Camp Whittier

Last summer I had the privilege of being a camp counselor for the Taiwanese American Citizens League Leadership Identity Development (TACL LID) camp that was held at this camp site for a 5 day program in August. Though my experience working with kids and teens, leading workshops, facilitating discussions, and participating in our activities was absolutely amazing, everyone (campers, counselors, and staff alike) agreed that:
1. THERE ARE TOO MANY FLIES — I swear, we were swatting away flies and other various insects BOTH indoors AND outdoors pretty much the entire time we were on site. Normally a few bugs are manageable but this was absolutely ridiculous and outrageously revolting. And yes, we brought bug repellent. Tons of it. And yes we turned on the AC when we were indoors every once in a while. But they came in anyway and there were just too many of them. It was hopelessly overwhelming. (NO I am not exaggerating. It was a nightmare)
2. Dust and dirt get everywhere — which is expected, I guess. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, but you soon realize that even after showering, you are never really entirely clean. Its almost a waste to shower since you’re just going to get dirt and dust all over you the second you step out of the bath anyway. Its as if the air is somehow saturated with dust. You just can’t escape it.
3. The campsite itself is too widely spaced apart — it was an unfortunately long trek from the girl cabins, to the dining hall, to the boy cabins, to the main lodge where we hosted most of our large-​group camp activities, to the basketball courts, to the campfire pit, etc. Some camps may value a large campsite, but everything was so excluded from everything else that it was difficult to manage and keep a sense of comfortable snug closeness.
4. Cabins, lodges, and other facilities could definitely be better ventilated — we always had to make the headache-​inducing choice of whether to open the doors and let the horrendous flies in, or close the doors and suffocate in the concoction of everyone’s body odor. And speaking of facilities —
5. Bathrooms — need a lot of work. Bathrooms/​shower rooms are located in a separate building from the cabins (in the same general area). Which reiterates my whole «you can never be clean» point because leaving the shower you will have to walk back through the wilderness in the dust and grime to get into your cabin. Showers are also very inconveniently designed (there really isn’t much of a place to put your towel/​clean clothes).
6. UNBEARABLE HEAT — okay yes a summer camp in early August is obviously going to be hot but DON’T ASSUME that because its in Santa Barbara that you will even be remotely close to the windy beach and some of that cool air will ever get to this campsite. It won’t.
Needless to say, there were definitely some things lacking in this campsite. However, there were still a few good points: The food we were served was generally appetizing and filling, the campsite definitely provided lots of space and amenities for fun big activities, the area was quite beautiful and it really was nature at its finest. We got to watch a meteor shower under the clear night skies, we sang at a campfire, ran under the sprinklers to cool down (which was probably not allowed hehe), had a massive water balloon fight, among various other fun activities.
Unfortunately, the negatives greatly outweighed the positives, and we will most likely not be coming back to host another TACL LID camp at this campsite again.
For more information about LID camp and pictures visit
:)