It's too bad Yelp hides all of the good reviews for Mystic Lake! (See…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/not_recommended_reviews/mystic-lake-camp-branch-ymca-lake) I haven't been a camper/staff since 2011, but prior to that I spent 14 summers camping/working here. Growing up I always looked forward to spending my week at camp, making friends that I'm still friends with 20 years later. As a staff our training was always evolving to employ new bully recognition tactics, as well as fundamental safety and first aid training. The camp philosophy has increasingly incorporated taking care of ones' body & mind as well as the environment with higher quality meals and a tree-fort library to help keep kids reading during the summer, as well as all the standard summer camp activities to keep kids active.

I went there as a school, and it was a good place, the food was good, and the concealers can be…read morefunny. I had fun and reccomend it. The beds were not very comfortable, but you get used to it.

I must say I have fond memories of this camp in the 1970's& early 80's as a junior Rebekah/ Theta…read moreRho member. My son was a camper from 2005-2008& I volunteered those weeks in the kitchen. Good management, highly qualified nurses station, great caretaker, Immaculate grounds, safe, fun, great food for the kids & staff. So many activities that we were wiped out at the end of each day. I highly recommend this unique summer camp for anyone with school aged children. It's like stepping back in time. It's simplicity and wholesomeness. So glad the camp wasn't sold and will return this summer. Wishing IOOD/Rebekah s continued success.

From the owner: We are a seasonal camp located on Big Star Lake. Like so many camp facilities, our programs have…read moreturned upside down due the COVID-19 pandemic. We will be open for self-contained RV camping on weekends in July after the 4th of July, weekdays in August, weekends and weekdays in September. Entire camp rental by a single family group as available for weekdays in August and any time in September.

Loooooooove Camp Barakel so much. We have had many great weekends here while enjoying couples and…read morefamily retreats. This is a Christian camp, and they preach God's Word and apply it in a meaningful way. They tell about God's grace and Jesus's forgiveness, and bring it full circle to teach about improving and healing relationships. Every time we have attended, we have been blessed by it. Thank you!!!!! They are on a beautiful spring-fed lake, and there are tons of activities and opportunities to get back to nature. And as a true Yelper I can honestly attest: The food is good, too! Some of the sleeping accommodations are more rustic than some newer ones, but they are in the process of renovating every cabin, as I understand. The newer lodges are really nice!! I'm sure they can fully fill you in about where you would stay if you call. Life is simple here and it provides an opportunity to focus on what is most important. I have huge respect for their dedicated staff. They treat others with such love, and you can feel an attitude that demonstrates their care and dedication in their ministry. I have seen their worship leaders gracefully serving others as staff in the dining hall. There is a lot of walking involved. My dad went with a walker and could get around, but some places were a little harder than others, and a few were just too hard. There are two camps, one on each side of the lake, so they can run two different camps at once, or one big camp. I also love singing hymns in chapel, especially Ancient Words. It really sums up what they are trying to do here. Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world, They resound with God's own heart Oh let the ancient words impart. Words of Life, words of Hope Give us strength, help us cope In this world, where e'er we roam Ancient words will guide us Home. Ancient words ever true Changing me and changing you, We have come with open hearts Oh let the ancient words impart. This is not just a summer camp or a lake getaway. Barakel means "The place where God has blessed" and we have encountered Him here. Barakel is not fancy, but it's real, and I mean that in deepest and best sense of the word.

I just spent a weekend fishing while at a Christian Men's Retreat at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Mi…read more(near Mio in Oscoda County), and I wanted to blog my experience because I could find no fishing information for the camp's privately owned Shear Lake. https://www.bing.com/maps?q=shear+lake+michigan&FORM=HDRSC4 https://www.campbarakel.org/ Shear Lake is a shallow, clear water, spring fed lake with a sandy bottom and sparse aquatic vegetation. The perimeter of the lake is peppered with many lay downs of fallen trees. While staying at Camp Barakel, the campground provided small rowboats, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats for recreational use. At peak times of the day, there can be a lot of campers using the small lake, so fisherman will need to be patient with the recreational users who are attempting to paddle around it. Prior to fishing on Shear Lake, the only fishing information that I could find was that the lake contained Blue Gills. Having fished the lake last fall and this spring, I can verify that Shear Lake has Large Mouth Bass, Rock Bass, Perch (some are jumbo size, being12 inches or larger), and Blue Gills. The lake is rumored to have Pike, but I am not aware of any being caught. Although the lake may contain only a few lunkers (last fall, I failed to set the hook with a weedless frog on what was probably around a four pound bass), the overall Large Mouth Bass fishing seems to be quite good. Some 16 to 18 inch bass were caught while while standing on the docks. Even though the lake has sparse vegetation, the lake's shallowness makes it easy for lures that come in contact with it's sandy bottom to constantly pick up clumps of plant material and algae. Also, it's easy to get hung up on the many branches and tree trunks that line the shore. Consequently, weedless lures (like a Texas-rigged soft plastic worms), plus mid-water and top-water lures (which are fished away from the shore) work well. I caught ten Large Mouth Bass (12 to 16 inches) and one Rock Bass last weekend on a Texas-rigged soft plastic worm. Some had good luck using spinners or top water lures that worked in the mildly windy conditions, like Jitterbugs. Others had good luck with live baits such as Big Red Worms or Minnows. Last fall, I had some luck swimming small curly tail jigs, but I now now prefer to drag Texas-rigged worms along the lake's bottom, near the many fallen trees.

Amazing summer camp for kids. Focus on leadership, adventure, and teamwork. Gorgeous pristine…read morelocation, enthusiastic well rounded staff, safe well equipped facilities. Our kids go year after year!

To begin: big applause for the chefs who made a ratatouille that was very enjoyable, and a lentil…read moresoup for which I would love to get the recipe! Terrific meal service! The camp has many housing offerings, and locations. Nice. This is camping and not at all glamping. No wi-fi nor mobile service for most cell phones. One can really get away from it all! I went to the Sierra Club Retreat, and we had many choices of lectures, craft offerings and animal observation opportunities. There was also an astronomer on site with large equipment to view the heavens both morning and evening. There is addition boating and tubing on Stoney Lake and River. The dorm rooms were clean, the shared facilities were also clean. The management pays attention to many cleanliness and activity details. Bravo!

Ok, I might be a little old to be writing this review, but I just can't leave Maplehurst without a…read morelittle love. I started going to this camp when I was only eight years old. I went until I was sixteen and each year I stayed the entire time of eight weeks. Maplehurst was definitely the scene of some my greatest moments of all time. Someitmes, when I try to explain it to other people I always come back to one word, mystical. I could go into glorified details about the late nights, the first kiss, the first friend lost but every child in their life goes through these shape setting stages...I was just lucky enough to have them at Maplehurst. So, even when times were bad, and life felt tough I can always look back at those moments with fondness because of Maplehurst. I've met the best of friends there, and it seriously shaped me into the person I am today. Growing up in a cookie cutter town Maplehurst was my escape and allowed me to meet all kinds of people and experience "life on my own". I am not going to pretend that Maplehurst taught me hiking techniques, and survival skills for the mountains but it made my childhood happy, and it made my summers unforgettable. Maplehurst...I owe it all to you.

I LOVE CLLL. There are sooo many activities and all the Staff are very nice, the campers are too…read more 10/10 Camp.

I went to this camp in 2017-18 (can't remember which exactly) but I ended up leaving early because…read moreas someone with pre-existing anxiety, the camp traumatized me. My friends would rave about how fun it is so I decided one year when I was maybe 11-12 that I would go. Now I'm 18 and still scarred from it. I will say, aside from the weird things they did there, it was a fun camp, but not worth the lifelong trauma. First of all, when eating in the cafeteria, if you accidentally chewed with your mouth open, you would get called out by all the other kids and counsellors and made to go under the table and scream "I'm a piggly wiggly" to which everyone would respond with "what?" and repeated at least once or twice. There's another instance of this where if you put your elbows on the table even if for a split second, again, you'd get called out and you'd have to do a lap or two around the cafeteria while people chanted a humiliating song at you. Another thing they did which to this day turned me away from Christianity was take us to the field saying we were playing a game, and proceeding to chase after everyone while dressed in all black with black makeup talking about how "Satan is our God" to which you'd have to respond with why God is our savior and not Satan. As an 11 year old who thinks we're about to play a fun game like "Steal the Bacon" or whatever, the outcome scared me half to death and when I cried from being terrified, I was taken to the church and given Oreos as compensation. Great, right? Anyways, I don't know if any of this has changed within the past few years, as I obviously never went back, but I sure hope it has. What I do know now is that they're teaching kids how to play poker if you care about that at all.

This 4-H camp also has excellent conference facilities. The promo material says they do weddings,…read moretoo. Canoeing, hikes, a bocce court and more recreational amenities than I can list. Room I had was comfortable and appropriate for team building (e.g. No TV). On premise dining served much better food than I remember from camp days when I was a mere sprat.

The Staff is absolutely fabulous here!! Great customer service, very clean rooms, and the meals…read morewere so good! We got totally spoiled all weekend and loved it!

I've gone here many times with my church group, theres always something fun to do. The cabins are…read morenice and the food is amazing. Being vegetarian I was scared there wouldn't be any options but they offered me veggie meats and what not. The staff is kind and friendly and they always have a great band and speaker for retreats. I'd highly recommend going here! They have inside and outside activities, from my knowledge they have re-ball, horse back riding, tubing, snow tubing, a zip line, and gym activities. They also have a room with air hockey, carpet ball, foosball, and a ping pong table. They also have a rock climbing wall, and with this stuff you'll never be bored!

From the owner: Grace Adventures specializes in Summer Camps for kids, horsemanship camps, year-round retreats for…read moreyouth and adults, and leadership training experiences.

I cannot say enough good things about Canterbury Creek Farm School. Our family is still new-ish to…read moreGrand Rapids -- we moved here two years ago from Chicago -- and Farm School quickly became like a second family to our 3.5yo son. Born a COVID baby, he has always loved to play independently, but struggled in group situations. The staff and owners are incredibly compassionate and caring -- encouraging our son to play with others, but at his own pace. He has completely come out of his shell over this school year. It has been a joy to see the daily updates on the Brightwheel app (which teachers update during the school day), so that even when I am at work, I can relish in the absolute joy of a time our son is having at school. Time spent outdoors and with the animals is not only great for our high energy boy to blow off steam, but teaches so many life skills (outside of a classroom) that are so necessary to early childhood development. Their approach to early childhood education is incredible -- keeps all the content fun for kids, but with incredible impact. To compare his self-portrait and handwritten name from the beginning to the end of the year is insane! His end of year book brought me to tears -- and made me feel even more blessed to be a part of the Canterbury Creek family. In fact, this morning on our way to drop off, he told me he was so sad that school was over and that he would miss it over the summer. Good thing we will be back for Summer Camp and next school year. I cannot wait to sign up my 2.5yo daughter next!

We love Canterbury Creek. Its so cool that the kids get a full education here not just for…read morethemselves but for the animals too, it' so important at an early age to make sure kids have respect for all lives and they do with their interaction, feeding and caring for the animals here. Totally unique school, wonderful education, loving and caring instructors and overall a great, first class school all the way around. Our 4 year old daugher was at preschool there and will go again for young fives next year. We will do two summer camps with her and 6 year old sister.