Barrie camp worth the price tag?
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Anonymous
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Hi,
Am looking for summer camps for rising 1st grader. Barrie looks great on paper, with the huge outdoor campus and 2/X day swimming, but it is expensive compared to other options we are considering (Camp Sonshine, YMCA, Roundhouse Theater). I have read other comments about Barrie, which were pretty mixed, although most of them were before last summer. I wondered if anyone could comment who went there last summer with a young kid? TIA! |
Anonymous
| We did it and it was definitely not worth the money. It was just daycare. A lot of HS students earning community service hours as counselors. Definitely nothing special and not worth the money. |
Anonymous
| I actually shy away from camps that swim 2x per day. My kids feel like they spend half the day going to the pool changing/changing back etc...but I can not comment on that camp. |
Anonymous
| Never done Barrie camp, but Camp Sonshine is awesome. DD has had a great time there, the counselors are really good, and it's just very well-run. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks for the responses. We did sign up DD for Camp Sonshine for 4 weeks b/c we heard how great it is! Sounding like Camp Barrie is probably not worth the price tag. Thank you! |
Anonymous
| Just saw these reviews and thought I'd put my two cents in though obviously too late for this year. My kids have been with Barrie Camp for 13 years. They loved it as campers and love it still as staff. Those "lots of high school kids" that are supposedly there just to get SSL hours -- not so, the vast bulk of them are former campers who are working there because they love the camp. There are a lot of high school and college kids there -- it gives the campers personal attention and I know that those same staffers take their responsibilities seriously. My children made life long friends at the camp and still look forward to going back year after year. As campers they came home every afternoon exhausted from all that they had done but excited about returning the following day and the following year. My kids loved the archery, the riding, the learning to canoe (yes the lake is small), flagpole, the special days (especially Klondike Day), the field trips, but mostly they loved the other people -- campers and staff that they met each year. We have always considered it worth every penny we spent on it. |
Anonymous
| how much we're talking? |
Anonymous
| No, it's not. Camp management and staff often do not respond to parents' calls or emails, and when they do, they are often dismissive of parents' concerns. They also say they have instructional swim several times a week, but that rarely happens as regularly as they claim, and when it does, it's a joke. So if you want your kids to learn anything about how to swim at camp, then send them somewhere else. This is a common complaint from parents, but the camp does little to address it. |
Anonymous
| Our experiences with Barrie have been great. Both of our sons went and enjoyed it. There are a great variety of activities, so they were not bored. And the camp has a lot of spirit, with special themed Fridays events every two weeks. My kids looked forward to that. They also had the chance to go on overnight camping trips to lots of great state parks in MD. My older son returned as a counselor, and my younger one is looking forward to being a CIT this year. I found the staff attentive and helpful. (And about the twice a day swimming --if you child wants to sit out the swim and just have some chill time, that works too.) |
Anonymous
| Any recent experiences for Barrie camp? |
Anonymous
| How about the riding program at Barrie? |
Anonymous
| My daughters have done Barrie Camp for the last two summers and they love it. They don't attend all 8 weeks. We pick and choose weeks depending on other interests. Last year they started offering more specialty camps like Baking/Cooking, Coding,etc and this year it appears they have expanded on it. A new camp director started last summer I believe and the office is run well, she has added these specialty camps and we really have had no problems.They still have the traditional camp day and activities as well. One of my daughters did the horseback riding camp for the first time last summer and has already told me she wants to go back again. I think it's totally worth the money, 9-4 and they come back hungry and happily tired! |
Anonymous
| As a former camper at Barrie it was absolutely the best experience. It offers beautiful camp grounds in the suburbs that does not require boarding. I am now an older adult that attended the Peter Pan School, Barrie day school, and camp. If you can afford it, your Kids won't be disappointed. |
Anonymous
Thank you for reviving a 13yo thread. |