My 14yo daughter was exposed to illegal drugs at Kennolyn. We were under the impression that…read moreKennolyn was a wholesome, sheltered place, but one of the campers, a very wealthy boy, was apparently allowed to bring a marijuana vape pen into camp (despite the fact that the camp assures parents that they will search kids on the way in). He apparently bragged about having the weed vape all week to the other campers, and when the Camp left a group of teen campers unsupervised at night (why?), someone apparently used the weed vape. When the boy was later busted by the camp, he denied using it, claiming that my daughter and another 14 yo girl were the real culprits. The boy insisted he didn't even know he had the marijuana vape in his bag, that someone must have put it there, and said that my daughter and the other girl had "bullied" him into letting them use it. To be clear, though more than a dozen kids were there when the weed vape was used, no one OTHER THAN THE BOY WHO BROUGHT THE WEED VAPE TO CAMP ever said that the girls used the weed vape. For whatever reason, Kennolyn joined the boy in pointing the finger at the girls, and on that basis alone locked my daughter in a room by herself for a long period while they tried to extract a "confession" out of her; they performatively humiliated her by forcing her to serve the other campers at a food line, as if she was the lunch lady and no longer one of them; they refused to let her say goodbye to her cabinmates and friends, or even to collect their contact information; they made her do manual labor for a period, moving heavy bags off of a truck; and, as a final indignity, forced her to go to sleep in a cabin in the woods by herself. My daughter is a young 14, she was absolutely shamed and terrified, and said she cried herself to sleep. I'm paying $2,700 a week for that?!? When I picked her up the next morning she was visibly stressed and shaken, but she was even more angry, because she insisted she'd been falsely accused and had never even seen the boy's marijuana vape, let alone used it. When I emailed Kennolyn's management to challenge the boy's lies about my daughter and complain about the way they had treated her, suddenly their story began to change: now they insisted my daughter had confessed to the boy's accusations! My daughter categorically denied confessing to anything, and the more I dug into it, the more Kennolyn's story changed--first it was one counselor who purportedly heard the confession, then, wait, it was a different counselor altogether who had heard it, then suddenly there were TWO other counselors present for the confessions; etc. The more their story changed, the lower my trust for Kennolyn's leadership dropped. I'm not sure exactly what really happened, but they acted captiously and callously toward my daughter, and were suspiciously inconsistent in their dealings with me, particularly in the way they bent over backwards to exonerate and excuse the boy who actually brought the illegal marijuana vape to camp. My daughter feels disrespected and unfairly maligned, and regrets ever having gone to Kennolyn--they really treated her poorly. I don't blame her, and can't believe I wasted so much money to send my kid somewhere unsafe, where she would be exposed to illegal drugs. We won't be going back.

I went to Kennolyn Camp for a few summers as a child and greatly enjoyed it. I would go for…read moretwo-week sessions which was the right amount of time for me. I think this camp is particularly great for younger children too who are ready for sleep-over camp. It might seem a little too sheltered and not exciting enough for some older campers... My favorite activities were the amazing climbing wall, ropes course, vaulting (gymnastics on horseback), ceramics, and trip to the Beach Boardwalk. When I took a fall from a horse, the nurse was great at comforting and taking care of me. The staff was also fabulous. I always loved my counselors! My only big complaint is that Kennolyn is expensive. Another summer, I went on a two-week program to Australia which was the same price (including airfare!) as Kennolyn. So, send your children because you want them to enjoy a fun, safe camp experience but definitely not to save any money!

It's comfortable. Well, mostly. The beds are like sleeping on squeaky concrete. But safe, clean…read moreand fine. The dining hall is a well oiled machine and the food is ok. They can cater to dietary needs. The grounds are beautiful! We went for 5th grade outdoor camp, was a fantastic experience.

It's the most amazing place on earth!!!!!!!! Truly magical and filled with a spirit of peace and…read moreserenity.

My son, who was 8-year old, went to 1-week summer camp with Wilderness Skills Institute in 2014. On…read morethe last day of the program he was kept on the ground by one 11-year old, while another boy of the same age was kicking him in the face. One of his already permanent front teeth was broken, and we couldn't save it. I can imagine that accidents like this happen. Yet Brian and Tony's reaction was more than off-putting. First, they not only didn't mention anything to us--parents, but were evasive and tried not to tell about what happened. Instead of getting medical treatment, they tried to distract and pacify my son by allowing him to shoot firearms for the rest of the day. Second, they refused to let me talk with the parents of the boys, who had beaten my son. My intention was to turn it into learning experience, so that there would be something good derived from the situation. But Brian and Tony were in the defensive mode, and focused on protecting themselves legally. Brian has a short fuse. At some point he started shouting and told me that my son deserved it, and that the mom of one of the boys in their program was a juvenile judge, and I shouldn't even try suing them. Tony was shutting down any attempts of figuring out what happened. I talked with owners of one of the properties they were leasing, and she told me that Brian and Tony left without paying her several thousand dollars of rent and abandoning their dog with her. To summarize, Brian King and Tony Lane are two desperate con artists, who are moving from place to place and are taking advantage by exploiting parents attracted by words like wilderness, nature, resilience, self-reliance, passion, and academics. Please feel free to send me a message via Yelp, if you would like more information.

From the owner: Gearing up for summer camps. Kids day camp ages 6 - 9, Preteen day camp ages 9 - 12, and our Teen…read moreOvernight Wilderness Adventure Camp. Registration is open. Reserve your spot today! Serving families in N. Ca. since 2001...

An amazing resource for natural horsemanship, retreats, community connections and healing with…read morehorses. Lori and Ella are amazing teachers, women leaders and grounded community change makers who help all who visit and attend events lessons and retreats there meaningful and full of growth and wisdom.

My daughter first attended this camp in the summer of 2010. It was amazing! The property sits on a…read morehill over looking all of Monterey bay. The price was very reasonable plus they have scholarships available. My daughter learned to take care of and ride horses. She had fun dancing and learning aerial. she made beautiful art and got to perform in a play at the end of camp for all the parents. Horse and Heart is terrific! I highly recommend it.

Amazing! It was super clean, the food was delicious and all the staff were super friendlyread more

This is definitely one of the nicer conference grounds/camps that I have been to. I would have…read moregiven it 5 stars except for the lodging above the dining area that feels really old and stuffy. Otherwise, it was a pretty nice experience the weekend I went back in April ! Fortunately, I was at Laurel Lodge, where it felt more hotel-style with each person having their own bed (4 beds a room) and one bathroom per room. There was also ample storage space. The room we all met in for sermons was also really nice and it looked like it was updated - with two 'lounge' rooms on each side of the main room. There is also a nice open field, a big dining area with lots of seating, and it is just pretty to walk around the conference grounds. I also really liked this little lounge area where you could get tea and coffee whenever you wanted.The campground staff was also helpful, and there was also a zipline and bouldering course further up the hill of the conference grounds that was fun to do for both students and youth leaders. I also came to this camp site a little over a decade ago and although I don't remember details of that stay, I do remember having a good time. It is really good quality facility.

One of my little guys camps went pretty good, but not when it came to cooking camp - it was awful…read morelol. Every day he'd come home just feeling whatever about it. So we asked why. Turns out every day was just a variation of some tortilla based recipe lol. One day was quesadillas, one day was tortilla chips, one day was cinnamon sugar tortillas (???), another was tacos, etc. One day was parfaits though! Very clearly just trying to go through their excess stock of tortillas from the camp it would appear. It also turns out that the kids did NONE of the cooking themselves! They would assemble the food then the workers would take it to the oven or microwave or whatever to actually do the cooking. This was a hilarious revelation lol - turns out there's no cooking in the cooking class! They learned how to stack ingredients but nothing about proper temperatures, the procedure for using the oven, or when to use the pots and pans on the stove, etc. Even his final recipe, that he got to bring home - was a simple cookie lol. WHICH THE WORKERS BURNED THE ENTIRE UNDERSIDE OF lmao. He didn't even want to eat it or enjoy his bring home final cooking project from cooking camp. Had they been more up front, I probably wouldn't have chosen that camp and put him in a diff one. When I brought this up - I was told it's illegal for kids to do the cooking! Even her own 15 year old can't use the stuff. I asked for clarification because of course that' sounds like nonsense - every pizza and fast food place in the world has teens working at it and around the ovens lol. I just had to laugh and say oh ok and move on because it's def not true and was just an excuse she came up with on the spot rather than admit that maybe the cooking camp was a bit lacking and oversold for what it really was. Not sure we will be coming back next year, certainly not for cooking class specifically...

Our child came home happy and excited from a day of engaging activities. We will enroll early for…read more2924

My two girls loved Shark Camp! They learned so much about sharks and other marine life. They were…read moreso excited when I picked them up each day! They enjoyed the boat day and the land day . As an added bonus, I had fun hanging out at the beach each day after I dropped them off. It was like a mini vacation. Lastly, they thought the lunch that was provided was yummy. Mary Cate and her crew were fantastic. I'd highly recommend it!

My daughter just had a great experience with Shark Camp a few days ago…read more She always wants to be a marine biologist. I signed her up after we learned about it through summer camp fair in San Jose, even though I knew I have to drive her all the way down to Santa Cruz for 2 days with my little one for this camp. She liked the coaches Mary Cate and Helaina. They are super nice and knowledgeable. My daughter said she learned a lot from them about all sorts of interesting facts about marine animals. They went out whale watching and saw not only Humpback whales, but also Great white sharks close by. They went out tide pool observation, saw a lot of interesting sea creatures and learned more about their natural habitats. They went out even touching swell sharks inside marine discovery center and learned they sleep during the day and are active at night. It was a very fun 2-day camp for my daughter. And it turns out that the rest of my family enjoyed the beach playing with sand crabs, tide pool hiking and patting sharks as well. I highly recommend this responsible, energetic and fun Shark Camp team!

Coach Bill and his coaches did an excellent job with our children, ages 5 and 8, for the week of…read moreSanta Cruz Soccer Camp. Many of the coaches had attended as children and came back to support the camp, which seems like a great sign to me. The kids played lots of games, took the hot afternoons to play games in the hiking area with lots of trees. Got to enjoy Coach Bill's puppet show and drums and singing. Good wholesome, all around fun!

My kids have been coming for years, and my son is finally in the coach in training program! The…read morecamp is not a competitive/ technical skills soccer development camp; however what you will find is a super fun atmosphere with soccer based drills and games that increase ball touch in a developmentally fun way. They balance the day with nature walks to the creek, some guitar, story telling, etc. Each camp is grouped with an awesome coach- honestly- the sweetest staff that know how to have fun and make kids feel comfortable. And all in a beautiful setting. Overall a solid, fun, and inexpensive camp experience. (I tend to appreciate a bit more of a technical emphasis, hence the 4 stars- but that is only my own personal bias)...