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[quote=Anonymous]Np here. I’m in CA now but used to live in DC and first got the idea of a family camp 2-3 years ago when I told a friend that I needed a vacation where I wasn’t the planner, entertainment, meal organizer etc. We’re both from New England originally and she said friends loved their family camp in Maine. I don’t know which that was, but googling it looks like there were a few. Asking around I heard from a few friends that go to Tyler Place and completely love it / return again.

For us in CA I found Montecito Family Lodge (in a National Park) and Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center. The lodge only had one room cabins left and at the time the area had recently had a forest fire so I picked the vacation center.

While you probably won’t travel that far, I can share some of my experience that I think might be applicable to other camps (and things that might not be):

We went two summers ago. We actually had to leave midway through due to Covid (which I think we’d picked up before hand) and they were great about refunding. We stayed in dorms - each family gets a suite (ours was two rooms) and for the adults they push the beds together and pit a mattress topper across to make it a king. So it wasn’t glamorous but it also wasn’t sleeping in a tent. The kids (5 and 9 then; so 7 and 11 now) have been begging to go back so we’re returning this summer. We’re not alums, though many people are.

We were surprised how many people have gone for 10 or more years, coordinate to be there at the same time as other friends, and the counselors often grew up going there as well. Everyone was welcoming to us a newcomers though.

Because the kids’ programming starts at 9 am, breakfast was at 8 am. The cafeteria we all ate in was right there but we still had to get up, do sunscreen / get kids ready and get them to breakfast so there was no sleeping in (or at least not for both of us). There were lots of optional adult activities - this worked well for my husband and me as I’m quite extroverted and he’s quite introverted. I could go off with a group to kayak or hike or we could go together (we did a food tour together).

When on campus, everything / everyone was situated around one quad. This had pros and cons. My children - especially my 9 year old - could come and go from activities on her own. (Forth grade and up doesn’t require a parent pickup) kids of all ages would gather outside planned activities and play horseshoes or volleyball etc. They had a bounce house set up almost the whole time which my 5 yr old loved. But it was outside the dorms and next to the pool so there wasn’t really a quiet place right on campus.

The balance of time with family and time on our own as a couple and time on our own as individuals was nice. I found things surprisingly exhausting even as an extrovert, but probably because I signed up for everything and maybe was getting sick! (Hubby and kids tested positive for Covid day 4 of our trip so we left, I tested positive 4 days later.)

I know people who hired camp counselors on their breaks (many were willing to babysit) to help during meals so they didn’t have to carry all the trays, pop up and down etc. My 9 year old could get her own food but my 7 year old needed more help and meals could feel a little rushed. So it wasn’t the total relaxation I imagined but I did have fun. My younger daughter in particular made a “best friend” almost immediately and the kids liked having a consistent friend group for the week. That said, I feel like family trips are getting easier and on our last (at my request) my husband planned more meals and the kids played well with random kids they met in the pool. It’s not the same as one consistent group for the week - which may be the big advantage of this style - and didn’t give us a break from our kids to be alone, but that’s less of a priority as they get a little older.

I did get a massage at family camp and the masseuse told me that the return clients tend to sign up for fewer and fewer activities each year, and I do see how just opting out while kids are busy would make it more relaxing.

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