First sleep away camp for my 11 yo son and he left begging to return next summer! We chose MRR based on reviews, location, plethora of activities and philosophy. Anna was extremely helpful and diligently answered all of my questions before we committed to registration. My son didn't know anyone else attending camp but his counselor quickly took him under his wing and made sure he was comfortable. The letters we received at home talked about his adventures each day and aside from forgetting to eat lunch in favor of ice cream at the fair, he didn't have one bad day (expect for the last day which he was sad to leave!) All around amazing experience and we will be returning. read more

Mountain Meadow Ranch Summer Camp - Summer Camps Near Me - Susanville, California

Thinking of MMR always brings a smile to my face and my heart glows with warm memories . I went here as a kid for 10 weeks every summer for 4 summers in the 60's and my kids for 3-6 weeks every summer for 5 seasons in the late 90's and now my grand kids go. We all love this place and consider a home away from home. nothing but good things to say about this camp and these people. read more

I was a camper at MMR for many years. My mom did a lot of research on summer camps, and was finally able to find MMR. After attending an info session in person, we went with MMR and I am so glad I did. The counselors are all amazing, attentive, and fun. I've remained friends with my fellow campers 10+ years later and I'm still in touch with the counselors I had. The property itself is beautiful, and a technology free environment is so important and beneficial. My favorite activities were always horseback riding and art. Some of my best childhood memories are at MMR (especially Color Wars!!) and I highly recommend this camp to anyone looking to send their kid(s) to summer camp. I couldn't have asked for a more positive, organized, joyful experience. I'm attaching a few of my favorite memories, including jumping into the lagoon after a horseback ride! read more

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To Jack E. Jr.: May have been a bit hasty in my previous review. The many experiences at this camp compared to one 2-hour issue I had makes me feel very immature for acting with haste in my previous review of MMR. I made an original review of this camp in 2015 based on one hard-ass case I had in 1977 (one day in two annual visits and a combined total of 3 weeks stay) which in the grand scheme of things should not weight upon this Camp rank-wise which has done a great job over many years. Most of the time I had a wonderful time there and thank my parents for having me go there. Had a lot of great experiences, made a lot of friends, and learned how to become a good fisherman, as a counselor took me aside outside of the common fishing time and took me personally to a special fishing hole to learn how to catch and gut a fish. Learned how to fall off a horse too . Apologies and hope this rating helps move the Camp up on the scale of potential views of the camp online. Erik K. read more

Dear parents, please be mindful when sending your children there. The posting has so many fake reviews. This place is unsafe. Our children are so often unsupervised daily and absolutely no supervision during night time. Anybody can enter the campus! Many badly treated and neglected children mid/after SessionA, Summer 2022. It's needed to be investigated by special authorities! I won't recommend this place. Thank you read more

My daughter just spent 2 weeks at camp, and had an amazing time. She loved the friends she made, all the councilors were so sweet and amazing role models, she loved all the activities. And especially riding horses, the day at the lake, and the over night camp out under the stars. It was nice to have her make new friends, in such a beautiful environment, and get to enjoy new experiences. I would definitely send her again. They really take great care of the property. There's so many things for the kids to do. Riding horses, ceramics, zip lining, camping out, trips to the lake, swimming, water activities, etc. read more

nice place and well kept...Winter, you may not have many options for dining therefore, do your research...i will say there is a remarkable coffee shop *Severe coffee* across the street and they have some food items read more

If you have a teenage boy, I would suggest you try somewhere else. This camp has no idea how to handle teenagers and does not have trained staff to deal with this age group. There is no refund and no recourse. This camp is way too expensive for its lack of understanding how to deal with teenagers and left no room for discussion or learning, rather it created victims out of everyone. Shame on this camp. Best to choose another. read more

My daughter went because her best friend came over the day she got back from camp and insisted that my daughter join her the following year. She's made friends she keeps in touch with year-round and has been back every summer since. She'd like to stay for two sessions, but it's a little pricey for that. This place is everything a summer camp should be, with all the fun and activities you'd expect. Staff is super friendly and responsive. read more

Incredibly responsive management. Camp manager intervened appropriately when one of the kids made offensive and abusive remarks. Parents of the offending kid were rightly called in to take away their kid. We applaud Mountain Meadow Ranch. Our boys loved their experience except that unsavory episode. But net net we are in applause. One parent of the offending child has posted a 'fake' review alleging lack of supervision etc which is unfair retribution for the Camp taking fair action against their offending child. Our boys felt protected and well-attended to. Carson is a great counselor. read more

I was a camper here in the 1980s, came back as a counselor for one summer in the early 1990s, my daughter is going back for her 6th summer this year, wants to be a Jr. Counselor next year, and a counselor after that! This camp has been a part of our lives and family forever. It has been instrumental in shaping much of who she is, and is her all time favorite place in the world to be. She looks forward to and misses it all year long. MMR embodifies what it means to be a kid in the truest sense, and the campers know and feel that from day 1 of the first session. It is a joy-filled break from the everyday tech and stress that is kids' lives today, and they relish it. No better place to send your child! read more

my son still experiencing emotional difficulties after his stay at Mountain Meadow Ranch summer 2022. It was his first year and he was bullied by a few campers that had been there in prior years. The camp DOES NOT allow you to have any communication with your child during the two weeks other then regular snail mail. You dont find out this stark fact until after you enroll. MY son had no recourse, he tried to complain and was only shamed by the main director Ana. ASLO FYI: The directors are all kids themselves. The head director ANA was completely underqualified and no older than early 20's. what i gathered from my son is that it's a bit of a power trip for directors to abuse the camp counselors, and several of them quit mid session. I am totally disappointed in the lack of care, experience, and wisdom of the entire operation. waste of money and caused emotional damage to my son. read more

Our daughter went again last year and met all new campers. Now she is so close to her new friends they even arranged a meet up over the winter holiday break! I really couldn't be happier with this experience and her new friends. She will go again this summer for the 3rd time :) read more

Mountain Meadow Ranch is everything we could hope for our daughter Lulu during the summer. Both her father and mother spent years at summer camp on the East Coast (often for two months), and Lulu is having as good if not better an experience than we did. She came home happy, very fit, bursting with stories of adventure and personal growth. It was a chore to get her to leave and she can't wait to go back next year. MMR is a wonderful place that teaches tolerance, inclusiveness, understanding of other people's differences, and how to be independent while also being responsible. Who could ask for more? Just keep doing what you're doing. I especially like the no electronics, focus on both the physical and mental development of the campers, and the inclusiveness of kids from everywhere - French kids from Mexico City who speak four languages! read more

This is an incredible camp! I went to MMR in the mid-80s, and now my oldest daughter (age 9) went for the first time this summer. She had a fabulous time and ended up winning the Happy Camper award! This was her first time away for two weeks and she did not know anyone when she got there. Last week she told me she was "camp sick," meaning she missed camp so much :) She will be going back next year, and her younger brother will definitely be joining her! Beyond the wonderful activities and beautiful setting, the camp is small and family-like, and they are very communicative with parents. I felt good knowing that I could text the "Mom Line" with any concerns, and that I could email my daughter and they would print out the email for her to read. (I also love that there are no electronics permitted.) It's rare to find a camp that is family founded and operated for generations -- you can tell the Ellena family is doing this because it's their way of life and they love it! Obviously, I would highly recommend this camp! read more

My girls are signing up for their 7th year! The camps has had a strong, positive impact on who they are becoming and how they treat and behave toward others. Low key, great atmosphere, traditional camp activities, fun overnight trips ... they can't wait to go again! As a parent I appreciate the smaller size of this camp so I don't have to worry about the staff managing large crowds of kids. It seems like they offer a great variety of activities during the day and my girls surprise me every year with something new they tried - I am thrilled about that because I would have never thought of taking them fishing or bmx biking or do archery! The other aspect that we like about this camp for our girls is the setting. It has a meadow, a forest, and water, and a ranch with animals. My older daughter really enjoyed taking care of the animals! Last, I love how the camp allows the kids to unplug and experience life in a way they don't at home during the school year. No electronics, no worrying about hair or make up, no concerns about clothes, just focus on having a good time. Our primary desire for a camp was for our kids to have fun and in that sense this camp is a slam dunk. My husband and I joke that one year the kids should stay home and the two of us should go to the camp instead because it sounds like a blast! I feel that over the years the camp experience helped my girls act more independently, and with confidence in a variety of life situations. It is really nice to see them return from camp having matured in this way. My daughters each have a different personality but both agree that they love how quickly they make friends each year. They say they disagree with the opinion that it is hard for the 'new' kids to feel included. I got an impression that the camp does make a good effort to make all kids feel included. I would expect that any place with kids will have some cliques but I didn't get the impression that this was the defining experience my kids felt. Quite to the contrary. And, my kids were first timers once, too, and upon return the first words out of their mouths were "Can we go next year and can we go for longer?". My girls say that they just love the counselors and to quote them, "counselors make the camp an amazing, cool place, they are very approachable and you can talk to them any time, and they are wonderful people who come from different places, even international". I understand that a lot of counselors and kids return back to the camp each year and I think that speaks volume about their experience there. I just asked my girls what would be the one thing they would say about the camp. They say "you can't go a day without laughing!". Now that sounds like a perfect summer! read more

I was a camper at MMR for 7 years and worked as a counselor for two years. The camp experience that MMR provides is everything someone could have dreamed of. It was definitely the only thing I looked forward to every summer and begged at the end of every session to stay longer. The camp really does become a family over the few weeks that you're there and the friendships there last a lifetime. I think that the camp is one of the few places that let me be who I really was and became the foundation for who I am today. The activities are fun and the out of camp activities such as water skiing, back packing and trips to climb Mt. Lassen were always the high points of the sessions. The staff are amazing and the directors truly care about every person who steps foot on the property. I know for sure that I will send my children here and would recommend it in a heart beat. read more

I went to camp here for 8 years, first as a camper, then as a ranch hand with the work crew. If you have kids, and you can afford it, send them here. It's the closest thing we have in this world to Hogwarts. read more

My 11 year old just returned from her first time at MMR Camp and she won't be going back. Though the setting is beautiful, the activities fun and the counselors nice, something is missing here. My daughter felt that the returning campers were very cliquish and mean to the new campers (and particularly so to a foreign camper whose English was not great.) Other reviews have mentioned this problem, and it unfortunately turned out to be true for my daughter. The returning campers feel they own the place and don't want to let anyone else into their club. There was also a lack of supervision in the cabins, with counselors often absent or unavailable at rest period and bed time, so that her cabin was noisy and messy. (This also helped trigger a pretty severe mouse infestation in her cabin.) In addition, there seemed to be too little structure. One day the main activity was playing capture the flag -- all day. There was an overnight for all the girls (50-60?) with no activities planned at the campsite. The campfires ran very, very late, so my daughter never felt she was getting enough sleep. She also experience a variant of the "mean girl" behavior --let's call it "spoiled rich mean girl" behavior. She felt she was excluded by her cabinmates because she answered "No" to the questions, "Do you have a maid?" and "Are you rich?" (The irony here is that given the costs of the camp any participating family has to be pretty well off). Even though there are some good things about it (mentioned above), I would not recommend this camp based on my daughter's experience. read more

I went to this summer camp three summers growing up and absolutely loved every second! You can choose horseback riding, water skiing, drama club, fishing, archery, and many other things each day. Every night ended with a campfire and singing, skits from each cabin, and the sound of the mountain wind in the pine trees has been stamped on my memory forever. I truely believe that this camp inspired my love for hiking, camping and just being in the mountains. It is family owned, small and private camp. Your child won't get lost in the shuffle. Racism and bullying from other campers or the staff? I kind of find that really hard to believe, if the owners don't want different ethnicitues at their camp they could screen the applications and wait list you, but that is illegal, so I highly doubt they do anything of the sort. The thing is parents, you can't fight your kids fight against other kids. that's the helicopter parenting society needs to get away from. This camp has preteen and teenagers so of course they form cliques and tease each other this is normal at that age. I got teased and I couldn't run to my parents while at this camp, but only made me stronger. I just ignored those taunts and life went on. I also highly question the validity of a statement about Chip, the camp director, screening calls? I just can't see that happening. I am defending this place because it only holds amazing memories from my tween years. I wanted to be a counselor when I turned 18 and had been a CILT my last year there but I think the demand is so high that I didn't get to be one, but that in no way leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This camp hosted The Nelson brothers back in the day! Sarah Gilbert the actress from Rosanne happened to be a camper when I was there. So its been around for a while and was started by Chip's parents Jack and Jackie is it? Anyhow needless to say it is well established. So parents be honest with yourself, this camp is not for every child but those kids that can handle independence and don't need mommy and daddy to make decisions for them. I was a fairly independent child so I loved being away from my parents for a few weeks! I can't recommend this camp enough, looking fwd to my daughter going here one day! read more

I'm not sure why MMR popped into my head this evening seeing how it has been nearly twenty years since I was a camper there. I was a somewhat troubled 13 year old who was told that I was going to this camp for 3 weeks. Man, I was pissed....until I got there. What a great experience. I made so many friends and tried so many things. The counselors were great. I remember Rick and his 3 legged dog, Booger who got around everywhere. What a genuine guy. I loved it so much that I asked my mom to go back the next year. Chip and family make it feel like one big family. I'll always remember the people I experienced this wonderful place with. I'm glad to see that the good times are still rolling. Thanks MMR for the memories. read more

My 9yr old son and only child was a first time camper this year at MMR. I was a little apprehensive about sending him away for two weeks as he hasn't been away from his parents much. It was an amazing experience for everyone! He gained independence, learned responsibility, team building, was technology free and most importantly had a blast and was able to be a kid in a safe environment. Every evening I would check out the pictures that MMR would post. It was a great feeling to see your child in the great outdoors smiling and having fun. My son had nothing but great things to say about the food, the other campers and he loved the entire staff. He can't wait to go again next summer. read more

This place completely changed my life. My father went to Mountain Meadow when he was a teenager and was gracious enough to pass the tradition onto myself, my older sister and my older brother. I was a camper here for 10 consecutive years from 1997-2006. I was also a staff during winter camp a few years ago. My brother also attended 10 consecutive years and has since been a staff member for 3 years. I met the Ellenas almost 18 years ago and it has been nothing but a pleasure seeing them every summer and growing up with Chip's 3 daughters. Although my first year was difficult, being only 7 years old, I am so grateful my parents signed me up for the following summer. I learned how to be independent and try new things. I learned how to fail and get up and try again and continue until I succeed. Mountain Meadow encouraged me to take healthy risks and step outside of the box to see what life has to offer. Mountain Meadow also taught me how to be a positive influence to others and how to be a leader. There is an array of fun activities to chose from that encourage teamwork, creativity, and finding one's own inner strength. The camp itself is also beautiful. Being there always helps me to really appreciate nature. Every summer it truly became my "home away from home." And every summer I cried because I didn't want to leave. Some of my best friends to this day are people I met years and years ago at MMR. I continue to stay in contact with so many people I met through Mountain Meadow. I am forever grateful to my parents for signing me up for MMR that first year, because my life has changed ever since. I believe I would be a very different person if it weren't for Mountain Meadow. I learned so much about myself being at MMR and learned how to push myself to become a better person. Mountain Meadow holds a very special place in my heart. I try and visit every year because my summers don't feel the same unless I take that drive down Wingfield road. I strongly recommend Mountain Meadow Ranch. I can't wait to send my children there someday. I love MMR beyond words and hope you give your child the opportunity to feel the same. read more

Last summer was my 8 year old's first time at sleep away camp. I brought him to LAX, to board his escorted flight to Camp Mountain Meadow Ranch. As I hugged him goodbye, my eyes welled up- he looked at me and said "Mom, I've got this". And walked off in his back pack with the rest of the kids, who were strangers to him. My son came home a bigger boy. He got off the plane with all of his new friends and said "Mom, that was the best two weeks of my life." For the next several months, he talked about Camp MMR constantly-the activities, the archery, the hike & camp out, the horses, the food... everything! He took two minute showers- He started vacuuming the house (that was his cabin duty). He grew in so any wonderful ways at MMR. I'm so grateful. The staff is amazing. They even took care of me, the worried parent, by giving me phone updates! This place is magic! Its the best kept secret in the west. My boy can't wait to go back. I'm sure I'll do better this year too! I wish I could go! read more

I find it hard to believe any negative comments about MMR, but I'm sure everyone has their own experience. I have attended MMR since I was 10 years old, and this past summer I was lucky enough to come back and work as a counselor. It has been 8 years since I have started going to this beautiful place, and I cannot imagine my life without it. Ever since I can remember the counselors have been carefully picked to provide the best camp experience for kids. They are truly there for the kids, and for the wonderful experience. MMR is where I grew as a person, and where I continue to grow even as an adult. It has taught me so many values and given me an intense love for life. The friends I have made at camp continue to stay in my life, and I truly value each and every one of them. If you have kids, and you are looking for a summer camp where they will not only make friends and thrive, but grow and have the best summers of their lives, send your kids here. I, for one, will return as a counselor as many times as possible :) read more