USP Canaan (minimum-security camp)
USP Canaan is a minimum-security satellite camp for men in Waymart, Pennsylvania, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 84 people as of November 2025. The institution's main number is 570-488-8000.
Location
Physical location: WAYMART, PA 18472
Mailing address: 3057 ERIC J. WILLIAMS, WAYMART, PA 18472
Visitation
There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.
For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does USP Canaan allow conjugal visits?
No. USP Canaan does not allow conjugal visits. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not permit conjugal visits at any facility regardless of security level. This includes all minimum-security federal prison camps, low-security FCIs, medium-security facilities, and high-security USPs. Only four state prison systems (California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington) allow conjugal visits for state prisoners. Federal inmates have no access to conjugal or extended family visits anywhere in the BOP system.
Q: What types of visitation are allowed at USP Canaan?
USP Canaan allows contact visits during designated visiting hours, typically on weekends and holidays. Contact visits permit brief embraces at the start and end of visits, but prolonged physical contact is not allowed. All visits occur in supervised visiting rooms. Visitors must be pre-approved through a background check process and must follow dress code requirements. For full details, see the Visiting Policies and Procedures page.
Daily life and programs
The USP Canaan Satellite Camp is a minimum-security federal prison camp for adult men that sits adjacent to the high-security United States Penitentiary, Canaan, in Waymart, Wayne County, in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Both are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Northeast Region). The Canaan complex was activated on March 29, 2005 and was built at a cost of roughly 141 million dollars. As at most federal penitentiaries, the attached camp was established to hold lower-custody, non-violent men in a less restrictive setting and to supply inmate labor to the larger institution. The camp is small and its population fluctuates: recent Bureau counts have shown roughly 82 to 88 men, against reported rated capacities that vary by source (an Associated Press report in 2019 cited about 113 beds, while other listings cite up to 160). It is important to keep the two facilities separate: the minimum-security camp is a wholly different environment from the walled, cell-block penitentiary next to it.
The daily environment of the camp differs significantly from that of the main penitentiary. Rather than occupying locked cells, camp inmates reside in dormitory-style, open-bay housing equipped with bunks and lockers. The facility utilizes limited or no perimeter fencing and operates with a low staff-to-inmate ratio. Men stationed at the camp perform much of the support labor for the wider Canaan complex, handling tasks that include food service, groundskeeping and landscaping, horticulture, and facilities maintenance. The UNICOR prison industries operation at Canaan, which functions as a bindery, is situated exclusively at the main penitentiary and not at the camp. Because administrators ensure camp populations are screened for low risk, violence is exceptionally rare at this security level. This setting stands in sharp contrast to the USP, which possesses a documented history of lockdowns and serious assaults.
A comprehensive array of programming is available across the Canaan complex. Adult continuing education covers literacy, GED preparation, and English-as-a-second-language courses. The facility also provides vocational training and apprenticeships in trades including electrical work, HVAC, plumbing, and horticulture. Furthermore, the institution offers the Bureau's drug-treatment ladder. The primary feature of this system is the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), a roughly nine-month, 500-hour intensive treatment track. Its successful completion can qualify eligible inmates for up to a 12-month sentence reduction. Additional resources within the ladder include Drug Education, the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous. Finally, recreation and leisure options place an emphasis on release preparation and reentry. These activities encompass hobbycraft and leisure classes, physical-fitness and weight programs, and intramural team sports such as softball, basketball, and soccer.
The broader Canaan complex is best known publicly for events at the high-security penitentiary rather than the camp. On February 25, 2013, correctional officer Eric Williams was murdered by an inmate, Jessie Con-ui, inside the USP. In his memory, the complex access road is named Eric J. Williams Memorial Drive, and the institution has since been the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General inspection. Those incidents involve the penitentiary population, not the minimum-security camp. The camp itself holds non-violent and lower-custody men. Its most widely reported occupant was Paul Manafort, who was briefly held at the Canaan minimum-security camp in April 2019 before being transferred to FCI Loretto.
Notable inmates
| Name | Sentence | Offense | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Manafort[1] | Roughly 7.5 years combined federal sentence | Financial crimes from the Mueller investigation: bank and tax fraud (Eastern District of Virginia conviction) plus conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice / witness tampering (D.C. guilty plea); later pardoned by President Trump in December 2020 | Briefly held at the Canaan minimum-security satellite camp beginning in April 2019, then transferred to FCI Loretto |
References
- ↑ "Paul Manafort". '. Retrieved 2026-07-07.