Steve & Kate's Camp - Palo Alto

★Elyse Benito

-⭐️Long‑time family, now very disappointed and seriously concerned about safety My family has attended Steve & Kate’s for years. My older daughters used to have an absolute blast and begged to stay longer. Because of those earlier great summers, we decided to try again for my son this year, even though my girls’ last experience (about 6 years ago) was already noticeably worse. After this week with my son and his best friend, we are done for good. Current experience (2026) – serious safety and supervision concerns My son and his best friend attended this week, and what I saw as a parent was extremely concerning: - **Bullying right in front of me:** I personally watched my son get bullied by other kids who took a soccer ball away from him and hit him. I had to step in and ask staff, “Who is watching them? I just saw them get hit.” There was **no adult actively supervising** that situation. - **Inadequate staffing for the number and ages of kids:** Age ranges were roughly 4–12, but I saw: - One staff member sitting in a chair facing the jumper, not actively supervising all of the kids. - Way too many kids for the amount of staff actually paying attention. - Kids wandering between different areas and up/down stairs with very little visible supervision. - **Bathroom/restroom concerns:** I saw older kids (around 10–12) coming out of the restroom with 5‑year‑olds. All ages seem to be using the same restrooms, and I did not see staff monitoring who goes in and out. As a parent, that is frightening. It feels like at any moment, a child could be bullied or worse in those spaces without anyone noticing. - **Physical layout and “barriers”:** They had **tables used as walls** to block off certain areas instead of proper barriers. It does not feel secure or thoughtfully set up for safe supervision. - **Kids coming home hungry:** We bought the **summer pass** for my son and his friend, thinking it would be an amazing time like it used to be. Instead: - Both of them came home **hungry**. - It seems like they mainly focus on making sure kids get “lunch,” but not enough food or snacks to keep them full for a full camp day. For the price we are paying, this is unacceptable. Based on what I saw and how my son was treated, **I do not feel this camp is safe or properly supervised anymore**. In my opinion, there is serious negligence in supervision, and I’m not willing to risk my child being bullied or possibly assaulted at a place I’m paying to keep him safe. We are canceling our summer plans with this camp and will not be returning. *Previous experience with my daughters (about 6 years ago) To be clear, this wasn’t always the case for us. My older girls used to love Steve & Kate’s. But even back then, things had already started going downhill. This was essentially my review at that time: - **Less to do / not as advertised:** The camp advertises itself as self‑driven, where kids explore at their own pace and follow their interests. In reality, my daughters were: - Saying there was **less to do** than in previous years. - Being told to go outside a lot instead of being able to stay in the activities they enjoyed. - **Sewing room changes (very disappointing):** Previously, they could: - Choose from **rows of fabrics and yarn**. - Get a **bag with instructions or templates** and complete real projects. - Items left unattended could be taken by any camper – basically a free‑for‑all. - She was in the middle of making something, got told they *all* had to go outside, so she put her project in a cubby. When she came back after the outside activity, **her project was gone**. She was really sad because she wanted to show me what she made. - **Food quality got worse:**

★★★★Miss Umar

Steve & Kate's Camp is a fun and flexible camp where kids can enjoy creative activities, make friends, and learn new skills in a safe environment.

★Sally Chen

Steve & Kate's is the worst camp experience I've had for my kid. 1. Kids spent a lot of time on the bus taking them between the fields. We went to a San Mateo camp and they took the kids to an indoor playground in San Jose, which to me is really unnecessary. 2. Poorly organized. This happens at their Menlo Park site. Our camp is supposed to start at 9am. My girl and I, along with other parents and their kids, waited for 30 mins until someone finally showed up, telling us he has never managed this site before. 3. The places they took kids to are video game playhouse, and there's no one monitoring the kids the way they spent on those stupid video game machine. My girl game back telling me she spent 30 mins on a video shooting game. Overall, if you don't care about how your kids spent his/her time, and you have a lot time to deal with their disorganized schedule, please go ahead.

★★★★★Rachael Feldman

My kids have a had a great time at a Steve and Kates. They love being able to have autonomy about their day and be exposed to many things. The staff is very friendly and the director even helped me look through bushes to find my daughter's tracker watch, which was above and beyond. I also love that they partner with bright horizons and offer a la carte enrollment which serve out crazy summers just perfectly!

★★★★★zkqxm

My child had the happiest spring break of his life here. It was basically an extended party lasting several days: no need to adhere to schedules, no need to obey commands all the time. He could spend days playing the same activity, which was exactly the experience he had longed for, and it was very beneficial for developing his concentration. The staff here are delightful toward the kids, and the children in the camp are also very friendly. I could see my son relax both mentally and physically during this time. Of course, there was a certain degree of chaos and conflict, but because teachers rarely intervened, children had the opportunity to resolve or mitigate these conflicts in their creative ways. So overall, they could leave the camp happily and healthily. Finally, they do have significant freedom to use electronic devices, but at least my son didn't completely immerse himself in them because there were too many things more interesting than electronic products there.