Hume Lake Camps

BEWARE: THE CAMP BEAR BOXES DO NOT WORK. We trusted that they did, and lost all of our food at Hume Lake tent site #40 on Aug 6, 2015. The people next us also had their bear boxes unlocked by at least one bear who somehow figured out the system, but the crashing of pots and pans alerted them early enough to scare the bear away before it got to their food. We were not so lucky: once it had our food of course it was his/​hers, and there’s scaring a bear away from its food. Thinking the bear had left the camp I came out of my tent to survey the damage, and the bear had just taken the food out of camp but returned immediately. I found myself 15 feet away from this huge brown bear, and it lunged four feet in my direction to let me know it mean business. I fell head over heals, and was happy that the bear left me alone. When I reported the incident to the rangers after we had to leave because of nearby fire, she said to submit the food bill and the complaint about the food lockers not working. (The rangers in charge in camp #73 would not disclose the number of beaer break-​ins, and chalked it up to people not closing the doors properly.) IT SEEMED LIKE A COVER-​UP, saving them from fixing the situation, losing potential customers, and/​or saving face. IF warned ahead of time, either in person or on the website, I would have made other food storage provisions, such as using a counter weight system or buying my own bear-​proof containers. OTHERWISE, the tent campsites were beautiful and spacious, the service was great, and the lake beautiful.

My daughter just went to Hume Lake wagon train for the first time and missed her parents because she has never been away from us for so long being only 8 years old. Apparently while she was at camp the counselors pushed her to talk about what was going on at home because she looked sad and she told them that she missed her parents and was called fat and that her little sister got more attention then her in the home which was all untrue so the camp counselors took it upon them selves to send a referral in to CPS in which our whole family was just interviewed today and found NO ABUSE in the home. Very strange why the camp counselors don’t notify the parents first about what is going on. I am the parent and my daughter will never attend this camp again. I feel this was an extreme miscommunication and racial profiling of my daughter. defiantly not worth $ 575 a week, Worst camp ever. What parent pays out of pocket for this kind of nice camp luxury only to receive a CPS referral from the camp a week later. Not an Abusive parent that’s who. It is sad that the counselors there don’t listen to the kids. When my daughter told them she was sad and missed her parents they kept heckling her to say more even though it was untrue. Self-​righteous Christian camp!

This review is for the public campground, not the Christian Camp. Most of the sites are a nice size with trees and some shade. It’s a bit hard to find a level tent site, as most seem to have a bit of a slope. The bear boxes are large enough to hold a family size cooler and two plastic food bins. There are flush toilets, but the showers are a pretty long drive away.
The fishing side of the lake is closest to the campground. There is a large swim beach on the other side of the lake that is accessed by driving through and past the Christian Camp. Be on the lookout for rattlesnakes on the fishing side. We had a close call with a sneaky snake that was hanging out, coiled up in the branches of a bush hanging over the water.
Tips:
Even at the end of June, nights were dropping into the low 40’s, maybe even colder. Staying warm in a tent was a challenge.
Make sure you apply mosquito repellant while it’s still light out. I forgot on my last night and came home with 50 plus bites.
The Christian Camp has a burger stand, coffee stand, and small general store for ice and food.
Don’t count on making a meal of fish you’ve caught, unless you are an expert fisherman. None of the 14 fish we caught were keepers, and we didn’t see anyone else catching keepers.
Bring ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper, just in case the (up to 2000) screaming teenagers in the Christian Camp keep you awake. They cut it off at 10pm, but I like to hit the sack at 8 when I’m camping. On the other hand, you might not want to be wearing earplugs on the rare chance a bear is rooting around in your camp.

We stayed during a 4^th of July weekend. I booked from 6 months ago and all was left was camp site #36, The website says it’s uneven for tent, But honestly, we couldn’t ask for a better camp site. We used a 8-​person tent (to sleep 2) and a 4-​person tent to sleep another 2. And they perfectly fit.

This is by far the best camp I have been to. I have seen God move in amazing in my life here, and through the lives of the students here. I was so blessed to go here as a camper for two years. They were really life changing. It is a great camp.

I’ve been here twice for the fall men’s retreat and I love this place. There is a wide range of room at various price points but all are affordable. It’s so tranquil here and the lake (when it’s got water in it) is beautiful. I love getting up early for a nippy 3 mile run around the lake trail before breakfast.
The student worker staff are great and so are the program guys like Chuck Bosman. The food is good down home cookin and it’s so hard to turn down those fresh baked cookies in the evening. I hope to attend every year.

A great place to rest, refresh and relax! The marriage conferences have been great. You can get as involved or secluded as you like. The staff is wonderful and put on a wonderful program. NOTE: no cell service! WiFi is $ 10/​day and bandwidth is a precious commodity. Not the camps fault! Just hard to get a ton of bandwidth up here without spending a fortune. Plus, it’s nice to unplug and rest your thumbs! For serving hundreds at a time, the food is great. But don’t miss the Hume Burger at the Snack Shack and save room for a milk shake!

Love love love this campground. Fresh water, no motorized boats, a small market for ice and other essentials, and bike/​boat rentals available. There is a great bike trail that goes around the lake that is perfect for families. The bathrooms are clean — only downside is there are no showers — but there is a fresh water lake that can be used and of course folks can bring solar showers if you do want hot water. Get a site near the lake! It’s also nice because it’s warm weather as compared to camping on the coast where you may have fog and a lot of wind. There are also nice day trip options to visit caves, big redwood trees, etc.

If you nab a spot by the lake, you owe me big time! I can be paid via Unilocal compliments or nominations for review of the day, hint hint!
After reseaching every lake side camp ground within 5 hours of SF and trying about a dozen, this little gem is my favorite! Shhhh! Try to keep it between us ok. This heaven is camping by a CLEAN, scenice, swimming, canoeing, frolicking, beach bumming lake. Even the hundreds of screaming Christians campers won’t bother you, there’s plenty of beauty to go around. Plus, they have a grocery store and burger/​shake joint just a 10 minutes jaunt away so you could camp here and never cook a meal :-)
No showers but very clean flushing toilets and sinks.
Sites are far a part and spacious, immaculate!

I went to the actual summer camp as a high schooler for all 4 years (I am now 31). It counts as probably one of my most memorable and favorite high school experiences – a great source of refreshment and spiritual renewal for me, and I saved up all year so I could go.
The camp has a reputation as the «Disneyland» of Christian camps – pretty amazing programs and lots of stuff to do. It offers creative and well organized activities/​competitions, Bible studies, chapels, meals, and from what I remember – pretty basic cabins. It’s a great place to build friendships. Referencing what a previous reviewer wrote, I believe there is a bit of underground «naughty» activity that is rumored every year – but I think you have to run with a certain crowd to truly know about it. And unless the crown has gotten overwhelmingly more rowdy, the majority of kids stay on the «up & up.»
I did go to the unaffiliated campground one year, and it was great – just camping rather than «camp.» There are lots of great hiking trails, 10 mile creek, boat and canoe rentals for the lake, a snack shack. And for those less-​inclined to rough it, there is also a small lodge nearby. I’d say it’s a winner either way you go – campground or summer camp.

I have never been to the camps here, but I have been here to swim a lot when going to my family’s cabin.
Actually, if you aren’t a kid going to the camps then you’re likely to be bothered by their presence (they seem to include lots of «bad boy\girl» at religious camp taking care of their wild oats!) Which is actually totally cool with me, but I suggest trying to plan your trips around the non-​camp date ranges.
I have been coming here for my entire life (family cabin inside Kings Canyon nearby).

I love this lake. super beautiful. Next time I will directly go to this lake not Sequoia NP. You can rent a canoe and enjoy peaceful in the middle of the nature. Don’t forget to taste the best coffee ice cream I’ve ever had. Oh I love this place. See how beautiful from my pictures