Great Camp. Well organized. In a beautiful location in Julian. What more can you wish for? read more

See all

My kiddo and I have gone with our Adventure Camp group 2 years in a row! Cabins are clean and comfortable, with plenty of space to play. Activities are fun and well run, staff are wonderful and food is simple but yummy and kid friendly. read more

I literally had a panic attack because all the girls wanted me to be in their cabin, but when I actually got into the cabin, they told me to pack up because the girls didn't want me in there. I believe that this camp is overall cursed cursed because if I were to get up in the bathroom, true story by the way, I got up for the bathroom in the middle of the night still quiet my counselor said what are you doing!? I responded cause I have to go to the bathroom then she lectured me about how I should've went to the bathroom while I still have a chance. So not only did I leave early because of my counselor but also because of how horrible they were treating me AND A GIRL GIT BED BUGS read more

We didn't formally attend the camp but met with the kindest ranger who was overseeing the venue during Covid March 2021. Papa/ owner to a beautiful and kind Great Dane -- Iris? This gentleman really impressed our families and encouraged our re-return. We discovered this location on happenstance. It's Covid 2021 in March after a brief winter storm. We decided to pull over here not knowing that the camp was operational. We had a small patch of snow play that thoroughly entertained our young children. Mr. Ranger allowed us the brief stay and welcomed us to tour the bunk dormatories. For a nominal price (i think he mentioned $350/weekend) you can rent out one of the lodge buildings which had plenty of room to sleep several large families. No kitchen, but a cute shared space.. it could be really fun to escape here. The area was peaceful and there's so many fun activities that would go on during the normal camp season.. There's a lake, rock climbing, bb gun shooting, archery, soccer, etc. I think this is something out family would come back and explore! Reviewing for the extreme kindness by the Ranger/ Iris papa. His reception and warmth made us want to return and consider bringing out kids back. read more

YMCA Camp Marston - Camp map - Summer Camps Near Me - Julian, California

Would never go again the consilusers suck not worth $400 I hated cooper, Kyle, and this one girl who went "dayyyyy oooooo" idk bout others but Mack, Alexander and Maddie were chill and good consilusers but it wasn't worth it you had to ask for permission for everything and I end up getting sick from the food and one of the consilusers do not eat the orange chicken read more

i'm a grown woman now but stayed here as a 6th grader for a week (around 2013?) & the experience was SO awful that i feel the need to comment on it all these years later. i'm not sure if it's still this bad, but if it is, i strongly encourage parents to not send their children here -- i sure wouldn't, even today, especially daughters. ‍ 1. i was on my period the week i went to camp and they lost my bag with all my toiletries -- i never got it back, so i literally had to stuff toilet paper in my pants for that entire week. i was 11. 2. as other comments have mentioned, much of the food here is expired and the water didn't taste right. a lot of kids (especially children with autism, who have food/texture sensitivities) went to bed hungry as the food options were poor quality. 3. i had dry scalp as a child which was mistaken for lice by a camp counselor -- the nurse at camp confirmed i DID NOT have lice, but i was still forced to have a lice shampooing (which even frustrated the nurse herself because she knew i didn't have lice). honestly turned out for the best though since they only let us shower twice a week for 2 minutes, so i got an extra shampoo at least..? ‍ 4. after the false lice allegations fiasco, i asked to call my mother because i wanted to go home early. i was 11 years old and genuinely traumatized by this point. unfortunately, my mother was in the hospital at the time, so i asked to contact my father instead and i straight up wasn't allowed to. 5. camp counselors were very bad at managing misbehaving children. we had a male student on our hikes who was verbally harassing several of the female students & making them uncomfortable, but the counselors didn't do much of anything to discourage the behavior. ‍ read more

Camp Marston was an amazing experience! I went there for sixth grade camp, with Hedenkamp elementary school. The cabins didn't have bugs (it was cozy though), the food was great, and the couches were fun! Camp Marston was a great experience, and I would even go back if I could! read more

Don't let your son/daughter go to this camp. The counselors are on their phones the nurse has no compassion for sick kids as she tells them to suck it up. I called the office to make a verbal complaint and the person that answer sent me to voicemail to record itlike if anyone is going to hear it. No star at all read more

My daughters attended camp here last summer. They were excited to go but were very disappointed with the experience. The staff - especially one counselor named 'Taylor' was very rude and mean to my daughter. The staff are not vetted and not good at being encouraging counselors. They do not seem interested in working with kids or helping them. What a horrible first sleep away experience. I tried to call the YMCA to complain and was not able to reach a real person. The water had a funny taste and the kids were forced to drink it. Also, one person in my daughters cabin was sent home with Covid. I was never notified. I do not recommend this camp. AVOID IT read more

My son had a horrible time. He would not say what happened but did say the staff was weird. He only lasted 3 days out of 2 weeks. They refused to let him call me. The teenage staff is very inappropriate and try to push the LGBT beliefs on young children. My son refused to go to 6 grade camp because it was at camp Marston. I'd never send any child there again.​ read more

My daughter went to 6th grade camp here, She had a okay time. Her cabin got bed bugs on day 2 the beds started falling apart on the last days. she was there for a week. the food was fine, one day they had "orange chicken" wasent cooked all the way though. read more

I would rate this a bit more if YMCA replaces the maintenance crew with people who are more polite and understanding. Yes this is not a 5-star hotel where everything has to work perfectly but there is one dude there who usually hangs out in the dining hall who has such a bad attitude and thinks he knows it all and goes in your face with "you have to live with it" attitude, and intentionally makes you not approach him anymore. Nice way to avoid work. read more

My two daughters attended camp last week. One daughter had a great time and the other did not. One complaint was there were many activity choices, but they filled up quickly so my daughter didn't get to experience the activities she wanted. Perhaps they could do a better job making sure all kids get a chance. A huge issue was my older daughter had one very unkind counselor who ruined the experience for her. Taylor in Cabin 9 was very mean to the kids. I heard this from my daughter and a few of the other kids in the cabin. Camp Marston needs to do a better job of screening the counselors to make sure they are suited to work with children. It is very unfortunate this counselor ruined my daughter's first experience at sleepover camp. My younger daughter had a wonderful time and said all of her counselors were great. She loved her week at camp and is excited to go back next year. The other comment I heard from both girls was the water tasted really bad and they were forced to drink it. I would suggest to any parents sending their kids- send them with a bunch of bottled water for the week. A last item to note - someone in my daughter's cabin went home with Covid after a few days. I was never notified about my daughter's exposure from the camp which seems extremely irresponsible. read more

So the 5 stars are primarily based on the fact that after my kids came back from 6th grade camp in November they had nothing but glowing remarks about their experience there. However this weekend was also open house by the YMCA to promote their summer camps. So hey why not let the kids relive camp for a day and we get to join the ride? Well, I got to say the place was everything they reported it to be. Rock climbing. Soccer. Basketball. Candle making. SMORES! Archery. They even shot BB guns. Thanks YMCA guess what the kids want for Christmas. We did tour the facilities. The camp rooms look comfy. The cafeteria program was set up with yummy but nutritious options. They do meet allergy needs. They did serve brownies for snacks and well, I snuck thirds. read more

See all

My kids look forwarding to coming every summer. The counselors are amazing and the friendships they have been able to make over the years are some they will have for a long time! Highly recommend for your kids if you can afford! read more

My daughter went here for 6th grade camp she cried the first 2 days but she had fun with her friend only one of the counselors didnt do anything for her headache and stumch ache but had to switch cabins because she didnt know the people in her cabin but she had fun with achery rock climbing candle making etc. read more

Went here years ago (I think 2010) It was horrible and unsanitary. I was 11 years old and got mono from here and I didn't even kiss anyone until I was 14. I believe it was from the staff not cleaning the dishes. Staff was very rude. The food was terrible I lost 6 pounds then as soon as I got out, I went to the miners diner and binged on all the delicious food. Don't send your kids here if you care about their health and safety. read more

My 12 year old was quite excited to the week long camp in group through his school. All preparations done per the letter sent by camp coordinator. Read through the online reviews too, most of them are great reviews. Sent him off all happy and excited for new experience. All is great if no help is needed and one is happy in themselves. God forbid if you need help, they are at a loss. My son came back with choked, hurting throat and cough along with fever. Tested positive for Covid along with a few other kids. Had to wait for 3 days, before he could drink, eat and speak, to learn what really happened. Once landed, there were no checks or precautions. First day some kid was sent home due to high fever. No tests for the ones who came in contact. Day 3, and my son along with couple of kids starting feeling low and sick along with fever. He spoke with one of the counsels stating the same and desire to go home. He was told that it is not at all allowed. Repeated requests were denied. He has to go to the medical center to get some medication to feel better. No communication to the parent or to school whatsoever. Kids have absolutely no way to communicate with parents. Quality of water and food, well, not good, to say the least. Did not eat for a few days unless couldn't bear hunger. If you can imagine such an ignorant and inconsiderate treatment with kids and would still like to go there or send your kids, your choice. read more

My older son attended Camp Marston for years...first as a younger child through a program called Operation Purple designed for military families, to make camp accessible to as many military dependent children as possible, and then later through the graciousness of a private donor, who paid for weeks of camp for him, including his final two weeks once he'd aged out of Camp Marston's regular overnight camp and joined the Mountaineers program - they go on hikes and camp further in the wilderness. After that last experience, which was fun but incredibly physically demanding, he decided that he didn't find the same level of fun and recreation as he did when he was younger and would play games like Ga Ga, engage in Color Wars, do archery, shoot B.B. guns, canoeing, and other activities...the hiking and lack of more physical "fun" resulted in him deciding not to return to camp the following year...although he kept his YMCA rag and candles from the years of campfire ceremonies he took part in. Those were good years for him which built a solid foundation of positive self esteem and created memories that would last a lifetime. One of his assistant Camp Leaders was also autistic, which gave him a positive role model to look up to (back then, there was far more emphasis placed upon what Autistics could not do rather than what they could do. It is good to see that society in general has begun to change this erroneous thinking and eliminate those hurtful and just plain wrong stigmas and stereotypes.) At the time, it was very important that my son had an older autistic camp leader to look up to, who showed him that autistic people can do things just like everyone else can, including being leaders! He spent many years at YMCA Camp Marston, and even spent some time at Raintree with the horses, which he thoroughly enjoyed! I was president of the Autism Society San Diego when the YMCA Camp Marston approached our organization, wanting to start a family camp for autistic individuals and their families...much less structured than regular camp, but with all of the same amenities (rock climbing, archery, candlemaking, paintball slingshots, Ga Ga (a Dodegeball-like game held in an octagon shaped pit), red tailed falcon/hawk/other birds of prey demonstrations, catch and release fishing, gold panning, and caneoing, among other activities). I brought my older son with me (who was then almost an adult, and had been volunteering with the Autism Society San Diego for the past 7 years that I'd served on their Board of Directors), and he was reunited with one of his favorite staff members, Simon, but also flooded with memories of how much fun he'd had during his camp experience. During the tour, he got to serve as the unofficial "model" for all activities they showed our executive team. YMCA Camp Marston would be responsible for handling the cost of the camp and offering scholarships to anyone who applied and met financial qualifying criteria, while the camp itself would be open to any families of autistic children who had paid their annual $40 membership dues, along with the full cost of the camp - a number set by the YMCA that was not only reasonable for most families to be able to afford, but also eliminated the need for the Autism Society to have to do much other than provide some volunteers at the camp and ensure that any applicants to the camp were paid members of the Autism Society San Diego. While I've since moved on to other endeavors within the autistic community, the Camp Marston YMCA staff have continued to hold the camp biannually, with the promotional support and volunteers provided by the Autism Society San Diego. We have been to 3 out of the past 4 Family camps, and we have made new friends (each family gets a very spacious 6 bed cabin room all to themselves, with a shared common area containing couches, games, and a wood burning stove - the bathroom in each four-Room cabin is also a common area, with 2 sinks, a shower (with a seat, making it ADA accessible), and a few toilet stalls). We have had so much fun that the extremely low cost of the camp is completely worth the cost. We will continue to pay our Autism Society San Diego membership simply because it opens us up to programs like this that may be hosted by another nonprofit (Camp Marston YMCA in this case) as well as day camp programs within their own organization. One day, it would be nice to see more programs like this available throughout the county to all Autistics, regardless of organization affiliation, but this is a good start as a model for how to execute these camping adventures and make them accessible and inclusive to all neurotypes - autistic, family members, support staff, and friends! We love the Y...but we especially love Camp Marston! read more

My 3 girls have gone here every summer for the last 15 years and all 3 have been Campers LITs, CAs, and counselors. They have many friends that have also grown up going to Camp Marston and have also become counselors for summer camp, and they always say BEST SUMMER ever. We have loved Camp Marston from the start and they have only improved with time. We are all counting the Days till my Grand Daughter, Lily, will go to Summer camp here . I highly recommend this camp but don't go for a week go longer to become a real camper. read more

YMCA Camp Marston - Soon - Summer Camps Near Me - Julian, California

During my child's trip for 6th grade camp, counselor Ken was terrible towards my child. Yelling at all of them, getting in their faces, even making some cry. Everyone in his cabin wanted to get out. This is not mentioning how gross the kitchen was. The kitchen had seemed to not have been cleaned for weeks. Like many another's have mentioned, no flashlights were allowed in the pitch black night hikes. During the last day, my child's cabin was woken up at 6 am to start cleaning all of their rooms with very outdated supplies. Like the vacuum which was covered in dust and being lugged around by a small 6th grader because of how heavy it was. One cabin in particular did all the cleaning for the entire cafeteria for over 100 children. read more

My grandchildren have been coming to this camp for nine years now. They have had fun every year. They have learned so much about horses. Yes they've had issues with some counselors but those counselors are very often sent home and not allowed to come back. My youngest granddaughter can't wait until the next year so she can come again. read more

Best residential camp ever!! The facilities are great, the people are fun and make you feel welcome. The food is much better than you imagine camp food To be. The same ymca values are present throughout the camp and the activities. Everyone has experience and knows what they are doing. Great for summer camp as well as family camps. read more

My 12 year old son attended this camp, after his father and I had talked it up and how much fun he was going to have and do all kinds of outdoor activities. The first words out of his mouth, were "I missed you" and "I'm hungry". After we got home, (he came home sick as many others did as well) I asked him a few more questions, and he is not one to complain so he just shook his head. We let it go, as the week went on with his cold getting worse, he would share more and more. I was furious. For one, he did say his two counselors were cool and super nice to his group. However after hearing from more parents, we come to find out our kids ate fruit and water for breakfast, lunch and dinner because the food was so bad and they served them expired food. The beds were hard that kids preferred to sleep on the floors, and some of the staff and teachers from other schools were mean to the kids. My son said one boy said he was freezing and he couldn't get up from his seat and the teacher (not his school) ignore the kid as well as the other kids telling her he was freezing. And to top it all, two of his buddies had bites everywhere, only to be confirmed as bed bug bites. I asked my son if he would go back again and he said "absolutely not". The best part of the whole trip was the drive there and back, because their bus driver was fun. I'm grateful my son came back safe, sick but safe, however had I known I was sending him to survival camp verses 6th grade out door science camp I would have just kept him home and spent the 400.00 on something fun. read more

My twins had a terrible time! Food horrible. Agree with the others in that the counselors scared some of the kids by shouting. They didn't allow any flash lights on the night walks which is quite unsafe. They had to stand in just a towel for the line for the shower and were told they had to put the shampoo on their dry hair while in line! They said the counselors did not act responsible. They were not allowed to send letters although the school told them to bring stationary and stamps to do so. They were told there wasn't enough time. I do not recommend this for $360 for any parents to send their child to. Very disappointed. read more

Staff were all super welcoming and friendly! Cabins were awesome and clean and had heaters!

Just got back from 6th grade camp. It was amazing. The staff was absolutely wonderful... Every one of them! They handled EVERYTHING. It was really impressive. I can not count how many times they went out of their way for our kids. I was in ah of them. The kitchen staff was superb. The facilities were beyond great. The kids had so much to do. The education they received by doing instead of sitting and listening was such a bonus. They couldn't wait to tell me what they learned. The activities were exceptional. Archery course was top notch, candle making was a hit with girls and boys, and the rock climbing was a favorite. The farm was fantastic. I love the small cabin atmosphere and how the kids were in charge of themselves in most aspects. They truly learned some amazing life lessons this week. Special Needs kiddos treated as everyone else and absolutely given the best care by the staff there! Yes! The staff there. I could cry thinking of how they cared for our kids. Just amazing! I could go on forever! We had a big hic-up while there and the one thing I want everyone to know about this camp is that they are professional! Ryan was outstanding as well as others. Up front, on the ball, pro-active as well as greatly re-active. Our staff could not say enough amazing things. We are so thankful! Kuddos to all staff Fall of 2016... Every one of you ROCKED! read more

This is the BEST! I went their for 6th grade camp and it was awesome! My cabin counselor was Conner and he was awesome! I would love to come back and do it again! I loved it so much!! Also tell Conner miller said hi!! Thank you for a AWESOME TIME! I came from LCC. It was the best! read more

My son just attended his first overnight camp at Marston. We were nervous for him, but when we saw him in the pictures they post every night we could see he was having a blast. He tried new things, made friends, and wore the same shirt every day. My only issue is that there was one boy quietly teasing my son at every opportunity. Pre-teens aren't going to tattle, so I do think the counselors need to be more aware of potential bullies. Other than that, it was well worth every penny. Already signed him up for next year and added a week at Surf camp too. read more

I send my daughter to camp marston and she came back exhausted and sick.My daughter was forced to go hiking in the dark without flashlights "which is very unsafe" and the water was cloudy and dirty! the bed were used by many of kids and on top of that were forced to change in front of the other girls.I usually don't write bad reviews but this place was horrid.she went to the nurses office because she had a very upset stomach and they sent HER BACK! I sent my daughter money to buy warm clothes and food and se never received it.one of counselors yelled at the kids and treated them horribly I do NOT recommend sending you kid here! read more

This camp really dropped the ball on my son's experience. I called the Monday at the beginning of their 6th grade camp, to transfer money, so he could buy a camera to take pictures and warm clothing if needed. He never received the money, even though it had been deducted from my account. His group was also left unattended for 15 minutes during the night camping trip, and only happen to run into another group. This is extremely negligent and completely unacceptable. read more

Recently sent my 13 year old for a summer resident camp. The Camp was super organized, and made it very easy for me to figure out what was going on. My girl has medical issues, and camp made it very easy for me to talk to them, and the Nurse even called me every night let me know that she was doing fine. My daughter had a blast, Loved the activities, and made friends. She wished she could go back for second week. We had already scheduled her for a week at another (not YMCA) camp, which turned out to be a much less positive experience. The Y was most definitely the superior camping experience! read more

My daughter went for a week in the summer and will go for 6th grade camp next week. This review is for their food service. My daughter has food restrictions and Camp Marston staff was awesome! She loved the food and had zero cross contamination issues. Her food was prepared separately but the camp staff did not make her feel singled out. Thank you!! read more

The staff at Camp Marston went above and beyond to give our sixth graders the best camp experience possible. From team building exercises to science lessons, our students learned valuable skills that will enable them to further their education. I am sure that they will take the memories, chants, and friendships back to school with them. read more

My daughter went for 6th grade camp and was told it would be really fun, instead she had a horrible experience. First off my daughter has Tourette's syndrome and the counselor did not take her condition into consideration and tried to make my daughter drink water even though my daughter explained to her that it Takes her longer to eat and drink because of her tics but the counselor didn't care and made her drink the water anyway and made my daughter feel bad .and the night hike was bad they weren't able have flash lights on the hike at all so they couldn't see they had to go up a lot of stairs with different heights so they could've easily fallen and they went up a mountain where they could fall which almost happened to my daughter there was also pitfalls which she fell when stepping in there were lots of of rocks they could slip or trip over she had a panic attack on the hike and all they did was take her to the living room AND THE CHANGING was super inappropriate and wrong the ADULT counselors who slept in the bunkhouse with the girls (they were women) they tried to make them change in front of each other including the adults the adults tried making the kids change in front of them and the other girls which is very wrong! They wouldn't let the kids change in the bathroom but my daughter did do it anyway when the counselor(s) weren't looking read more

My 3 girls have gone here every summer for the last 8 years and now 2 of them are counselors. We have loved Camp Marston from the start and they have only improved with age. I highly recommend this camp read more

My boy has been camping at Raintree for years now, and he still loves it. He completely unplugs and learns about all things not digital. He always comes back with funny stories and happy memories. He loves working with the horses, and looks forward to it every year. So, good job YMCA, he is hard to impress. read more

Ok, so first off I want to say that I am not one of those parents who come to thier kids defense as soon as something goes wrong...but in this particular instance I have to say something about my son's recent trip to Camp Marston. My son unfortunately suffers from headaches due to changes in the weather from hot to cold. On Monday when they arrived my son got one of his headaches and told one of the camp counselors who went by the name "Wildcat" that he wasn't feeling good. (yes of course I know plenty of kids fake it so they can go to the health office...but this isn't that scenario). While they where all doing some skit show my son sat outside he said really cold for maybe 20 minutes to a half hour while the other kids where doing the activity inside.(He said Wildcard was on his smartphone that whole time as well) My son said he had his hands over his ears and his head over a trash can cause his head was hurting so bad. When Wildcard asked him if he felt better my son still said no. He asked my son "does this run in your family?" My son told him that it does. "Yes my dad gets a bad headache like this when it gets cold out"....he asked if he could call home and Wildcat called him a liar and said "do you know how many kids try to tell us they are sick"...my son told me "Daddy my head was pounding and I was freezing sitting out there by myself". This isn't much of a review other than a story that brings back old memories, back in 1979 I went to 6th grade camp up in Palomar, I was in the nurses office the entire 1st day with a bad migraine....my mom almost had to come get me. True story. I feel for my son....and I'm glad I never met Wildcard in person....as a dad...I'd really love to go have a word with Wildcard. (and they wouldn't be good words that's for sure) read more

We have been attending camp Marston family camps for years and both my kids have attended their summer camp programs. Every time I go I am impressed by the facilities and the experienced staff. My kids feel like family there and the counselors have always been great at giving guidance and watching them. The food is home cooked and always tasty (it isn't gourmet but hey, it's camp.) and the cafeteria servers have always been helpful with allergies. read more