All-Season Grad Perks with the “Fun People”

By Brian Wetzler, WPAOG staff

He attended his senior prom at the West Point Club and his high school graduation in Eisenhower Hall. Years later, he had to ask someone, “By the way, what is MWR?” He laughs about it to this day. Now, as the MWR Marketing Director for West Point, his job is to answer that very question. “It may sound strange, but the biggest challenge we have is simply letting people know that MWR exists!” It is abundant but invisible; loved, yet strangely anonymous. Stanton and the rest of the MWR team are hard at work every day to help change that.

Down the hall from Stanton sits Chris Remillard, Chief of Community Recreation for MWR, with a prominent sign above his office door that reads, “We’re the Fun People.” He began working for MWR in 2002 while in college, as a lifeguard at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. “I think the most important thing for West Point residents and visitors to remember is that we have something for every season,” Remillard explains. The words flow easily, “…campgrounds, lakes, trips, special events, golf, shooting, equipment rentals, and one of only three ski facilities in the entire Army.”

Best of all, many of West Point’s MWR activities are available as Grad Perks to members of the Long Gray Line as part of the West Point Association of Graduates’ Rockbound Highland Home Program. West Point graduates receive exclusive access to a variety of facilities and services on Post simply by showing their Grad Pass now good for five years! (visit westpointaog.org/gradpass for additional information).

During warmer seasons, MWR operates two lakeside campgrounds, Round Pond and Lake Frederick, with cabins and camp sites that grads can book in advance. Round Pond is about a 12-minute drive from Stony Lonesome Gate, in the direction of Camp Buckner. It offers camping spots for “vehicular” camping, in addition to spots for personal or family tents. Grads using the campground can also enjoy swimming in Round Pond, renting an assortment of boats, or fishing off the camp’s two piers. There’s also an archery range, a hiking trail, and numerous picnic sites.

The Lake Frederick facility, roughly 20 minutes from Stony Lonesome Gate, is home to eight beautiful family bunk houses, just yards away from the 19-acre lake. Each house comes with its own fire pit. The Lake Frederick Recreation area also has a grass field for tent camping and more than 300 feet of beach for swimming, building sandcastles and waterside relaxation. A well-groomed 1.1-mile hiking loop on the far side of the lake offers a peaceful walk in the woods. Catch-and-release fishing is allowed in the lake, and a recently framed photo of a 9-pound bass that presumably still lives in the lake adorns the facility’s office space. Danny Eichner is the full-time Facilities Manager at Lake Frederick and a year-round resident at the site. He played a central role in the 2015 renovation of the facility. In fact, he built the eight houses that he and his wife, Janet, now manage. The Eichners take deep pride in their work and genuinely enjoy hosting their steady flow of visitors. In addition to a full spectrum of service members and veterans, they also host frequent visits from deer, racoons, black bears, and a plethora of other wildlife. On the human side, the Eichners hint at their special attachment to the Corps of Cadets. “When we have cadets out here, we treat them like they’re our own kids,” says Janet. That’s not a big stretch, as there are two academy graduates in the family: Daniel, USMA 2014; and Brian, USNA 2019.

Another major warm-weather attraction available to grads through Grad Perks is the West Point Golf Course. Immediately adjacent to West Point, the course offers 18 beautiful fairways on a mountain layout. Watch out for the 7th hole: woods on left and right, thick rough, and water 20 yards from the green. At present, a major addition to the golf course is under construction. MWR hopes to start the 2024 golf season with the grand opening of a 12,500-square-foot clubhouse with a pro shop, banquet space for 150, and exterior patio space for 75.

When the cold weather drives players from the golf course, ski season is not far behind. Co-located with the West Point Golf Course is the Victor Constant Ski Slope. It offers traditional downhill runs for skiers and snowboarders, in addition to a less challenging hill for beginners and young children. The golf course also serves as a fantastic cross-country ski option. There is a fully equipped rental facility on-site where grads can rent any equipment needed to hit the slopes or hit the trail.

For grads seeking additional outdoor recreation, MWR also offers activities through Morgan Farm Stables & Kennel, located 3 miles south of Thayer Gate and surrounded by beautiful meadows and woods, providing an ideal setting for trail rides on horseback. MWR also provides the Outdoor Recreation Equipment Checkout Center, where grads can rent outdoor equipment for hiking and backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, paintball and more. Finally, for those grads with a current New York State License for hunting and/or fishing, MWR grants permits to hunt/fish the West Point Reservation. West Point hunters can pursue a wide variety of small-game and big-game species, and Bull Pond, Lusk Reservoir, Round Pond and some streams around West Point are each stocked in the early spring with approximately 3,400 brook, brown, and rainbow trout 8-16 inches in length.

Given that weather is always a factor with outdoor activities, MWR also has some indoor grad perks should wind, rain, or lightning force grads inside. A relatively recent addition to the MWR recreation list is the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center, the only MWR-managed indoor shooting range in the entire Army.

Randi Gass is the Business Manager at Tronsrue and has been passionately serving with MWR for 19 years. “We may not be wearing the green suits, but we work for you—graduates and veterans,” she says. In addition to important work directly supporting the Corps of Cadets, Gass and her staff help train shooters of all skill levels, including those who have never handled a weapon. Every member of her staff is a trained instructor. “We give our guests as much individual attention and training as they need,” she says. Tronsrue rents pistols and safety gear, and guests can purchase ammunition on-site.

Grads who are interested in MWR’s activities—outdoor or indoor—are encouraged to visit MWR’s website at westpoint. armymwr.com . The MWR staff is eager to assist all their guests. So, if you are a grad with a penchant for the outdoors, perhaps it’s time to plan a trip to visit the “Fun People.” 

Learn more about MWR and view maps of the sites mentioned in this article: