Why are all the sleepaway camps in the general DC vicinity so underwhelming?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here--for everyone who actually contributed with suggestions, thank you all so much!

I realize now that maybe our best option would be to simply just consider camps slightly farther away--I don't think I would want to send her all the way up to the area I went to overnight camp (in New England), but it seems that there's some pretty good options in places such as PA and southern NY. With PA in particular, the drive wouldn't be THAT much farther than some of the camps I've already looked at in the area, and it seems many offer a bus anyways.

My concern about sending her to a slightly farther away camp has nothing to do with distance/driving time, but rather that she'll be the ONLY one from the DC area at camp. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of her having friends from all along the East Coast (as opposed to many camps in the area which mostly attract D.C. area kids), but I don't want her to be SO far away from everyone else that her camp friends would be having reunions that she couldn't go to because she lives too far away, no one in the area who she may be able to meet up with beforehand to get to know, etc. Most of the camps in these areas seem to cater mostly to families from NY/NJ/PA (and I guess FL).

Does anyone have suggestions of camps in PA/NY that a decent number of families from the DC area go to? We are actually from NoVA and I am perfectly aware that there's a good chance we will be the only Virginia family at any of these given camps (all of my Jewish friends in Virginia either send their kids to the "underwhelming" camps I described earlier or to camps that are actually Jewish), but I presume there are some that attract campers from Maryland.

I get what you mean about Louise. I had the same concerns for my kids, especially the lack of a lake. We ended up choosing a camp in NY with a gorgeous lake and they fly on a chaperoned flight to Albany. It works just fine and honestly the weather is just so much better up there than even in PA.

Please share the camp name!

The problem with PA is lots of rain, bugs, hot/humid weather. When you get further north, the weather is just incredible.

[Anonymous]

My child goes to Farm and Wilderness camp in VT and is far from the only DC-area kid there. Usually, there's a bus that takes them up there, but we haven't had it because of COVID. I am indeed from NYC but know plenty of people in DC whose parents are not from the Acela corridor and who send their kids to camp (people from Ecuador! Mexico! Wisconsin!) I've heard good things about Catochtin (sp?), a Quaker camp in VA. Anyway, don't listen to people who say it's an uncaring thing to do. I'm doing it because it was a great experience for me and the people I grew up with who had the opportunity to do it, and guess what, my child is also having a great experience.

[Anonymous]

I think it is not as widely used since DC area has fewer crazy rich people. Those camps are ridiculously expensive

[Anonymous]

OP, you sound exhausting (and probably exhausted) in this thread.
You want a camp that is Jewish, but not too Jewish. Nature-y, but not too nature-y. Campy, but not too campy. Near, but not too near. With lots of Marylanders, but not too many Marylanders.

There are a lot of great camp options out there. Nothing is perfect - isn't that part of the point of camp?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you sound exhausting (and probably exhausted) in this thread.
You want a camp that is Jewish, but not too Jewish. Nature-y, but not too nature-y. Campy, but not too campy. Near, but not too near. With lots of Marylanders, but not too many Marylanders.

There are a lot of great camp options out there. Nothing is perfect - isn't that part of the point of camp?

Not helpful, PP. Just mean-spirited.