Our son just finished his 5th year at camp. He LOVES it…read more Very expensive but this family owned camp has it down. Their managers and staff are top notch, run operations incredibly smoothly, and recruit and train the counselors to a tight culture of camper focused, healthy fun and personal development. The kids come back a slightly better, fitter versions of themselves going in

they staff was very mean especially andrew. also they dont treat their campers nicley and often…read moremake them feel stupid. they forced a camper to serve condiments to her friends instead of joining them. this is dehuminizing and degrading. another camper was forced to do manual labor such as hauling very hevy items without any help from the lazy counclers. they were extremely disrespectful and even forced us to listen to party 4 u by charlie xcx whilst crying in teh bakcseet not allowed to speak. they treated us as sub human with litle to no considersaton of our feelings. i experienced teh worst day of my life here. the day me and a close friend were forced to stay in a shack while the rest of our friends had fun. all because of a rumor. lastly, girls and boys were rarely allowed to hang out despite having great friendships. please send your kids to another camp where they will have the freedom and respect to be normal. i was also forced to pick up pig poop when doing an activity. BAD

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...

Lori's approach to horsemanship is one of patience and compassion. She introduces her students, who…read morein some cases have no horse experience or looking for an alternative approach to the sometimes harsh nature of conventional training methods, using the natural horsemanship method. Learning to develop a rapport with the horse and using their own intuitive observations to communicate. This is a great way to start learning the very basics of learning to ride and work with the horse. Her students range in age and she tailors her program to each persons energy and ambitions. During the summer Lori hosts a summer camp where the kids get to learn about life on a California farm, aerial dance/ropes/& tissue, acrobatics/dance, natural horsemanship, and performing arts. And did I mention that the setting is to die for... nested among old growth oaks at the top of the soquel foothills over looking the monteray bay with steller 180 degree views. What a spirtual space to grow and play in!

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.

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)...