Let me explain my 5 stars review. If I could give a 10 of 5 - I would give 10. The camp is amazing in so many ways. My 9 y.o. daughter is a happy camper of Woodside Camp for the past two summers and I think I'm familiar with the place enough to share my thought and feelings about it. Counselors: The camp does really good job to bring counselors from all over the world. It amazing when my little one starts to talk about different countries because her favorite counselors came from there. She wasn't very interested in anything outside of US, but after last summer she took books from library about Scotland, Ireland and Australia. All counselors are kind, smart and funny and they love kids! Schedule: My kid never get bored. She tried fencing, drama, art, mountain biking, Volleyball, etc, etc, etc. The idea of creating personal schedule for a week on Monday and have an option to switch activity if you do not like you is super convenient. Every time she comes back with new stories and ideas what she wants to do as an after school activities during school year. Facilities: Woodside Summer Camp is in a boarding school in Woodside. Priory School has huge campus with everything on site. It's great location. Food: As I said before the camp located on a boarding school campus. They provide hot lunch with at list 3 options for salads, main dishes and sides. Moreover, staff carefully looking what exactly on a plate of your child and will softly suggest to add some meat and fruits to pasta. It's huge relief do not pack lunch every day. Happiness of my child: She wakes up by herself without alarm, gets ready to go in minutes and comes back from the camp singing in a car. She wants go to this camp for a whole summer. Price: Few people mentioned that it's not cheap camp and it's true, but considering that it probably $10-12 per day more than other camps in Bay Area your kid gets hot healthy lunch, excess to swimming pool, all these activities and staff that really care. Convenient: Camp goes until 5 pm. I work, so time is important for me. I also don't like after care programs because kids usually do nothing during this time. So making long story short It's great camp and my little one loves and me too. read more

My daughter has gone to this camp for the past two years, and this has been her favorite summer camp both years. The camp is amazingly organized, and what makes it stand out is the quality of the counselors. They are fully engaged with the kids and my kid LOVES them. She tells me she wants to go to this camp every year and become a counselor when she is older. read more

would not recommend, not much else to say besides that. Refund policy is not easy to use .

Challenging to work with. They made a mistake in how they advertised a gift certificate and offered no recourse.

The quintessential summer camp experience... Lovely outdoor setting, a wide variety of outdoor activities, and enthusiastic, engaged counselors. The feel is great - un-crowded and safe - and the camper-staff ratio is good. My 7 year old son did one week of the day camp but wished he had done more. We added on AM care which included breakfast and private swimming lessons at the end of the day. Both were high quality and worth the (fairly high) price. The reason I don't give more stars is that there is room for improvement in their communications. For example, it isn't clear from their website but not all activities listed are offered every week. Also, one day they wanted the campers bring a white shirt for tie-dye and they relied on him to tell me. Needless to say, THAT didn't happen so he had to sit twiddling his thumbs during the tie-dye activity. An email heads-up to parents would have been nice. read more

Stumbled upon this camp thru a neighbor. Having sent my 3 boys ages 9, 11 & 13 to many other camps...most of which they came back from complaining...or if it was a good camp, they'd say, it was fine. They returned from their week at this camp super excited and already requesting we sign them up for next year. The camp population is from all over the world (including the counselors), the options for activities are abundant and my kids raved about the food. What else can you ask for in a sleep-away camp? read more

Despite only available to work here for half a summer, I found being a counselor here extremely fun and meaningful to say the least. The camp community is very supportive and all the counselors know each other and are friends with each other. The camp directors provide feedback to you regularly to help give you the skills needed to interact better with kids. Working here was very meaningful to me as I felt that I was able to change kids lives, especially after kids are stuck in isolation for more than 1 year due to pandemic. One kid I had came from being sad and angry on the first day to being very happy and liking camp on the last day. I believe that camp is a very positive experience for kids and I recommend parents to choose this camp. I also recommend 16+ year olds to apply to work here if they are looking for a meaningful summer job. read more

I love this camp so much! We had just moved from New York. It was our first summer in CA. Our boys were 4 and 5 years old. My husband and I wanted them to go to a camp that was like the experience we had growing up. "Good old Fashion Fun" is what we wanted. This camp helped our boys with their transition and gave them confidence. It was the best thing we did for them! They are now 9 and 10 yrs old and in their 5th summer at Mountain Camp Woodside and love it more than ever! I would not be surprised if they aimed to become Counselors In Training when they get into high school! We are fortunate to have this gem of a camp here in the Silicon Valley area! read more

So disappointed. My son felt that a counselor had given another child preference in an activity. I offered to meet with Amy, one of the counselors to discuss. Unfortunately she was not "able to meet" or "talk"...We have vowed never to return. With so many Camp options, why would I send my son to a camp that was "too busy" to meet with a parent? read more

The very best camp that my kids (8yo, 6yo) have been to by far. One is immediately impressed by the range of activities that are uniquely offered here, from swimming, archery, fencing, horsebackriding, mountain biking, etc. But once you start learning about the dedication of the organizers, the camp counselors and the personal touch they devote to each of the campers, you realize this camp is simply unparalleled. The beautiful, sprawling campus offers so many diverse contexts, my kids always raved about how awesome their lunch was and the extended care really helped accommodate our working schedules. Can't think of a single thing I was disappointed by. read more

They had a great opportunity with this wonderful location to make something special, unfortunately they missed the mark. Perhaps for older kids that can do all the activities it's terrific-I'm basing my review on the five-six year old program. No where did it say that they would watch the slippery slide or that they would be in the wading end of the pool with life vests, it doesn't matter if your child is a proficient swimmer at the breaststroke level. All the wonderful things that you think you're signing up for aren't available at this young age group. There was no real welcome after initial check in. Having done Galilieo where they immediately greet you and put the children in groups and start the camp, here the children wait haphazardly on the baseball field with no counselors in sight for fifteen plus minutes. It was a bit confusing. Tennis-no, archery-no, biking-no, swimming a bust, in the end not much fun. Again, i would like to see reviews from older children as truly the concept of a "real camp experience" is wonderful and the grounds can't be matched. They just have to realize that parents who are putting their kids in this camp (no matter their age) want them to experience everything they have to offer. read more

My 6 year old spent two weeks at Camp Unique Day Camp in Portola Valley last week, and had a fantastic time - I highly recommend this camp! We've tried Galileo and Decathlon as well - both very good - but this camp was definitely the best so far. She played fun games, went blackberry-picking, tye-dyed, made s'mores, adopted a pet rock, and learned more cooking, tennis, hockey, swimming, and even archery! For an additional price, you can do private swim or horseback riding lessons, too. Most of all, the counselors were very sweet, and the kids got along very well. They take 5-15 years, but divide up by age. I thought all the activities were very age appropriate and very fun/camplike - this was the first camp she's attended in the Bay Area with a real "camp" feel! Their website is www.campunique.com. Have fun! read more

Great camp! Superb staff! These people went out of their way to work with my 10 YO son, who wasn't quite as eager as my 7 YO daughter to start summer camp. They kept me in the loop as to how he was doing thru-out the day to allay my anxieties, and in the end, my son had a fantastic experience, as did my girl. They are BOTH now looking forward to going to Mountain Camp Tahoe next month for a week of fun. Many thanks to Jim & the entire Mountain Camp staff; you guys were phenomenal. read more

I am extremely disappointed with this camp. I had to let them know four weeks in advance that my daughter was extremely ill and could not attend the camp the following month. I had to do this with a number of other camps, all of which either gave me my money back or gave me a credit towards participating in camp in 2018. Jim was very helpful but let me know that he could only give me $250 credit towards next year. Unfortunately, this means I am losing $595. I was told that I should have purchased "camp cancellation insurance' which I knew nothing about to start with. My advice to anyone attending this camp is purchase this insurance. Even with a doctors note, they could not find it in their heart to give me a refund or credit. read more

My 10 year old had an AMAZING time! Made new friends, had fun adventures, and was singing camp songs for weeks. He was begging to go back the same week next year, having already made plans to meet up with the buddies he made. He said the food was great, plenty of activities as well as kick back time. read more

This place is fabulous! My kid went to this camp from the age of 8 to 12...great outdoorsy fun, great counselors from around the world, very responsive to emails and questions and they have covered every last detail -- consistently impressed!! read more

I know this camp since it was called Camp Unique. Best for school age kids between 7 and 12. The grounds are beautiful, the staff is awesome, numerous fun activities. My kids loved archery and horse back riding. It is however quite expensive once you add options for extended care, riding and swimming lessons. read more

Great camp with amazing and super engaged counselors. This year my 9 years old did the resident camp and could not have had more fun. We'll be back next year. read more

My 8 year old daughter loves this camp! (previously known as camp Unique) She has such fond memories of the day camp from each year that she has begged me to sign her up every summer since kindergarten. They have activities like swimming, archery, arts, creek adventures, mountain biking etc... and even optional horse back riding lessons. For the rest of the summer after leaving the camp she cherishes the tye die t-shirts she makes, the friendship bracelets, and the memories of the fun play-skits and camp songs they learn and perform. I personally like that it has a real traditional camp-like feel and is setup on a gorgeous facility. I haven't gotten to know all the counselors, but her specific counselors have been consistently good, fun, and positive. We have seen a lot of the same locals year after year and met some great out-of-towners. I always felt they were on the high side of pricing in the past, but they appropriately dropped the prices this year so I feel we are comparatively getting our money's worth to other camps. Another new bonus for this year is that they are offering a flex plan where you can buy a certain number of day passes that you can pick and choose on random weeks that fits around travel schedules. The days can be so much fun, but long for little ones, so I also like this option to break it up a bit. My daughter is also a strict vegetarian and the chef kindly accommodates for her diet when preparing the hot lunch. Overall a great Place! We look forward to sending her again this summer for more great memories. read more