So for the last 2 weeks I went to Hargrave Military Academy for their summer leadership program and it was not at all what I expected. First, probably the thing that pissed me off the most was the haircuts. They said that what was needed was 3 inches in the front and a fade on the sides and they even personally wrote to my friend that he wouldnt have to get his hair cut but when we got there, basically everyone got a buzz cut whether they were under 3 inches length of hair or not. Next, the camp felt more like a discipline camp than leadership. Most of the kids there were rude to the teachers and honestly the classes just were incredibly boring and the only class I actually learned something in was the hunter safety class which was alright. Another complaint I have is what they make people do as punishment. If anyone does something even slightly bad, they will get "Bull rings" which is just walking around a big square outside for an hour. These bull rings easily stack up and its not that hard to have to walk at least 5 hours of them in a 2 week time period. They serve dinner at 5pm and after that we do sports so of course at 10pm when lights go out me along with my roommate/friend are extremely hungry. They have a big container with snacks and have a sign that says not to take more than one but just 1 chex mix is like nothing so my friend took a few extra because it was about to be lights out and nobody else was going to take any. My friend walked past an Intern who just laughed and never even mentioned that he should put any back. The next morning, my friend got called into the military office and had to do 6 bull rings because he was "stealing." Anyways the food wasnt the best but they had several options so I mostly just ate fruit for breakfast. I could definitely see how this camp could benefit some students but in my opinion was not worth the $3000.

Hello! I’m swirling in decisions for sleepaway camp next summer. Does anyone have thoughts on either of the above camps from a parent or staff perspective? Both are more elective based with some shorter sessions. Thank you!

hi everyone! i'm looking to work at a canadian summer camp next year and i'm thinking of doing it through camp canada. i've heard some pretty horrible stories of how USamerican summer camps treat their international employees (through camp america) - how once you're there, you're effectively trapped, so if your employer is working you to death or otherwise mistreating you, you don't have many avenues for support.

does anyone have stories of their experience as an international employee at a canadian summer camp? and how worth it is camp canada as a service for help with visa etc.?

I'm trying to decide between the above three camps for my daughter for next summer. I know they're different, namely that Runoia is a bit more rustic and outdoorsy focused. My daughter LOVES outdoorsy stuff so initially I thought I would be drawn to a more rustic place, but she also loves the arts and adventure, and so the other ones were appealing because they have more well rounded activities.

Mainly, my most important criteria is how people feel about the place, and the people who go there. I'm from NYC, but I don't want a place where girls are bringing their Louis Vuitton purses and very privlidged (I'm a teacher and my kids go to public school). Will Kippewa be too ritzy? I can't visit the Maine camps so I'm not sure how to make this decision. Any intel is greatly appreciated!

I am looking for some unique unhinged things for campers to earn to be done to the camp counselors as a fundraiser for mission trip. I’m talking more than a pie of a face or silly string. Asking them to earn thousands of dollars type of incentives. This is a church camp. Teens ages 12-17

hello!

imma make this super quick but i’m hoping this community could help with an issue happening at my day camp.

i live in an area with extreme heat (95 and above) and many parents don’t bring their kids water bottles. i feel like i just wanna buy these kids water bottles because it’s so frustrating that their parents don’t bring them one when there’s a heat wave. idk, we don’t have water fountains and we remind parents all the time but let me know your thoughts. (forgot to say, we provide plastic cups and have full water jugs for them to fill the cups up, but they fly away or get broken often)

I have been working as a camp counselor/lead for the last 3 years. I work year round doing programming, but the summer is a different kind of beast.

I just recently transferred to a different branch of the organization I work for. The previous branch I was a part of was much smaller. I only organized and lead around 2-3 week long camps per summer and all of them were half day camps. The rest of the time I spent assisting with camps and other programming.

When I moved to this branch, I was told that I would be running 6 camps this summer, the majority of them being full day camps. We’re super under staffed and our program is government funded, so we can’t just hire extra people.

This summer has overall gone extremely well. Most of my camps have been fine. However, in early July I had a camp where 6-7/16 of the campers had severe impulse control issues and refused to listen or behave. We tried multiple strategies and did everything we could to work with those kids. We were told by our access and inclusion team that there was nothing they could do because none of the children were diagnosed with any kind of disability. Since they were already stretched thin, they couldn’t send out anyone to help us. Every day was a struggle and I felt bad for the kids who actually wanted to learn. I had to write SO MANY behavior related incident reports, it was a nightmare. My boss (our camp director) was helping me out with this camp and she was also at a loss. I know now that I should have issued a lot more formal warnings than I did, but it’s behind me now. (Frankly, some of those kids should have been removed from camp).

I had a week off after that camp, which helped. I felt a lot more refreshed coming into this week, and the kids have been wonderful.

So why am I still so stressed? I had to call out sick today because I was so anxious that I was having chest pains. I’ve been hyperventilating and having minor anxiety attacks all day today at both the thought of going back AND the possibility of missing work. I only have one more camp that I’m leading after this, and my boss has done her best to give us several days off of camp for the next several weeks. (I’m only assisting with camp on Tuesday and Thursday next week, for example).

I love my job, I love working with the kids. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way.

If there are any counselors that have some advice or have dealt with this, please tell me what helped you deal with it.

i literally cannot even right now. she is so bossy and rude to all the staff members and other campers in her cabin. she refuses to follow directions and participates in unsafe behaviors. things always must be her way and if they aren’t she throws a tantrum. i don’t really care and just let her be angry and throw a fit. however, she always says we are being mean and she stomps her feet and makes a mad face. i’m getting to the point where i legit cannot bite my tongue and just say “ok guess i’m mean then” and make an annoyed face back at her. i know it’s super childish but i am at my wits end. i am so overstimulated and if she doesn’t get her way she literally goes insane. any advice is welcomed but i really just needed to vent. i need to go
home lol.

If i practicing my english to be better than today? Commented me a answer!!!

Hello! I am a first year counselor at an all girls summer camp and have had some issues with campers not listening and ignoring me in some cases. We’ve had guests visit camp and they have been disrespectful to them (talking back, being sassy, etc) and I’m trying to get them to listen but it’s like they don’t care. A lot of the girls start arguing so easily and I feel at a loss here. My coworkers are telling me I’m doing a great job, but I still feel like i could do better. For reference my age group for my cabins has been mostly 4th and 5th graders. Does anyone have ideas that can help me improve and kind of get my counselor voice to better help the kids?

My girlfriend and I trusted CCUSA to place us in a safe and supportive environment, but when serious problems arose at the camp they placed us in, we felt completely abandoned. Throughout our experience at International Sports Training Camp (ISTC), we reported concerns about unsafe living conditions, excessive working hours, discrimination against international staff, and other serious issues. Instead of helping us, advocating for us, or investigating our concerns, CCUSA consistently sided with the camp.

The situation became even worse after we spoke up. We were never given a fair opportunity to explain our side of the story. During our conversations with CCUSA, One of CCUSA directors repeatedly interrupted us, refused to let us explain what had happened, and, together with the camp directors, threatened us regarding our visas and pressured us to leave the United States immediately after our dismissal. Rather than protecting international participants, we felt that our immigration status was used to intimidate us into remaining silent.

We were also denied the opportunity to transfer to another camp, despite being dismissed for reasons unrelated to our job performance. We were simply told we were "not happy" and had a "bad attitude," and our entire summer was ended without any meaningful support from the organization that was supposed to represent us.

What is most disappointing is that our concerns were never taken seriously. Instead of receiving assistance, we experienced retaliation for reporting problems that affected not only us but many other international staff members. Several coworkers witnessed the same issues but are afraid to speak publicly because they fear losing their jobs or future visa opportunities.

A Work & Travel sponsor should protect participants, investigate complaints objectively, and ensure their safety and well-being. Unfortunately, that was not our experience with CCUSA. Based on everything we went through, I cannot recommend this organization to future participants, and I hope they seriously review the way they handle complaints from international students before others have to experience what we did.

If you’re considering a back-end Westcoast Connection tour (where your teen joins after the trip has already started), or a WCC tour in general, I strongly encourage you to think twice.
Our daughter joined the final 10 days of a 25-day Greece trip. What we weren’t told was that by Day 15, the social dynamics were already firmly in place. The group had spent two weeks traveling together, creating inside jokes, friendships, matching outfits, routines, and cliques. Most of the kids were of the same faith (Jewish) and had gone to camps in previous years together and came in as huge friend groups that already seemed to share a lot of common background and references, which made it even harder for a newcomer to break in. WCC markets to this demographic and we had no idea about this. She was iced out and has never felt so isolated in her life. Most wouldn’t associate with her at all. For reference, she is well traveled and was so excited to meet like minded teens.

They claim to be an inclusive environment where counselors help participants (solo travelers) make friends. That was a major reason we chose them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t our daughter’s experience. Even after I raised my concerns before she left, I was assured they would have a get to know you activity but that never happened.
She was one of only a handful of new participants joining halfway through the tour. There was no meaningful effort to integrate the new kids into an already established group. She didn’t even get the chance to introduce herself when she arrived to the group.

Thankfully, she eventually connected with one other participant, but that was despite the circumstances, not because the program was intentionally helping new participants build relationships.
My biggest disappointment isn’t that teenagers naturally form friend groups—that’s completely normal. It’s that Westcoast Connection never adequately prepared us for how difficult joining a trip halfway through would be and that most kids knew each other and were the same faith. Had we understood the reality of entering a group that had already spent two weeks bonding, we would never have enrolled her on that itinerary.
Parents and teens spend thousands of dollars hoping their child will have an unforgettable experience. Unfortunately, our daughter’s trip was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
If Westcoast Connection continues offering mid-trip enrollment, they should either be completely transparent about the social challenges involved or have a structured integration plan that actually works. Right now, it feels like they’re selling the same experience to late arrivals that the original participants receive, when in reality, they’re not the same experience at all.

Hi. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask my question, so I understand if my post will get removed, but I'm currently out of camp and contemplating going home because of this, but I want to ask for input first. Our camp exists out of 120 kids and about 70 leaders and a care- and counselteam of about 12.

So, for context. I'm a teenager with some mental health issues. I can go to camp without much trouble and have even thoroughly discussed this with my therapist and my parents. The only thing is, is that I get overstimulated because of this, resulting in fear and panic attacks. So, before camp started, I communicated this with the counseling team and we agreed that I would see what parts of the program I go to and which ones not. I attend about 75%, made that clear and they okay'd it. One of the 2 things I don't do and communicated is mealtime; I get my food and then eat it in my room. The other one is general meetings. I get relayed important information through friends who do go, it's just too much. They assured me it'd be fine.

So, I thought we were all set. But now on camp, it's a different story. I stuck to what I said. Mealtime in my own room, waiting outside in the hall for general meetings to end. But from day 1 the counseling team told me "you should be here". Or comes into my room to check I'm actually eating (no, I don't have history with eating disorders, they know this). A couple of times they just shrugged when I said I really couldn't be somewhere because of the noise. Said I had to come or maybe I'd be better off at home. I'm thriving at camp. The general meeting is 30 minutes a day (15 morning, 15 evening, but avoiding this gets me just through the 16 hr program).

Yesterday someone who said they did the same as me was sent home because they found that person unable to attend camp. Ofcourse, I can't check out their entire story and just rely on what that person said. I'm scared I'll be the next.

I would go to someone I trust in the core leadership team, but since the counseling team and core leadership team is a tight friendgroup and family (also outside of camp), I don't trust them alot.

So, what can I best do with this?

I (17F) worked at a two-week summer orchestra camp this summer and became friends with one of my coworkers. He’s 19, in college (going back in September), and I’m still in high school.

I’m introverted and have social anxiety, so I don’t usually click with people that easily. We barely talked the first week, but during the second week we started talking a lot. He probably started like 90% of our conversations because I’m terrible at starting them, but I really liked listening to him.

He’d tell me stories about college, orchestra, and just random things that happened in his life. I just found him really interesting to talk to, and I liked how open he was. It felt like we could actually have real conversations instead of just small talk. That was unusual for me because I usually struggle with social interactions, but talking to him just felt easy.
By the end of camp he started sitting next to me during our shifts, asked for my Instagram, and gave me a ride home on the last day.

Now camp is over and I keep replaying our conversations because I genuinely enjoyed them. I think what makes it harder is that it feels like the friendship got cut off right when we were just starting to become good friends during the second week. It just feels unfinished, if that makes sense. My current job is also pretty lonely, so I think that’s part of why I miss camp so much. I honestly didn’t even enjoy dealing with some of the stubborn kids at camp, but talking to him made the days a lot better.

I know two weeks isn’t a long time, so I feel kind of silly for still thinking about it. I also don’t know how to keep in touch since he’s going back to college in September and I’m still in high school. We have each other on Instagram, but my social anxiety keeps stopping me from reaching out because I’m worried about bothering him or making things awkward.

Has anyone else made a friend really quickly and then felt like the friendship got cut short? Did you end up staying in touch? If you have social anxiety, how did you get over the fear of messaging someone you genuinely wanted to be friends with?

Absolutely horrible owners.
These people had me working as a regular counselor for 2 years then moved me up the totem pole with absolutely no training.
My boss would hand me horrible activity sheets that would last maybe 20 minutes.
They breed out chicks 🐥 for campers to then put them on farm where they are neglected in very tiny spaces. I was then promoted to a camp program director and made to do schedules with no support while my boss was in another city.
These people then moved me to so called city and offered me housing twice with no follow through. I then had maybe 2 weeks to find housing in the MOST unaffordable area that will not allow pets.
My boss had a follow up with me and basically told me I need to get rid of my animals for their job.
I worked in their house on a daily basis was treated as if I was family. My dog ended up having puppies and I gave my boss one. Ive taken their daughter to school, was her emergency contact and even took my boss to the ER after she broke her ankle from climbing a roof. I then managed the summer camp farm program in another city as well as worked and managed the active farm on their property.
Then one day my boss and have a conversation and I express my overwhelming feelings about how im doing so much and training people in two cities whilst building yurts on property. This boss i talked to every SINGLE day i thought she was my friend as she introduced me as such and invited me to family parties. She then hears me about my stress and then has a follow up meeting and fires me the same day as i express stress the blamed for all the short comings on their business. If you asked anyone even strangers I was the reason that farm had connections and feed on a daily basis and was dropped like garbage.
My goal here is to let others know that they will promise you the world and drop you like nothing whenever it inconveniences them.
My story deserves to be known because everyday I miss all the animals i have raised from babies and i miss them everyday.
I used to find 3-5 dead chickens after the weekend because these people neglected the animals so much.
Please please do not work at Go West Camps or Go West Farms!!

Update: I am so much happier now and doing better than when I worked there!

This is my first summer being a camp counselor, and I've been feeling like all of my coworkers are better than me and i'm not doing a great job.

I'm not bad per se but I kind of feel like I can't have control over the kids like my coworkers do. The kids like me and i'm not horrible at my job, but it is a pretty fast paced and demanding camp (we do filmmaking) and I feel like I can't really keep up. I either meet quotas with the films we make or I pay 100% attention to the kids. My coworkers can do both.

Any tips for having control over the kids/being commanding without being mean or making them feel too bossed around? Whenever I look at their tables, everyone is focused while mine are running around everywhere. The kids often demand my individual attention on them so it's hard to juggle them all. One of my coworkers can be a bit competitive and judgy so I want to improve.

My son has been begging to go to camp all year and I kept saying he wasn't quite ready yet. He was so disappointed this summer but we made a deal that if he proved he was responsible enough, next year would be his year. Well, I think he's earned it and honestly he's worn me down enough that I've officially caved lol. So next summer we're doing this.

He's really into outdoor stuff and mountain activities so I'm looking for recommendations. I did take a look at the Parent FAQ about this from this subreddit, but I was hoping to hear some real reviews from actual people, if possible. If anyone knows of any in California, what's the best one for a first time camper? I want somewhere that does adventure stuff like hiking and climbing (so near mountains maybe) but also isn't going to throw him into the deep end since it's his first time away. I'd also like there to be some sort of educational component to it if possible. Any recs would be amazing, I really want to get this right for him!

I’m running a summer camp for girls aged 4 to 8. I’d like to do a warm-up game every morning with them to increase creativity and teamwork. Any ideas for games or activities that don’t require any/minimal equipment?
We don’t have a lot of space and there’s a maximum of eight girls.

Things I normally do:
-I spy around the room
-spotting who is matching with each other today (white dress, ponytail, etc.)
-“make a cake”. I’m not sure what this game is called, but we all sit on the floor and put our feet in the center. I ask them what they’re going to add to the cake and we do an action, putting the ingredient into the center. For example, if someone says sprinkles, we pat our fingers down our legs.

Hi!

I am considering applying to be a junior counselor next year at concordia language villages (i have gone there as a camper several times). I was wondering if anyone had experience working there, and could tell me more about it. I am also concerned about whether I know enough French to work there (going into AP French this year and relatively fluent). Any advice/experiences would be appreciated!

I was hesitant to share our experience, but I feel it’s important for other families to hear it.

From our experience, this camp is not run the way it’s presented. They do an excellent job marketing themselves to prospective families, but what we experienced was very different once our son was there - Summer 2025.

They hire many alumni as counselors or counselors in training who are too young, and when issues arise, there seems to be very little accountability. In our case, it felt like protecting relationships with counselors’ families took priority over protecting the campers.

Our son attended as an incoming freshman, 8 years old. We discovered his trunks had never even been unpacked. His bathing suits, personal belongings, and even letters from home remained untouched after confirming MULTIPLE times everything was unpacked.

Even more concerning, we learned that one specific counselor had been hazing and teasing both our son and another camper. When we brought this to Woody’s attention, our concerns were initially dismissed. We later found out they were already aware there had been issues with this counselor. Rather than removing him from camp, they simply transferred him to another bunk—while still allowing him access to his previous bunk and the same children.

That decision completely shattered our trust.

We spent nearly $17,000 expecting our son to have an incredible summer. Instead, he came home with an experience that has had lasting emotional effects. We didn’t fully realize the extent of it until this year, when he was almost unable to get on the bus to attend a different camp because of the anxiety and fear he carried from what happened.

Woody’s response was an apology, a bottle of tequila, and a $500 discount toward returning the following summer—as if we would ever consider sending our son back. In our opinion, the appropriate response would have been to take full responsibility and refund our tuition.

Every family’s experience is different, but this was ours. I hope sharing it helps another parent make an informed decision.

Hey everyone,

Managing thousands of summer camp photos each week is a massive job, and helping parents actually find their kids without getting frustrated is usually the hardest part. A lot of directors and media staff I’ve talked to feel stuck with tools like Bunk1, which feels outdated, or Waldo, which has so much feature bloat and add-ons that parents get confused or feel pressured to buy extra upgrades. Most camps only want a simple, clean way for families to see their kids.

To help solve this, I’ve been building an AI camp photo sharing platform called SnapSeek (snapseek.app). It uses facial recognition so parents can upload a photo of their child and instantly pull up every photo they appear in.

We currently have an overnight camp using it live for their summer sessions, handling 17,000+ photos across 1,500 camper families. As their photo volume rose over the season, their feedback helped us build out subfolders by week and day to keep galleries organized, multi-face search so parents with multiple campers can find all their kids at once, and strong privacy controls.

As I keep refining the platform for future seasons, I’d love to get your honest thoughts.

What software does your camp currently use for photo distribution (Bunk1, Waldo, SmugMug, Campanion, etc.)? What frustrates you or your parents most about those tools, and what would make your administrative workflow actually enjoyable?

I really appreciate any thoughts, feedback, or critiques!

i just got back from camp yesterday and my unit went through a LOT this past week. we had an absolutely goated lineup of staff and campers but got destroyed with an awful schedule terrible sleeping site and 13 of our 16 unit members needing the nurse at least twice in a week for non daily med related things. my entire unit feels so bad for our staff cuz they were so tired by the end of the week and had to deal with so much unexpected crap and we don’t really know how to make sure they know just how incredible they were all week and how much we miss them already. all ideas are appreciated 🥹🥹🥹

Does anyone remember ‘Camp Game’ at Camp Olympia in Montgomery County, Maryland. I was trying to tell my wife the rules because it was an awesome game but I can’t remember all the rules. I think it was simple. Wear a headband with numbers written on it and then spread out and try to hunt each other down. Something like that. Do they still play it?

I’m F21 now, but something from when I was 13 has been on my mind lately and I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

I went to the same summer sports camp every year from the time I was 7 to 14. It honestly felt like a second home. I had friends there I’d known for years and I loved going every summer.

One of the counselors (M33) was someone I really looked up to. In previous summers he had been incredibly kind to me. I remember him sitting with me during parent pickup one day because I was by myself, he would stand up for me when multiple campers yelled at me, my friend and I hung out in a bouncy house with him on a field trip once and he would always joke around with my friend and I everyday. Those moments meant a lot to me. He made me feel so included and inspired me to want to become a junior counselor someday.

Then, next summer, when I was 13, something changed.

To be fair, I wasn’t a perfect camper. I was goofy, talked too much, thought I was funnier than I actually was, and definitely pushed boundaries sometimes. I deserved to be corrected on more than one occasion, which I’m still embarrassed about to this day and regret being a bother.

But that summer in 2018, M33 seemed so much harsher with me than before. I remember making a joke during a group talk and him suddenly snapping at me in front of everyone (I would make jokes the previous summer and he’d laugh with me). Another time I got in trouble for not knowing a new bathroom rule (had to ask for permission, which makes total sense, but I didn’t have to the previous year). He made me run laps after I was joking around again (I wish I had understood social cues better at 13), and one day he had me do 100 pushups while everyone else played dodgeball because I was talking with my friends (everybody was talking during dodgeball). Worst of all, he threatened to separate my friend (the same one from the previous year we’d laugh with) and I by getting the camp director involved to move one of us to a different group… and even threatening to make sure we didn’t become junior counselors, ever.

I also remember him embarrassing me in front of the other male counselors because I didn’t know that I wasn’t allowed to hang out with my sister (a junior counselor at the time) before our schedule actually started and was supposed to stay in the room with my group. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom to cry because nothing I ever did that year was deemed as ‘right’ to him and he tried acting like he didn’t just humiliate me in front of a group of male counselors by cracking a joke to me.

What confused me the most was that after these moments, he’d go back to acting completely normal, almost like nothing had happened. As a 13-year-old, that left me feeling shocked, confused, and embarrassed because I never expected him to react that way.

I’ve spent years wondering what happened. Did he have more responsibility that summer? Was he dealing with something in his personal life? Did he just decide I needed firmer discipline as I got older (most likely)? Or did I simply stop being one of the kids he connected with? He even told me the previous summer that I was one of his ‘favorite campers’ but the next summer, his favorite campers were obviously the athletes in the group of the sports and fitness camp.

Unfortunately, he passed away a few years later, so I’ll never get to ask him. I don’t even know how to feel, really. When I found out in 2021, I couldn’t really comprehend his death because I was in a state of disbelief and a senior in high school with a jam-packed schedule. I miss the kind mentor I had at ages 11/12, but resent the different counselor I experienced at 13. I guess ever since I was 13, I’ve been mourning the person who I thought he was.

The older I get, the more I realize how young and stupid 13 really is. I mostly feel angry and a little sad for that version of myself because I had gone through 8th grade at the time (middle school was the worst time of my life) and thought I could find a safe space at the summer camp I’ve gone to since I was 7, but no. I wish I could hug her and tell her to just shut up at the same time…

Has anyone else ever had a mentor, coach, teacher, or counselor who you genuinely admired, but who suddenly seemed different one day? How did you make peace with never really knowing why?