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Family Camps 101
What, Why and Who
By John Lofthus
 Author Bio: John Lofthus, past Director of the UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center has 11 years of experience in the Family Camp industry with stints at both the Family Vacation Center and UCLA’s BruinWoods. He meets on an annual basis with other Alumni Association-based family camp directors. You can contact John directly by email by clicking here or by phone at (805) 893-8416.
As a summer family camp director, one of the questions I field frequently (other than “what do you do the rest of the year?”) is, “what exactly are family camps?” My answer invariably is, “it depends on what your family is looking for!” While that may not seem to be a definitive answer it really is true and here is why: There is literally a family camp for almost every family!
Does your family enjoy “roughing it” with spartan accommodations and plenty of nights in front of the campfire? If so, there are easily a half dozen family camps within a five-hour drive of your house. Say your family is on the other side of the aisle, where “roughing it” consisted of going without the maid for a week because of illness and the thought of not having room service is enough to make you lose sleep. There are several family camps that will serve up four-star accommodations and gourmet meals. What about the families that fall somewhere in between? Don’t worry, there are a number of family camps out there for you too!
So the question remains, what exactly are family camps? While there is plenty of variety as I just illustrated, all family camps contain the following five elements in some form: (1) accommodations, (2) meals, (3) organized childcare, (4) family programs and finally (5) optional activities (usually with an associated extra cost).
The “why” for family camps is almost as numerous as the number of camps to choose from. To begin with, family camps take the guesswork out of a family vacation. Instead of acting as tour guide, navigator, storyteller and travel agent, parents get to actually focus on having fun themselves –what a concept!
Secondly, parents are freed from what usually consumes them with your typical camping or beach house vacation – cooking and cleaning. Parents aren’t the only ones having fun though. Kids are grouped with others by age and are cared for by trained counselors. That means that instead of compromising on what Dad or the older sister wants, they get to do the things that really interest them. While this may seems contrary to what a family should do on a family vacation; in reality it allows each family member to spend part of the day doing what really makes them happy! Therefore family time becomes more special for all.
One of the best “why’s” to a family camp vacation is the interaction between families. Many families form friendships with other families and choose to come back the same week year after year to catch up with their newfound “family camp” friends.
The final answer to “why” is that family camps pack substantial cost savings. To give you an example, a week’s accommodation and meals at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort (trademark) would cost you $7,550. To compare, a week at the UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center for a family of four would cost $3,296 and includes accommodations, meals, organized child care, adult programming, family programs and a large number of optional activities.
So now that we’ve addressed the what and why, the logical next step is to look at the who. For this, I will break the family camp industry into three categories: (1) Private Family Camps, (2) City-Affliated Family Camps and (3) Alumni Family Camps.
There are a number of private family camps in California. These include Wonder Valley, Montecito Sequoia and Shady Creek (note: Shady Creek Family Camp recently ceased operation in 2007). Accommodations and meals vary greatly in this category depending on which family camp you choose to go with. Wonder Valley, located outside of Fresno, operates as a Conference Center for much of the year, then as a kids camp during July and part of August.
Montecito Sequoia, located near the north entrance to Sequoia National Park, operates as a lodge throughout the year and offers family camp programs throughout the year in addition to the summer months.
The second form of family camp is the city-affliated type. These operate on a seasonal basis with most located in the Sierra Nevadas. Originally designed for residents of the affliated city, many now take non-residents at an additional cost. Accommodations tend to be quite “rustic” with meals served in large mess hall. Berkeley, Concord, Livermore and Sacramento all operate family camps.
The final type of family camp consists of the Alumni Association Family Camp. Currently four university alumni associations operate family camps in California. These include Stanfords’ Sierra Camp, UC Berkeley’s Lair of the Golden Bear, UCLA’s BruinWoods and UCSB with the UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center. All four have long and storied traditions.
The Stanford Sierra Camp is located on Fallen Leaf Lake near South Lake Tahoe. They specialize in boating and hiking with an exceptional faculty seminar program. Note that they only allow Stanford Alumni and operate a lottery for new families with a substantial waitlist.
UC Berkeley’s Lair of the Golden Bear is considered to be the grandfather of the Alumni Family Camp category with an inception date of 1949. In fact a number of current Lair Campers can count themselves as second or even third generation campers. Their location in National Forest land, near Yosemite National Park provides ample opportunity for outdoor-based activities. The accommodations are quite rustic – literally wooden structures with a canvas top but that’s exactly how their veteran campers like it! A large seasonal staff of about 160 university students allows the Lair to put on spectacular shows for their families.
While UCLA’s BruinWoods family camp is based in the mountains too (Lake Arrowhead), unlike the Lair, the accommodations and meals are first class affairs with more of a country club feel. Families stay in “condolets” and can choose from a myriad of activities, many of which are intimately connected to the nearby waters of Lake Arrowhead. Similar to Stanford’s Sierra Camp, BruinWoods is restricted to UCLA alumni and their family with a lottery for new families. The average wait time for first year placement is reported to be up to three years.
The final Alumni Family Camp is the UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center. The Family Vacation Center (FVC) is unique in that it is the only multiple week family camp located on a university campus. I suppose that is a testament to UCSB’s beauty and location (UCSB is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on two sides with a main campus that is larger than UCLA’s main campus). The Family Vacation Center operates during the summer months of July and August with two short spring break camps located up the coast at the luxurious El Capitan Canyon Resort. Programs are centered, as you would expect, on the beach with daily surf lessons, kayaking trips, beach bonfires complete with s’mores, even a beach BBQ.
The UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center is open to UCSB alumni and non alumni alike. The only requirement is that one person from each family be a member of a University of California Alumni Association. While in the past, graduates of other UC campuses had to join the UCSB Alumni Association, new in 2008, these graduates can join the Alumni Association of any UC campus. The Family Vacation Center books quickly so I would encourage to book sooner rather than later.
So there you go – the what, why and who of Family Camps. Prior to booking, be sure to do your homework and first address what type of vacation your family is after. Then, depending on your budget and desired location (beach versus mountain, rustic vs. first class), you will be able to select a family camp that works for your entire family. Good luck and don’t forget the s’mores! |
