YMCA Camp Tahigwa

★★★★★Robert Tufte, DTE

My review is from the time I went there from 1960-65. Times were different. All the neighborhood kids would meet for the bus at Garrison and Main. We had to bring our lunch every day. We would go swimming right when we arrived, just after they dropped the huge blocks of ice in the pool. It rained everyday, all day and we usually made boondoggle keychains in a shed. We would go and catch critters, look at them, release them and go and catch them the next day. There was no mountain biking, it wasn't invented, there was no ropes course, it wasn't invented. We would run around and get dirty and play kickball, dodgeball etc. There was no trading card stuff, because we ate in the rain and liked it. One time going on the bus, one of the rear tires blew out with a loud bang. The driver went and looked, got back on the bus and said it was an inside tire and that we would keep going, but we all had to sit on the opposite side of the bus from the flat tire. No first responders, no news reporters. You know why? Because we were babyboomers and we took it and liked it.

★★★★Hagen Leuthe

As a mountain Biker at camp tahigwa for 6 years the camps rules are totally absurd. No phones which what if you need them in an emergency. The mountain bikers used to be able to fix broken bikes and take them apart for parts to use for other bikes. Now they took away that rule 2 years ago and won’t bring it back. Mountain biking at camp tahigwa is fun in all but the camp needs to get bikes of all sizes for the shorter campers this camp was fun what I first joined in 2017 with one of my friends named Parker we have been leading the mountain biking group 4 years now and we are starting to get bored of doing it all the time we both want to be counselors for mountain biking but some things need to change.

★★★Gretchen Jeroszko

As a kid who went to the camp, here is my honest opinion. I remember this camp being very fun for the first 2-3 years of going to it over summer break, the counselors were fun and we would do fun activities like Rock wall, Zip line, And archery. I went to the mountain biking club and i had the best counselor. Her name was Ally, i don’t remember her last name but she was the reason I stayed in that camp for the last year. The camp grew boring after they started to take things away, The removed the art shack, and replaced it with a large warehouse with nothing but bathrooms and a few tables. And they became more strict. i remember once My brother was sent to the woods to do fort building and i was sent to the field to play soccer, but i asked to be with my brother because I didn’t like soccer. And they refused to let me be with my brother and i remember crying and they did absolutely nothing about it and forced me to play. After hearing Ally was leaving the next year, I decided not to return. And based by the reviews of this camp, it doesn't seem to be getting better. At least when i went they allowed trading cards during lunch. Anyways, I hope they can turn this camp back around because it was very fun. (This is my input from going there for 3-4 years)

★★Ducklet

First and foremost, I wish to give the most honest review of Camp Tahigwa that I can. I have attended the camp for 9 years and in the first 6 years, everything we did throughout the day was fun and interactive and the counselors were fantastic, kind, and approachable. If they kept the camp this way I would give a 5 star review. However in the past 3 years, the camp has spiralled out of control by issuing absurd rules such as campers wearing seatbelts and how people can no longer catch wildlife which in my opinion was the most enjoyable activity. I loved catching the turtles and looking at them and then releasing them. They now focus more on safety drills and making sure that you spend as much time as possible in the pool because it's the easiest thing to advise I guess. They also have banned trading cards like Pokemon so most of the kids there have nothing to do during lunch. I think that they have been giving more power to the counselors which don't have a clue how to deal with kids and teens and end up taking away their free time( I.E. trading cards) which benefits no one because the kids aren't having any fun which then gets them irritated which the counselors then have to deal with. Also within the last 3 summers, I've noticed that most of the counselors care a lot less and this causes more children to misbehave. My next point would be how the ropes course is pretty boring and has a lot of potential. I also think that the CIT(Counselors In Training) program needs a big improvement as well. The CIT's practically do no activities and spend the whole day planning activities(usually kickball or the sort) or cleaning up the whole campground. I have also heard that the mountain bikers go on less trails too. I have also noticed that the camp focuses on gaga (a beloved game involving a ball in a pit), the pool, and field games like soccer and four square and is straying away from canoeing, archery, and other activities involving nature. Overall, I believe that Camp Tahigwa used to be a great way for children to spend their summer days but has now gone downhill to the point of no return unfortunately and I fear that the camp will shut down soon if they don't change things soon. The return rate of campers is becoming increasingly lower but I don't think this matters because it's the YMCA and they have plenty of money to go around. Thank you for reading this and I hope that if the directors read this, they take into consideration some of the ideas that I have proposed.

★Bill Trautman

This was my sons first and last week at camp Tahigwa. They do not do anything that they advertise. Counslers don’t pay attention. Another child was saying inappropriate things, throwing sticks, and acting out and nothing was done about it. My son was looking forward to zip line and they didn’t do once in 5 days. They did rock wall once in 5 days. They played a lot of Gaga ball. Our impression from open house and brochure made camp look like an amazing camp. It was definitely not the best summer camp and would recommend going to a local community center. My son will not be going back. Also child pickup I was able to pickup my son and his friend with no questions asked. Kids took bus from Young’s road location by ecc in williamsville.