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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I realize that sounds a bit harsh, so let me clarify. By "underwhelming" I don't mean that I think the facilities/activities/etc. are bad or anything--from most of the camps I've looked at, they all seem pretty wonderful and well-run.

By "underwhelming," I mean there are virtually NO camps in this area that seem to really have the "family" feel that I got growing up at the overnight camp I went to growing up (in the Northeast), and many of my friends did at their camp (I grew up in the New York metro area). Oh, and by "in the DC area," I mean within a few hours drive, so like anywhere in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, maybe even southern PA/the PA/MD border. I am researching overnight camps for my daughter and I have yet to find a SINGLE camp in this area that offers 3-4 week sessions/where most campers attend for at least a month and it seems like the same people return year after year. Almost all of the camps in WV/VA, etc. offer two week sessions at most, with the option to just multiply sessions if a camper wants to stay longer. Heck, I even found a camp (Sandy Hill) where you aren't ALLOWED to stay more than three weeks! And it seems like most people who go to those camps seem to go for a quick summer getaway/to try sleepaway camp out rather than it being their "home."

The one exception seems to be the Jewish camps in the general area, i.e. Airy/Louise and Capital Camps--which seem like really good camps and we are Jewish, so those are an option. However, my daughter seems awfully bored at Hebrew School and I'm thinking she would more enjoy a more secular-type camp, but I was hoping I would be able to find one that seems to attract a lot of Jewish families (similar to the one I went to growing up) so my daughter could make more Jewish friends through camp. Unfortunately, camps like those don't really exist in this area either.

Yes, I realize if I'm that desperate, I could just send her to a camp slightly farther away (i.e. the Pocono Mountains or NY), but it's just baffling to me that there isn't a better option in this area. The natural surroundings in the greater DC area are gorgeous, and [b]it shocks me that almost none of the camps seem to really take advantage of the nature in the area--there aren't really any camps on a large lake that offer waterskiing/watersports for example, which was a big defining factor of the camps my friends went to growing up. [/b]With the general beautiful surroundings of the area, you would think more camps would take advantage of making their camp into a true "camp" experience with longer sessions and many returning families.

Does anyone get a similar vibe from camps in the area and moreover, have any theories as to WHY virtually no camps in this area compare to camps in the NE with long sessions, gorgeous facilities, and an extremely close-knit family feel?[/quote]

Maryland has no natural lakes and Virginia has only a couple of small ones.  W. Virginia may have one.

Kettle lakes, as natural lakes formed by glaciers are called, are not a feature of this region.  That has a huge impact on the (lack of) water sports.[/quote]

Plus this area is literally built on a swamp, so people like to GTFOH in the summer, as a family. They don't tend to see their kids much of the rest of the year, with long hours.

That, and traditionally, there were not as many Jewish people in this geographic area as there are/were in other areas. [/quote]

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