YMCA Camp Loma Mar

★younged 510

This is the second time my daughter went. The first time she had a good experience. She had such a good experience that she wanted to go again a second time. Second time wasn't great for her. There were bullies in her cabin, she was assigned on cabin #10 with 6-8 other girls. A few of the girls were bullying my daughter which she told and complained to most of the camp counselors and all they say is, "I'm sorry to hear that is happening to you." They were also bullying some other girls my daughter made friends which again nothing was done to be prevented. This year the camp hardly posted any pictures as well. THIS IS THE LAST TIME SHE WILL BE GOING TO THIS SLEEP AWAY CAMP. STAFFS DON'T CARE THEY JUST WANT TO TAKE YOUR MONEY!

★Erika Weidner

Camp naturalists are great. The program is good though they could use more free time outdoors. I have one star for two reasons. The facilities are absolutely horrible. Our can stank of disinfectant so badly I became ill overnight and vomited. They moved us to another cabin the second night which smelled ok. And I could then sleep. Thank goodness. But the windows are broken. The beds are really really bad. The bathrooms are in bad shape and not even a hook and the whole thing was really dirty. I honestly would have preferred pitching a tent on the field. Second is food. Seriously please stop talking to kids like the only thing they can eat is pizza. Stop serving cereal and wonder bread and juice. Let them have tea and healthier option with some protein. Even the yoghurt was sweetened.

★Jill Allen

My daughter had a horrible experience at the YMCA summer camp at Loma Mar. When I dropped her off, she was excited to spend her first time at sleep away camp doing fun activities and making new friends. When I picked her up, she was in tears and as we drove home, she told me details about the verbal abuse, threatening behavior, and dismissive attitude from her camp counselor. My daughter and her friend who attended camp with her shared that their camp counselor yelled at them, unreasonably limited their time for using the restroom and showering, threatened to write all cabin members up without just cause, permitted physical and verbal abuse from another camper in their cabin, dismissed their concerns for their own safety in the presence of this misbehaving cabin mate, told all the girls they were “the worst cabin ever”, denied the girls snacks while eating her own in front of them, and did not permit the girls to fully explore the grounds as other campers were allowed to do. They expressed that the negative treatment from the counselor was unwarranted and not a result of misbehavior on their part. In addition, this mistreatment was across the board; everyone in the cabin was denied the same opportunities. Based on their observations, it appeared that campers from other cabins might have had better experiences. We contacted YMCA leadership and expressed our concerns. Their response lacked empathy, accountability, and any real sense of urgency in making sure other campers were not exposed to the inappropriate behavior of this counselor. If you’re considering sleep away camp, I strongly suggest you AVOID the YMCA. Whether it’s poor vetting, ineffective training, inexperienced leadership, or something else, it’s not worth the risk of the potential harm to your child.

★★★★★Tiffany Chan

My daughter loved her summer camp experience at Loma Mar! The counselors were great, she loved the activities, made good friends, and said the food was fantastic (her vegetarian friends were also impressed with the meals). The only downside was the cleanliness of the bathrooms, but a little roughing it isn't the worst thing for kids at a summer camp. She also took the bus which was a great option from a parent perspective.

★★★★★Why me sara?

Back in the 90s I spent every summer at this camp growing up and it really has made a impact on my life. I still friends with some of the people I met while going to camp Loma mar, and I still cherish the memories I have from there. I still go back every so often to take a stroll down memory lane to see how much it has changed thru the years. It's a great camp and if you have the opportunity to send your child there do it, they even have campership funds for low income families so their children can go to. It's a wonderful learning experience in a beautiful place