills on lovely Lake Stockwell. Classes are small and individualized. On Sunday, apply those lessons in the real world on one of the challenging Pine Barrens streams. Here’s a video, where you can watch the skills in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhTrZrZSx_g
The root of FreeStyle Canoeing is the accurate and efficient use of the paddle, body and boat. Many people may be familiar with the interpretive side of FreeStyle – paddling routines to music – but the basis of those skills and techniques are used by FreeStylers for every sort of paddling endeavor from wilderness tripping, to lilydipping, to accurately and eficiently negotiating twisty streams. Paddling your canoe efficiently makes a difference at the end of the day. Once you learn some basics in the FUNctional FreeStyle classes here, you may wish to learn more about FreeStyle at one of our other canoe Symposia. Learning the advanced techniques will help you to accurately put your boat in the right spot for the situation, and then set up for your next move. With practice, you’ll become as one with your boat. Conscious thought about which stroke or maneuver to use next will vanish, giving way to spontaneous, intuitive transitions. The flow of strokes and maneuvers will become as natural as walking down a narrow path through the woods.
This year we will also be offering an Advanced Maneuvers class for people that have been attending the Pine Barrens Workshop, and have mastered the techniques taught there. The advanced class will teach more maneuvers that aren’t covered in the regular workshop, including more cross and reverse maneuvers.
You’ll learn to love your Canoe.
LOCATION: Camp Ockanickon, at YMCA of the Pines, is located in Medford Lakes, New Jersey, not far from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but within the vast undeveloped wilderness of the Pinelands National Reserve. The Pine Barrens is a unique eco-region known for its rare plants and pure tannin-stained streams. The region’s rich history dates back to colonial times when early industry took advantage of the pure water, iron deposits and lumber. In the Pine Barrens, one can escape the modern world into a realm of nameless sand roads, ghost towns, and legends of a Jersey Devil. Camp Ockanickon is an 800 acre facility featuring lovely Lake Stockwell. The dining hall, Douglas Lodge, camping area and boat launch are located within easy walking distance of each other in an area of the camp called Algonquin Village.
LODGING: There are several options for different preferences. All lodging options are the same cost:
1. Douglas Lodge – Dorm and gathering area. The central lounge area features a fireplace and view of Lake Stockwell, as well as a snack area for coffee and refreshments. Attached Men’s and Women’s dorm wings each have 14 bunk beds and their own restroom/shower room.
2. Hard-sided tents (6)– Next to Douglas Lodge. Note that these are Spartan in nature. They are one room, eight-bunk units with no other furniture. These are unheated and without electricity. Essentially hard-shell tents. Restroom and shower building is adjacent to the DeMartini Craft Center beside the hard tents.
3. Tenting and/or campers – If you will be tent camping, you may set up anywhere in the immediate area of Douglas Lodge and the Hard Tents, in any spot that will not block the roadway. Those bringing trailers/campers can set up in Parking Area #2, just 100 yards away. (No hook-ups available.)
4. Hotels – Hotels are located nearby in the Red Lion, Mount Laurel, and Hammonton areas.
If you prefer to stay off-site, you are of course welcome to do so, but the event fee remains the same for all students, as the Camp charges the Workshop a set amount per person irrespective of where they may choose to spend the night. We highly encourage everyone to stay on site, as evenings are excellent opportunities to mingle with and chat with lots of really knowledgeable and experienced canoe folks about techniques, share canoeing experiences and destinations on waters all over the East, learn about other events and resources, and just generally enjoy the paddling community camaraderie. Usually a bit of informal music happens on one of the nights too, so bring your instrument if you have one.
MEALS: Meals are included whether you are staying at the Camp, or staying at another location.
The Dining Hall is a great building, just a short walk from Algonquin Village. The camp offers a nutritional and varied menu with vegetarian options. 
CLOTHING: October in South Jersey is still mild. Daytime temperatures are generally in the 50s and 60s, but the evenings can be quite cool. Cold snaps are always possible, so bring warm clothing too. Dry or wet suits are handy if you have them. If you don’t, insulating layers and quick drying clothing are adequate. Neoprene boots (or similar) will be useful for getting in and out of boats comfortably. Please come prepared for any weather; we paddle unless it is storming. 
GEAR/EQUIPMENT: Bring a canoe, paddles, PFD (to be worn at all times when on the water), and kneeling pad. If you need to rent any of these items, please let us know ASAP, so we can make arrangements. Additional items to bring include: bedding, towels, personal toiletries, flashlight/headlamp, camp chair, water bottle, dry bag, sunscreen, bug dope.
REGISTRATION:
Links to all the registration forms are located below. Registration Deadline is Oct 1st. Confirmation, directions, other information will be sent upon receipt of registration. For additional information feel free to contact:
Tim Burris at taburris58@gmail.com,
Bruce Kemp bckjal@yahoo.com , or
Marc Ornstein mornstein@outlook.com
We hope to see you under the pines,
Tim, Bruce and Marc
Read what Pine Barrens participant Jamie Smith had to say about the Workshop, and about how Functional FreeStyle Canoeing Techniques work for him, in 2017: old-dog-new-tricks
Read what Sheila Levie wrote about the 2018 Pine Barrens event here: You swapped my boat for one that behaves…
And then what Keith Attenborough thought about the 2019 event
Read Jandy Hanna’s review of the 2021 Pine Barrens event here: pine-barrens-2021
2025 Registration documents are pending… stay tuned!
2025 PBFFW REGISTRATION FORM
Note we’re using an online form this year. Submit the form, and you’ll automatically receive a copy of your submission. Once we see it come through, we’ll send an email with the amount due.
Waivers will be available at the event.