Both my sons have loved this camp over the past few years. It's the perfect mix of skills-building…read moreand playing ultimate just for the joy of the game. As manager of Alameda Ultimate's middle school team, I've also recommended this to our players every year, and no matter their experience level, they come away with stronger skills and an even greater love of the game. Thank you, Bay Area Disc, for once again offering this amazing camp in Alameda.

Great summer camp. My middle school son loves it. He usually doesn't like any camps but this one he…read moreloves. It's more than just frisbee. The coaches are great!

My family loves Mountain Camp and it's the highlight of my children's summer. My 13-year old…read moredaughter has attended for 4 years and my 9-year old son attended for the first time this year. Both my children have severe, epi-pen level food allergies (to peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, legumes, soy milk and egg). Mountain Camp is the only camp that was willing to take on my children for two weeks and have a detailed allergy protocol in place. In advance of camp, I communicate with the culinary team to understand the menu for the session (they have a wide variety of food from around the world and different lunches and dinners every day). I partner closely with the wonderful chef and kitchen team to ensure the menu is safe for my kids (and I bring replacements for items which are not). I trust the team completely and my daughter reports that they are the safest camp she has been to (she has been to sleep away camp in Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand and in school outdoor education camps in California). Both my daughter and son have a warm relationship with the chef and go to her directly, most often for second servings! We have not had any incidents and the camp is incredibly responsive in our experience. We are grateful to Mountain Camp for their kindness, diligence and the magic that makes this summer camp so special for all the campers. See you next year!

This is the second year my child attended Mountain camp. She has food allergies and the first year,…read moreout of an abundance of caution, I sent her with food just in case she felt she could not eat the food served. Turns out she did not need the food. Bolstered by this positive result, we did not send her with food this year. Yesterday, two days before she was scheduled to return home, I received a call that my daughter self administered her Epi pen after consuming an allergen. My husband and I raced two hours to meet my daughter at the ER in Placerville and decided to bring her home, letting the staff know of our decision. The following day, after leaving an email, voice mail and text, the camp director finally called us mid afternoon. Apparently a health emergency does not warrant a before noon check in. I confirmed my daughter's recollection, that their head kitchen staff gave my daughter a gluten free cookie, insisting it was free of egg, the item she is severely allergic to. My daughter, having been raised to be overly cautious, asked the staff member twice to check and confirm. The staff member insisted it was safe and did not bother to check. My daughter ate the cookie, suffering an allergic reaction within seconds. She travelled with a counselor and a nurse to the ER and waited for us to arrive. That she was scared is an understatement. Mountain camp is a beautiful camp staffed by well meaning people. They are not, however, capable of ensuring your child's safety when it comes to food allergies. The camp was well aware of my daughter's allergies. She was the only one at the session that they had to show special concern. The head kitchen staff member selected a cookie that looked identical to the safe cookie, but never bothered to double check that she had made the right choice. In fact, the cookie was correctly labeled as gluten free but not vegan, which should have been the tip off. Her carelessness led to a medical emergency for my daughter one which was completely avoidable. After discussing further with the camp director, it became doubly clear that they have ineffective policies in place and no redundancy. They have no business claiming that they are safe for campers with food allergies if they can't even be trusted to double check. My daughter trusted the staff member as she would an aunt or other family adult friend. Despite her positive experience in other aspects of the camp, we will not return. I do not advise other parents with food allergic children to have them attend unless you have confirmed that they have out in place basic safety and redundancy protocols for their camp, including staff training. Even then I would think twice or encourage against it.

Our family had long appreciated the mission and values of Camp Tawonga. One of our children…read moreattended Taste of Camp and had a truly wonderful experience. As someone who works in the Jewish community, I had frequently recommended Tawonga to others, believing in the strength of its programming and community spirit. Unfortunately, our experience left us feeling deeply disappointed. Our child was registered for a summer session but was unable to attend due to the sudden passing of a close family member just days before camp began. As the family member's funeral was held out of state and organized by us, attending camp was simply not possible. We informed camp staff in advance, sharing both the situation and the fact that we are a financial aid family, and asked if any credit or accommodation could be made for a future session. We received single-sentence emails with zero condolences stating that the policy was no refund (which we didn't request) or credit. It was such a strange response we wondered if it was AI. Despite multiple follow-ups from us during a time of grief, we were told nothing could be done because the deadline had passed. At long last, the only acknowledgment of our loss was a brief line hoping the funeral preparations were going well--no further condolences or recognition of our child's disappointment were offered. By contrast, another camp we had registered with for a different child responded with immediate compassion--offering a partial refund without being asked, sending condolences, and even making a small kind gesture when our child was finally able to attend for a shortened period. As a family raising Jewish children and deeply involved in the Jewish community, this lack of empathy from a camp we had held in such high regard was especially painful. We weren't asking for a refund, just understanding and flexibility in a time of extraordinary personal loss. We struggled to name the Jewish value being demonstrated by Tawonga and still do. We will never return to Tawonga in the future--both due to financial constraints and a lack of confidence that our children's emotional needs would be supported in difficult times. The Jewish sleepaway camp we've attended for the past several years has actually lived and walked the values they advertise, and we couldn't be happier. We share this with the hope that it encourages a deeper reflection on how grief, compassion, and community care are handled. We continue to believe in the power of the Jewish community and wish all campers and families positive experiences in the future. -- A Jewish Family in the Bay Area

My kids had an incredible time at Camp Tawonga and will be returning next year. They are a…read morefantastic team, running a fun, safe, joy-filled and child-centered experience.

Camp Chrysalis is an incredible camp. The director Lee is very responsive and passionate about…read moreproviding a wonderful experience to the kids who attend camp. It was my kids first time away from home & one of the first things they said when we picked them up after a week long camp was that they would love to go back next year, no hesitation. They are still singing the songs that they learned and talking about the experience. It is obvious that the staff love what they do and outdoor adventures are an integral part of their lives.

My teen and pre-teen had the time of their lives backpacking and swimming in mountain lakes during…read morethis year's Sierra Session. It was a TON of fun. So many lakes to swim in and so many nights solely amongst the trees and the stars. They made new friends and reunited with old ones from the previous year (pre-pandemic). Many counselors and trip leaders attended Chrysalis as youngsters and have astonishingly returned. It says a lot about the camp, its director Lee Tempkin, and the warm, nurturing, exciting and educational environment they create. Two of my youngest children also attended the Mendocino Session in 2019, their first time away from home. Well, truth be told, I am not sure they missed us *too* much with all the adventures and friendships to be had! Everyone helped prepare and cook meals. The also learned to work in teams around camp. Real world lessons. Swimming, hiking, canoing, catamaran sailing, tidepooling and even rollicking in the sand dunes... wow! This is a *real* adventure and a *real* experience. It is tent camping in a base camp and exploring the wonder that surrounds. Awesome fun and creative activities abound. Nature at its best, making epic summer memories.

This was my son's first year at Camp Edmo (he has attended camps at Oakland Rec Center and YMCA)…read more So far Camp Edmo is his favorite! He says he LOVES it. PRICING $439 a week is extremely pricey compared to Rec Centers at $180 a week. You get discounts for registering early or enrolling more than 2+ weeks. LUNCH Lunch was included in the pricing and you get to customize the lunch in advance online/ on the app, which was very easy to use. The lunch options were extensive and for the most part he said he enjoyed his lunch! EXTENDED CARE THEME DAYS On Tuesdays, they wore their green Camp EDMO shirt. Some Thursday's were themed ie. July 4th theme, wacky tacky day, DIY duct tape day. COMMUNICATION All the camp counselors were very friendly and easy to talk to. It was nice to receive an email regarding what the kids did each day and reminders for what to wear the next day. But the communication wasn't received daily - perhaps it geared towards reminders for the next day. EDMO Vibe Game They give out these cute EDMO magnet cards for participation or kind acts: Smile, Banana, Stump etc. And once they reach a certain number of cards the kids get upgraded to different levels. He was so excited to tell me about the cards he received. When he made it to the first level, he got a button. But I think he made it to the 2nd level but didn't get his prize, which was a EDMO hat. Future suggestion: email or print out the guidelines for parents to get the kids more engaged! SAFETY For the most part, the camp counselors that didn't recognize me asked to check IDs for pickup. The facility (Redwood Day School) is in a safe neighborhood. Overall, I would highly recommend CAMP EDMO if you can afford it. But if you have to struggle to pay for it - there are alternatives.

Another successful week at Edmo. My 9 year old daughter came home and said, "I really like Edmo. I…read morewish you'd send me more!" THAT'S what every parent wants to hear. Thank you so much, Edmo!

Ultimate frisbee camp is the best! It is one of my son's favorite camps. The counselors are…read moreamazing, and it's a very welcoming environment. His frisbee skills improved considerably, and he had a great time. He'll be back for sure!

This camp was super fun for my daughter, and she even learned how to throw a forehand. The camp…read morebreaks into groups depending on experience level, but the kids also all get to play together. So the all-inclusive nature of it really worked well for us. It was not only affordable, the camp offered some great enrichment programming for girls (GURLS) which really resonated with my kid. Besides playing Ultimate, the kids get to play other fun games, such as dodgeball, etc. Bring a sweatshirt, it can be cold and windy on the Gilman fields in the Summer :)

Best summer camp experience I could hope for my child who is now a counselor there. It was one of…read morethe best choices I've made as a parent.

A couple of my friends moved to Madison, Wisconsin this year and they said there is only one thing…read morethe kids really miss in Berkeley, and that is Camp Kee Tov. My daughter and two of her friends from her school are so excited to be going to camp here this year. They have so much fun everyday! If I was a kid again, I would beg my parents to send me to Camp Kee Tov too.

My son recently attended Acteeva Camp. He had a blast! I would highly recommend this camp. He…read morereally enjoyed the activities, which were many and varied, including games, crafts, hikes and more. Although it was a small group of campers (about a dozen - probably since this is the first summer the camp has been offered), they provided the advertised structure and rotated through the activities, so that each day all campers did 5 different activities. It happened to be very hot the week my son attended, but they managed to keep the kids healthy with plenty of water games and frozen watermelon treats. There was good shade at the site. The site backs up against Briones and they took hikes there. Not a lot of shade, but they were very conscientious about proper hiking protocol and the kids learned some good skills. My son will never forget his trip to the "Magic Forest!" I didn't have a lot of contact with the counselors, but my son seemed to enjoy them very much. He never made a negative comment. From what I could tell, they were a creative and enthusiastic group. I did find the enrollment process a little overwhelming, due to all the activity choices, but that would be my only complaint. My son is still talking about the fun things he did. I know he has some great memories now. Go Acteeva!

Excellent day camp, the experienced staff really knows how to keep the children interested,…read morelearning, and having fun and the parents assured of the quality of their management of the program. It was the first year of the summer camp, so I was a little worried that there were only a dozen kids, and it was just starting up, but excellent handling of all the details by the staff and the fact that my son loved it from day 1, really made me feel relieved and confident that he was happy and well cared for. He always looked forward to going back the next day, sang the songs he learned there in the car on the way home, he LOVED the water games they played in the field and the three headed professor game, wall ball and basketball, etc, also he got to choose every day between several sports and activities and especially loved setting up a tent and the camping skills games they taught him. Very nice field location with lots of shade, located 1 block from the intersection of Hwy 24 near Hwy 680, so easy to get to. The counselors were very helpful and understanding about caring for him several days until 5:30 or 6pm when I couldn't pick him up before 3:30. We are from Washington D.C., currently living in Mexico City, and we were visiting with my sister who lives in Lafayette, and the camp staff was very helpful with everything we needed as out of towners. Also, every Friday they gave each camper an award for the different way each camper excelled or helped out during that week, and my son TREASURES his awards. Very motivational for him. I highly recommend this excellently conceived and operated day camp.