My kids love this camp!…read more Imagine the cliche tv summer camp--cabins and friendship bracelets and archery... Add in fun learning opportunities--like street art and cooking and trapeze and rock band... Plus extra outdoor adventure--ropes course, ATVs, lake water sports... And make it fully supervised with qualified counselors and coaches, lifeguards, excellent wellness protocols, and a fabulous camper to staff ratio so parents feel it's safe... And that's Pali. 5 Stars and then some!

I want to kick myself for not sending him sooner. My son had the best time of his life. He had new…read morefun experiences. He gained the courage to try things that scared him, like the zipline, and was able to overcome his fears. He said he went on two more times after. He was able to get over his social anxiety and made several new friends. He was soo excited to see us and tell us all about his adventures when we picked him up he started spilling his stories before we even got back into the car. I found this place years ago and was too afraid to send him off by himself. It was best thing I could have done for him this summer. I want to kick myself for not sending him 5 years ago when I first found them. If you are considering it but are apprehensive about letting your child go, I will suggest for you to get over it. Your child will thank you. He definitely will be back next year

Camp Whittle is owned and operated by the Los Angeles YMCA and has an excellent sleep away summer…read moreand winter camp program for kids of all ages in Big Bear Lake! My child has gone for years and has enjoyed learning so much from so many incredible staff!! I highly recommend camp whittle for children of all ages even teenagers looking to learn how to be a camp counselor!! Camp whittle gets kids away from iPhones and into the forest where they have fun and make friends!!!!

Not happy with this year camp. Please refer to East Valley YMCA yelp page for detail experience…read morereview.

My son and nephew went camping and the place was fun, they loved spending the week there and we…read morehighly recommend the cabins, service and the place in general

Amazing place for God to move. It was cool, I liked it a lot as a counselor for both student…read moreministry and youth. They truly love what they are doing there and serving these kids the best they can.

This is the best Camp my kids ever been to!! They absolutely loved it, staff was happy and…read moreenergetic with kids Leaving electronics and all the commotion of the Valley behind this camp is a secluded Natural Amazing place. I was apprehensive to leave my kids for the first time on a away camp but the camp staff assured me my kids would have fun and boy they did... fishing, fire camps, archery, rock climbing, lake kayaking, hiking, swimming and just being around nature took my kids breath away my son literally told me "I never felt so peaceful like this week before" Definitely will be signing them up next year, thank you Sandra and all the staff for providing such a fun place for kids to be kids again, definitely a 10.

We had a mixed bag of adventures at Camp Nawakwa. Lol…read more There were a wide variety of activities and we had a camp staff to lead us in each. We loved the nature hike we had "Jelly" (a couple of our groups got rained out-obviously to no fault of the camp), we enjoyed archery, paint ball sling shots with "Stitch", painting wood necklaces, drama circle, and an amphitheater with breathtaking views of the the sunset. We loved our hike to the lake for canoeing. I too thought the pool was chilly but it was clean! Their swim rules seemed to be really intense to me. "No jumping off the edge of the pool" hmmm ok. In my opinion overly cautious. However, the Rock wall was a blast, equipment was in good condition. Hatchet throwing was hard, but fun. I wish the hatchets were sharp enough to grab the wood. It was rare anyone stuck one into the log rounds. Some combination of wood being too hard or axes not balanced correctly made that activity a struggle. We enjoyed trying. The team building activities were thoughtful and stretched our girls as individuals and forced team unity. Maybe my favorite part of all of camp. They lost a star for food quality and portions but the staff was always in good spirit. I also wish our group had the entire cafeteria to ourselves as we often were low on space at tables and often went outside as our designated seating was full. But the food was served on time and they got a lot of people food in timely fashion. They were organized. Our cabins were dry when it rained and i felt safe from the elements and wildlife that can live nearby. Some mattresses were thicker than others. I was comfortable enough for a week of camping. The plumbing struggled at times but not sure that was the camps fault or the 85 GIRLS who MAY have not disposed of things properly. Lol Overall I think with some retraining on camp cooking and a minor tweak here and there this would be a 5 star camp. The location was beautiful. The staff was friendly. The activities were super fun!

Super fun for a family. Great beer selection. Instructors give a lesson before you start. My…read morehusband and 10 year old daughter had a blast

What a cool experience this is!! Bravo Dalton, made us feel right at home from the get go. And the…read morepointers were right on. Side note, selection of craft beers is awesome.

I just want to say how much I love this camp! The Downey branch counselors and directors were very…read morecool with me and I consider them as one of my close friends, not to mention most of them have been going to camp since they were kids, and I wish I did the same as they've done! They are one of the most prominent people in my life and I'll most definitely return because I enjoyed being friends with them! Just want to show how much I appreciate their love and support! Also some of them went to Downey and Warren High School!

This year my 3 kids showed an interest in going camping and participating in a seven day camping…read moretrip through the Ymca . I was able to meet the counselor's and the directors of the camp and I felt very comfortable sending my kids away for a whole week. While they were gone to camp I had the opportunity of sending them a care package, writing them letters, sending them daily emails, and looking at pictures of them that are posted online during the trip. It felt really good to be able to go online and look at pictures of what my kids were doing during the day. When I picked them up and ask them how their trip went they were excited to say that they wanted to go again next year. They talked about all of the fun things that they did from swimming in the big pool with the waterslide, archery, canoeing, zip lining, walking ropes, camp fires , wrist rockets , playing games, dance contests, a dance party, a carnival and going to the lake. Thank you to Ymca for being able to put together a great vamp for the kids . Looks like we will see you next year!

It's fun and affordable:) but prepare for lady bugs!!! Courses were diverse but not to advancedread more

This place is amazing it's a very fun little course that is easy to play I had a great time with my…read morefamily and even somehow managed to get a hole in 1 on hole number 11!! If you ever come to Big Bear you need to check this place out it's fun affordable and family friendly!! I highly recommend trying this out even if you're an avid or amateur mini golfer!! It's 100% worth it and you won't regret it!!

For camping... There are 12 free campsites spread out over a few miles... quite far apart, and…read moreprivate. Not all sites are conducive to RVs (I have no trouble in my campervan ). Closed in winter. This is the mountains... be prepared for bears, raccoons, coyotes etc. There are fire rings, but no toilets, picnic tables, or water. However, there are bathrooms at the children's Forest (which you pass halfway up) and you are close enough to town to get a pizza (or supplies). Drive (or hike) to the top, take your time, and climb the fire tower. Read about the history of the tower and enjoy the amazing view from up there.

If you're looking for a more strenuous trail, look no further than the Mill Peak Trail along Keller…read morePeak. You'll definitely want to follow along on the All Trails app. Though keep in mind that cell service is pretty limited on most of the trails around Lake Arrowhead. Parking is pretty limited at the trailhead with tiny parking spaces located on both sides of the main road. So arrive early for the best parking options. We hit the trail going clockwise and felt the burn as we headed up the mountainside. It's listed as "moderate" on the All Trails app but we both felt it edged much more into the "hard" category. There is one section where we literally were scaling the steep trail -- taking 3 steps forward and slipping 2 steps back (or so it felt like!). The trail eventually takes you up to the top where you'll get views of the lowlands below. It's truly beautiful. It's also one of the less popular trails so you won't likely see many people along your trek. After wrapping up your hike, head back to the car and make the side trip to Keller Peak Fire Lookout. During our visit, the lookout tower interior was closed due to COVID-19. But it's still worth making the journey to chat with the lookout ranger and hear what it takes to be a volunteer. In one word: peaceful. Though our ranger volunteer was very chatty. Clearly, he didn't see many people this weekend besides us! It was well worth the journey!