J-Camp

I have had a great experience with J camp. This is my 6^th year with them. I have four very different kids, who have all been happy with the various programs they have attended, including one special needs kid who they accepted with open arms. They have dozens of options for each age group. Also, if you are a last minute person, like me, who does not sign up for camp in January, there is almost always availability in something, even the day before the session starts. The website also has a very streamlined way to see what is closed, and to put your child on a waitlist. And I think my kids ultimately got off the waitlist, into everything they wanted to in the past. The counselors are energetic and friendly and they staff has alway been very helpful and patient. Sometimes I have had «high maintenance» questions, such as needing to know exactly what they would be doing every single day in one camp and where they would be, so that I could try to make it work with my child’s gymnastics training schedule. Or when I wanted to find the best fit for my special needs kid. Or when I had a second grader who really wanted to do something that was officially for third graders… they have always worked with me.
In sum, I have been really happy with J Camp across the board. I just signed my 5 year old up for one more two week session!

Worst camp ever. Everything is someone else’s fault. Do not send your children there.

I am reviewing the teen special focus camp here because I don’t know where else to express my displeasure about it. I called the camp director but she did little to make me feel better. Basically, she said ‘oh well, sorry’. I signed my daughter up for «rock n ride» which was 5 days in Tahoe, rock climbing and stand up paddleboarding. The description did not mention accommodations, but I assumed they would have cots in cabins. Lo and behold, the kids slept outside under the stars and didn’t have access to showers for the week. I am very surprised that for $ 685 they did not have real sleeping accommodations. Also, according to my daughter, a bear climbed into the bus one night as the door was left open and food was left in the bus. As a result, the counselors had the campers sleep in the same bus that night (with the door closed, I hope). But the email sent to parents said that the bear tried to get into the bear lockers. I think this was misleading. I didn’t know this was a lapse on the counselors’ part. When I expressed my complaints to the director of the teen camps, she only said that she is new at the JCC (previous camp director left a few months ago) and was not responsible for the teen camp misinformation, and that you can’t assume that there will be showers at every campground!