I came here for a church retreat, and let me start by saying: the drive in was traumatic. One-lane,…read morewinding road. Aggressive fog. Zero streetlights. I don't know if Pennsylvania is cutting costs or testing faith levels, but the drive absolutely required prayer. That said, and this is important, that was the worst part of the entire experience. Once you arrive, it's like stepping into a completely different reality. Parking is plentiful, clearly marked, and right in front of the buildings (including handicap and short-term spots, which we love to see). The facilities themselves? Beautiful. Clean. Extremely well maintained. No "rustic surprise mold" vibes here. Each room has its own bathroom, a thermostat, and AC, which means you're not stuck freezing, sweating, or silently resenting whoever controls the temperature. Huge win. There's also a cute little fire pit (weather permitting), a gym/fitness center, and a dining hall tucked under another residence building that honestly deserves applause. Because let's talk about the food. 10/10. Retreat food is usually a gamble, but Spruce Lake did not come to play. AND, possibly my favorite detail, the beverage machines. Coffee, drinks, and cups you can reuse or grab-and-go, which means you can take your coffee with you like a civilized adult. In the same building, there's a gorgeous space to sit and relax, complete with multiple fireplaces that make you feel like you should be journaling or having a deep conversation. There's also a bookstore with beautiful religious items if you feel like browsing or taking something meaningful home. Staff were consistently polite, helpful, and clearly knew what they were doing, everything ran smoothly the entire stay. Final verdict: Yes, the commute tried to humble me. But once you're there? It's peaceful, comfortable, thoughtfully designed, and genuinely enjoyable. I had such a great experience that I'm already looking forward to my next visit. That drive isn't stopping me, and that's saying something.

Visit Dates: August 21, 2023 to August 25, 2023…read more I came here with my family and my church Grace Reformed Baptist Church for a camping trip and retreat. I opted for camping in a tent (my first time) and the meal plan (do not recommend). Mostly everything was great. The campsite was fairly easy to find I had a water hookup and an electricity hookup so I got to charge my phone. I set up my tent fairly easily and was happy about that. The nature was pretty, the camping site was great, the bathrooms and shower stalls were well maintained and clean. My family stayed in the rooms. The rooms are way more pricey and I heard a few church members complaining about the beds. I stayed in the room on my last night because my dad was worried about me going home with my son alone even though I would have been okay so he stayed past the point of my sisters going home and kept the room my sisters stayed in with him. My son got scared of camping on the last night so we ended up in my dad's room the last night, I didn't think it was so bad. This is a Christian Camp so if you aren't Christian be prepared for the Jesus. I'm not sure if they allow individual stays but I was with the church. They gave us a designated space for devotional time, we had two devotional sessions a day. I love Jesus and am a Christian so when I got here I was like oh so much of Jesus loves you, so much of God loves you and I loved it. But if you aren't Christian and book a camping trip here you may not like it, you may be surprised so I'm just specifying. Spruce Lake itself is on the small side, I got to check it out but I found the woods and campgrounds more impressive. They have a snack shop that's open for a few hours a day. The snack shop food was great. My son and I missed the snack shop the first few days but we got to go on Wednesday and Thursday. So the dining hall and meal plans. That's the one thing I wouldn't recommend. I opted for it because I didn't know how camping was going to be I wanted to try the tent thing first before I went gun-ho with bringing my own coolers and food. Next year I'm getting a stove and bringing all my coolers and my own food. I basically paid $100 for my kid to drink soda because he would not touch anything in the dining hall to eat during our stay. I had a lot of snacks for him, my family bought a lot of snacks for him as well and he ate fries at the snack shop so he was fed. Some of the meals were okay, some of the stuff was kind of awful. So everything about this resort except for the food was great and if my church comes back here again I'd like to go!

Love this summer camp would recommend for any parents who have kids that love sports. We sent our…read moretwo sons there for years and they had the time of their life! Jeff Freedman does an excellent job at keeping the kids entertained and his camp counselors are the best!

I came to this camp with my friend, looking for a fun time. And we found the staff extremely rude…read more We felt very pressured to join into activities we didn't want to. A grown man called us "lazy" for sitting down, and made us go to the art room. He was very rude and pushy. The staff take certain activities too seriously, screaming or even pushing children if they mess up. And be mind there are 5 year olds at this camp. I personally saw one councilor who made a kid cry because they sat in the wrong section. The "boss lady" would yell at kids for expressing their feelings One of the councilors would be very rude and passive aggressive shaming us if we didn't participate. The wait time for activities are also EXTREMELY long. We had to wait almost 2 hours until the next thing. And most of the time the councilors would make everyone sit on the ground. My friend and I went there for one week and I have bruises from having the sit on the HARD ASS GROUND. And lastly the boss was so rude to the councilors, one had to fake talk to kids to make sure the boss wouldn't see her sitting. Do not recommend for any age. Especially teenagers or smaller kids. Horrible environment and staff.

Great holiday activity with the family. Very low key, Covid…read moreRestrictions apply and easy to get to.

Hidden gem. Great for beginners and young kids. Rentals are very affordable especially if staying…read moreas a guest. You don't however, have to be a guest if you want to rent and or use their slopes.

Review only for Treetop and Zipline Adventure…read more Pretty disappointed especially since we didn't get to finish the whole adventure. There's an optional Black course at the end that we ran out of time so we ended up having to get lowered down. Our group took longer during the obstacle course intro area which was counted towards the time. The driver even came over to see what the hold up was. So we began on the actual course late. You're packed tightly into a van and driven up to the start of the Treetop Adventure. I've done another Zipline course excursion before and it included a lot of hiking whereas this one was pretty minimal. It definitely differed in safety. There seemed to only be one size harness and no one was weighed or height measured. One of the kids in the group definitely struggled to reach things. Since we were in the back we ended up helping people. Which I don't mind, I'm all for lending a hand. But on the other excursion I did there were two employees, one in the front and one in the back and I feel like that would've streamlined the process to move quicker. It was pretty inconsistent whether the instructor was in the front, back, or middle of the group. I also wish there had been some organization with the order of the group. There was another couple where the lady had done this course multiple times before and the instructor told her to go first. But the kids/teenagers wanted to be in the front of the line. They tended to be slower which slowed down the process. The kids pushed to go first and then their families followed so we ended up being stuck in the back. And the instructor didn't really enforce things. Like at the end with the optional Black course you have to get up this tricky ladder in order to be allowed on the course. You get two tries. The teen in front of us struggled and said he wanted to stop but ended up being helped up his second try, just to be immediately let down once he got up on the initial platform. Since we were running late on time my husband and I stood at the front to try to get on this last obstacle course first but the teens ended up rushing in front of us so we were again at the end. 5 of us ended up having to be let down due to time. I wasn't a huge fan of that since she actually lowered us right into a bush and I got a bunch of bug bites. Things largely depend on the group. Things just went slowly for our's and besides the ending 3 people had to be let down by the instructor (which is pretty time consuming). Another disappointing thing were the ziplines. They were pretty short and there were also some where everyone (including the instructor) stopped short and had to pull themselves to the end. At one the instructor even stayed behind to push a younger girl to help her make it further but she also stopped short. The lady who had done the courses before said she's never seen it happen this frequently. I think the lines were too slack. There's water coolers scattered around the course but no paper cups. So bring a backpack or fanny pack with a bottle. Also the lodge lost power when we got back. And we had a longer drive back so it made for an interesting bathroom visit at the end..

I take my 2 year old niece to open play here pretty much every week. All the kids have a blast and…read moregives the kids a chance to socialize, learn to play and share with other kids. They even get to walk on the balance beams and use some of the equipment which is cool cause they can get familiar with the equipment for when they start to take classes. Staff is very friendly, and they keep the place nice and clean.

100 out of 5 stars!! Ed is an ALL-star human who has truly…read morecreated an amazing place - horses are healthy, happy and lovingly taken care of. Our guide Heather is a skilled horsewoman, kind and considerate who gave me and my daughter an amazing ride through the beautiful woods, meadow and the streams that are part of this park. The arena is special and the tack and gear top-notch. Ed and his team ensure every rider is given the same attention, whether beginner or advanced. It was a privilege to ride BonBon and Misty. Thank you!!

Serene horse ranch is awesome! My son's first time riding and he loved it ! The owner and staff are…read morevery helpful and accommodating. The horses are gentle giants and a pleasure to ride ! Thank you and see you again real soon ..

We recently took a trip to Claws 'N' Paws and the kids had a great time. I think I'll just go…read morepros and cons for this review. Pros: Jethro the giraffe was so kind and gentle. He would randomly drop down to say hello and it made our hearts melt. When feeding time came around he was the main attraction. Seeing the kids interact with him paid for the price of admission. The kids loved the cockatoo's and any other bird that would talk. Watching my five year old try to have a convo with them made us laugh. They had a lot of gorgeous animals - lynx, cute prairie dogs, male and female African lions, jags, leopards, a tiger, bobcats, etc. The Eagle Owl they had was one of my favorites. What a beautiful animal. Stunning. They have an enclosed reptile area with over a half dozen snakes, lizards and a few spiders. The bathrooms were large and kept up with for the most part. The trails were easy to follow, so I'd imagine it's hard to get lost. The staff was nice, seemed passionate and caring for the animals. Cons: Only one bathroom near the front entrance. It's not a huge park, but it would be nice to have more options. Lack of flat pathways. After days of rain there were lots of puddles and running water because the park is not totally flat. Rocks and roots are exposed so be mindful if you're not steady on your feet. Some of the animals are hard to see because the protective plastic was fogged up. May have been the temp changes. Their food area could use a face lift. They offer food for eat in but we passed and found someplace outside the park. Their retail store had a lot of items (tons of stuffed animals) but we skipped this go around. We would return. The kids enjoyed the park. We spent about two hours there and felt it was worth the money. Remember this is a small zoo in the Poconos, not a large City zoo. Thanks guys!

This is the best zoo ever. It is covered in woods and not all concrete. I.t is a great environment…read morefor the animals. A very good experience for the whole family.

Great hiking there as usual. Took short hikes up to the Appalachian Trail…read more Saw some trail magic, so added to it for through hikers.

SHOTWELL -- I camped at a lean-to at Showell camp grounds. The shelter was great, had plenty of…read morespace for my queen sized bed and my double seater folding chair. I used my small portable generator for power/lights. Wood purchased at the ranger station seemed to burn better than any wood I found around the campsite so I used purchased wood to start camp fires then used wood found around camp. What I didn't like was the shower facilities are at another camp entirely, Lake Ocquittunk, and that kind of sucked especially when I went looking for it at night. It's about 6 miles away but it gave me the opportunity to pull off at the gas station for some snacks, still it's location is super inconvenient. This place is great for winter camping and although the shelters are relatively close to each other, it's so cold that nobody is out bothering anyone. I plan on visiting this place in the summer to see how the tent sites are but I'll bring a portable toilet since the bath rooms are relatively far from the better more private camp sites.