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Welcome to the home page of Accessibility Assistance. Cooper’s Lake Campground is considered a rustic campground. What this means is that it is not level, it is not flat, not all roads are paved, not all campgrounds have electricity. In short it can be hard to navigate without a little assistance. That is what we are here to help with, we can’t make the campground not a campground but we aim to assist you with making Pennsic possible for you to attend despite challenges. At Land Grab we will be in the Great Hall from 8am – 5pm. During the remainder of Pennsic we can be found in the Town Hall opposite the bath house near Coopers store from 8am-5pm daily.

This office is in charge of organizing the following services: 

1.     Pennsic is a rustic campground with few areas and camps supplied with electricity. The accessibility camp is a reasonable accommodation to provide individuals who have mobility issues with the choice of a centrally located, flat camping space with access to electrical outlets.

2.     Accessibility camping functions as singles camping restricted to those who need the location and electricity. Because of physical limits to this space, prior registration with Accessibility Services is required to camp in the accessibility camp.[1]

a.     Attendees with accessibility requirements who are not camping in accessibility camping spaces are not required to register in advance. 

3.     Pennsic does not provide assistance with unloading or set up of tents for those camping accessibility camp. It is incumbent upon attendees to organize such assistance as required to individual needs

4.     Accessibility camping is limited to individuals with a disability and those camping in the same tent as them. Households or groups cannot be registered in accessibility camping space.

a.     Each attendee registered is afforded the same space allotment as any other attendee at Pennsic.

b.   RVs are not permitted in accessibility camping.

[1] https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXhy7Onn7Mn2FOpYFvKHulgAG9g8i7mQn2S-cuEK89a0VMIw/viewform

1.     Pennsic is a rustic campground. As such there are limited locations with electricity.

2.     Do not use electrical outlets in any CLC or Pennsic facility for the charging of medical equipment (per rule 18 of the general site rules).

3.     To facilitate the charging of required equipment (e.g. batteries for CPAPs and ECVs) Accessibility Services manages charging stations around site for purposes of charging medically required devices.

4.     Use of these charging stations requires registration prior to plugging in any device.[1]

5.     Slots for charging stations are filled on a first come, first served basis, and there are a limited number of outlets at each location. 

a.     Once you have registered for a charging station time slot, you must report to Accessibility Assistance Point to collect a tag associated with your device and then leave this tag on your device while it is charging during your time slot. Once your time slot is over, you must retrieve your device from the charging station.

b.     Items without a tag or which have a tag for an expired time slot may be unplugged. 

c.     Attendees who are observed unplugging a tagged device may face sanctions up to and including ejection from site (for repeated infractions).

d.   A copy of the registration request will be emailed to you and serves as your receipt for your time slot. Thus, a valid email is required for registration and communication.

1.     The SCA abides by all national, state, and local regulations regarding service animals.

a.     Pets are not permitted on-site.

b.     A doctor’s letter does not turn an animal into a service animal.

c.     Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA or the PHRA.

2.     You must bring your service animal with you to Registration Point when you first check-in to the event.

a.     Please consider filling out a Service animal Information form online. The information requested at registration is designed to help us make the experience as smooth and safe as possible for you and your animal.

3.     Each service animal must be accompanied by a certificate of Rabies vaccination.

4.     The handler is responsible for the care and supervision of his or her service animal.

a.     Service animals must be housebroken.

b.     Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered.

c.     In the case (and only in the case) that these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the handler’s disability prevents using these devices, the handler must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

5.     At Pennsic, owners must clean up all dog waste and properly dispose of it in a waste receptacle regardless of where the dog defecates (including in the weeds or bushes).

6.     If a service animal behaves in an unacceptable manner or is perceived to not be in control, and the handler does not immediately control the animal, the handler may be required to immediately remove the animal from the site. (A list of local kennels will be provided upon request, but this is only a list of available facilities, and Coopers Lake / Pennsic staff are not making recommendations for any of these establishments.) Unacceptable behavior of service animals includes, but is not restricted to, the following:

a.     Uncontrolled barking, jumping on, or charging at other people or other service animals.

b.     Turning away from the handler, when the animal’s behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

c.     Service animal growling at other patrons or staff.

d.     Defecation or urination onto the privately-owned property (tents, camp gear, etc.) or in the food court or other public or private establishments within Pennsic.

7.     Pennsic and Coopers Lake are not responsible for the behavior or needs of any service animal, nor required to provide services for your service animal. Please anticipate all your service animal’s needs including water bowl and water, poop bags, as well as all other needs such as medication and hygiene. If you have any questions about local services in the surrounding community or have an immediate need while at Pennsic, please ask Accessibility Assistance.

8.     When using the dog run:

a.     The dog run is not a public dog park.

b.     Please be cognizant of other animals that may be there prior to your arrival. You may need to wait your turn.

c.   Even at or in the dog run the owner/handler is still responsible for their dog’s behaviors, and the dog is still required to be in total control by its owner/handler at all times.

Things we are NOT in charge of but can serve as a point of contact for: 

In previous years accessible porta-johns were often relocated multiple times in response to requests. This is no longer the case. We work with Mr John to distribute them equitably across site to ensure that all have equal access to needed facilities. We are aware that night time access to portas can prove particularly difficult for individuals. Therefore, it is worth considering whether an in tent camp toilet may be advantageous, there are DIY options as well as purchased.

There are busses that traverse Pennsic. Information about the busses and service routes may be found here. There is no point to point golf cart transportation available at Pennsic.

Pennsic Accessibility Assistance is responsible for assisting attendees with various accessibility needs while attending Pennsic. The department head of Accessibility Assistance appoints deputies and other staff to manage the department and ensures sufficient volunteer staff for the function of the department.