Camp Friendship

We had our wedding weekend at Camp Friendship. I cannot say enough good things about the grounds, lodging, food, and staff. Sarah was our wedding coordinator and went above and beyond helping us plan a bride vs. groom relay race, stag and hen parties, welcome dinner, entire wedding day, and brunches. The staff went out of their way to make sure everyone felt at home and comfortable. The chef is amazing. I wish we could have stayed longer!

Camp Friendship was an amazing venue for our wedding and delivered everything we could have wanted! Top notch campground, activities, staff, organization. Sarah and everyone were extremely flexible and oriented on making our weekend what we wanted it to be. Perfection across the board!

My 12-year old son just returned from his first time at Camp Friendship. He had a blast! He didn’t know anyone, and made friends with his cabin mates in the senior village- they talked about trying to attend the same session together next year. He loved the activities (he chose kayaking, fishing, mountain boarding, art), the food, making friends. He enjoyed the other events such as swimming time, the dance, and games/performances in the evenings. He did mention the cabin was hot, but he was able to fall asleep within minutes anyways, probably because he was tired by a full day of fun. As parents, we were super appreciative of how they handled the medical situation when he had a fall during an activity. Nurses Emma and Annika took excellent care of him, from their evaluation immediately after he fell and hit his shoulder, to their monitoring and communication to us as parents throughout the day. Out of an abundance of caution, we collectively decided to have him taken to the local urgent care to get X-rays and ensure it wasn’t fractured (thankfully no), and their protocol for the trip was top notch. He was in great hands, literally, and in times like these, it’s so important to know your child is in the right care. And in general, as parents, we loved he had a week of outdoor time with new friends, good, real, in-person conversations and moments together without devices!!!! He asked to attend for two weeks next year and can’t wait to return. Thank you, Camp Friendship!

I have celebrated my birthday for 3 years here, I personally don't get home sick AT ALL. if you do though-staff are amazing. I loved all my counselors from all years and I know that Erin is an amazing helper for homesickness. all activities are amazing: one week was hot while the other week was freezing. I make amazing friends! warning: your kid will come back waiting for when they can go back next!

I have meant to write this review for a year and forgot, but their excellent service stayed in my mind. During our visit for a wedding hosted there, the staff was incredible, helpful, and always present when needed. We had a nail in our tire resulting in a flat by the time we were leaving. We contacted the staff, and they got us over to their motor pool where they plugged the tire for us, allowing us to make it home. This is above and beyond anything we could’ve expected. Highly recommend to anyone.

My daughter spent two weeks at Camp Friendship last summer in Junior Girls. She had a wonderful time, made lots of friends, and had fun in all the activities offered (wilderness survival, kayak, gymnastics, fishing…). She is a very picky eater but really liked the food options at camp. She won’t be able to come this summer but we are definitely thinking of sending her again next year!

Our daughter attended Equestrian Camp for the first time this summer for a week-long stay. She was assigned a pony that was a habitual biter and had zero interest in moving faster than a walk, and the instructors did not seem very experienced in teaching. The cabins had no provisions for cooling the kids in the mid 90 degree temps. Our kiddo came home with a severe rash on her back and abdomen (prickly heat/sweat rash) from both the temps and lack of shower time. Looking for other options for pony camp next summer.

My 12 year old is going back for the 3rd year and we couldn't recommend this camp enough. So many fun activities and theme weeks. Communication leading up to camp and during camp (campers can send letters that are emailed to you every day, photos posted daily, etc) are fantastic.

My partner and I first toured Camp Friendship for our wedding in 2019. We fell in love right away! It was our dream for our friends & family to have a summer camp experience and to celebrate with them all weekend! We chatted with Sarah (Retreats Director) on all the details and booked Camp Friendship without hesitation. When COVID shifted our plans, we ultimately eloped and postponed the party until 2021. Sarah was attentive and accommodating throughout the roller coaster of emotions, plan B's, and even plan C's. When we finally hosted our "anniversary party" in 2021, we were honestly blown away with how perfect the weekend was. Over and over again, my partner and I would comment on how amazing the staff were. They made the weekend seamless and magical from start to finish. Our biggest regret was that we didn't book MORE meals and activities through Camp Friendship, rather than some outside vendors we had booked. We couldn't recommend them highly enough! And we hope to go back for a future retreat of some kind and/or send our future children there.

I attended Camp Friendship or should I say Camp Overly Friendship in the Summer of 2000 and Summer of 2001 with my best friend Justin. Summer of 2000 we were in Cabin 3, and had no complaints. Summer 2001 we were in Cabin 9, and had these European counselors who didn't supervise us. We got away with collecting nasty leftovers from the dining hall and putting it in Gatorade bottles for a prank and dumping it on the porch of a girls cabin. Also the last night I was there, I was awakened to the counselors giving us boner checks. I did enjoy the Camp dance an activities.

If I could give camp Friendship 6 or more stars, I would. I went here this past summer and I am going again! It was amazing! I went for two weeks, one week junior village and one week horse riding.The counselors and staff were so nice, when I got homesick, they helped me. My horse was the sweetest thing. In the normal camp, they had tons of different activities. From Drama to tennis, kayaking to pottery wheel, you name it, they had it. Every night they had an evening activity, like a pool party or tag type game. The food was also really good, and if you didn't like it, they had a salad bar and sandwich station. I made tons of friends, and met people from all around the world. The lake and zip line were really fun. We also had one cookout a week, and the food then was good too. I hope you consider going or sending your child, because it really was an amazing experience.

We sent my 8-year-old son here this past week for his first sleep away camp experience, and it has been fabulous for him and for us. The concept of sleep away camp is a little foreign to me, because I only went to day camps as a child and didn't know anyone who went to one. But my son's friend wanted to go, and so did my son. So I nervously let him go. I couldn't be more impressed with the camp. On checking in, the counselor was very friendly and responsible. My son was so proud to be on his own and have his own bunk. He got to do tons of activities, including things he had never done before like kayaking and trail riding. One of the great features for parents is that the camp takes photos of the kids doing activities and posts them to a site for parents each day. (They don't guarantee that each child will be photographed, but I have seen him most days.). That way, you can get a sense of a little of what your child has done if he is too busy to write. We also signed him up for the one-hour riding lessons, and I am also super impressed with that part of the program. My son had only ever been led around on a horse before, and by the end of the week he even trotted a little and did a short trail ride. The supervision was excellent, and there was always someone on the ground with him while he was on the horse. He said he personally felt safe, and he also didn't see any kicking or horses taking off. The horses looked sleek, patient and well cared for. I didn't see any skinny horses as someone mentioned below. I asked about that, and apparently sometimes they will take in horses that have not been well cared for, and care for them and train them over a long period until they are comfortable that they are ready for kids to ride - so apparently there are a couple of ribby ones in the barn butfor that reason. I loved getting letters back from my son, in which he not only told me what a great time he was having, but also proudly told me that he was setting the table and doing chores. I absolutely love that he gets not only the rewards but also a little bit of the responsibilities of being out of the house. The only downsides that I saw: it was hot and the cabins are not air conditioned. But my son didn't mind. The schedule is well designed so that the kids get free swim and a break in the hottest part of the day. I guess the lake could be bigger, but they also have a slow river (at least at this time of year), and they even took the horses in it one day. This may be a little long, but when I was looking at this camp, I didn't see a lot of detailed comments about it, and I feel some gratitude to them fpr keeping my son happy and safe. Quick update: my son says I should mention the 4th of July cookout and fireworks, and the camp-wide "color wars" -- which were games like funny relays in which all the campers were divided into either red, white, or blue teams and ended with a big campfire and s'mores. He said that was the best part. I loved my day camp growing up, but I wish I had been able to experience a classic camp like this!

Went here for a wedding and it was fantastic. Luckily the rain held off while we were there. The staff was fantastic and accommodating. Highly recommend the rope swing and zip lines as those provided tons of entertainment on multiple days.

My 14 year old son attended Camp Friendship for a week last June and had a wonderful time. In August he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. In October I registered him for two weeks at Camp Friendship and paid in full to take advantage of the early registration discount. I wrote on the registration form that  he had been diagnosed and asked the camp director or nurse to call me to discuss this. They cashed my check and confirmed his enrollment. I received no call. In March I emailed asking for a call from the director. She never called me. In May I registered him for a third week week, called at least twice, and asked to speak to the director. She was not available. The second time I called I was told the director was aware of my request and would be calling me back shortly. I received no call. I was annoyed with the lack of follow through, but attributed it to the camp being a summer program without full staffing during the school year, and that if his diabetes were an issue, I would have been notified. In June I filled out his camper profile online and included the fact he had been diagnosed with diabetes and requested a call. I never received one. I also filled out his health history form and when I clicked the box for diabetes, a series of drop down lists and text boxes opened up prompting me to document his treatment, which I did. I received no call or follow up after submitting the forms.  In late June we packed his bags and drove 2 hours to bring him for what was supposed to be a 3 week stay. Upon checking in, we asked if there was any outstanding paperwork and were told no and directed to check in with the nurse. The line we ended up in was for the student nurse. She rattled off what it said on his health history form. We took him to his campsite and brought his bags to his cabin. He was in the exact same cabin last summer, so he felt right at home and was excited about the upcoming weeks. Before leaving, I went back to the nurse's station. I met the two full time RNs on staff. One told me she was a school nurse during year and had several diabetic kids under her care. She requested his correction ratios.  When he was first diagnosed we were given a worksheet to calculate how much insulin he should take. After several months of consulting the sheet 3 times a day were were used to the routine and didn't need it anymore. I said I would email it as soon as I got home in 2 hours.  When I arrived home, I immediately got a call from the nurse asking for the worksheet. I emailed it immediately and asked her to call back if she didn't have it in 5 minutes. 5 minutes later, the phone rang again. This time it was the director, Sarah, finally calling me back. She said they were not equipped to manage my son's diabetes and that I had to come and pick him up immediately. She also said they didn't have the form giving permission to administer medicine, after I specifically asked if there was any outstanding paperwork upon checking in.  I said it would be at least 2 days until I could get time off of work to drive the 2 hours back to get him. She said that was unacceptable. I told her she could arrange transportation if he had to leave that night. At first she said they didn't offer that service, but then called me back saying someone would drive him back after evening campfire. A few hours later I get a call from my son. He's confused as to why he has to leave. I heard him calmly arguing his case to the director any asking if something could be worked out so he could stay. I was very proud of him, but ultimately it made no difference. At midnight he arrived back home with all the equipment and supplies we had just packed for his 3 week stay. Thank you Sarah and Camp Friendship for taking what was supposed to be a fun and exciting adventure and turning it into a traumatic event in my adolescent son's life. He'll never forget his time at Camp Friendship, though we both wish he could.

Fantastic camp for horse loving girls! My daughter had a great time! Beautiful facility, educated staff, and lots of other non horse activities. The staff is has a lot of international individuals. My daughter loved it! England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Russia and more. The experience they bring is wonderful. The food was great- wonderful new chef! My daughter loved it!!

This is my third year going I love it it's a great experience for someone to get out of their comfort zone and meet new people from around the world the staff are so friendly they make you feel like your at home you can learn a variety of things

I wish it were possible to give Camp Friendship a negative amount of stars, they don't even deserve one. My daughter attended this camp last week and I can guarantee you this will be her last. She arrived last Sunday, July 5th. She could not find her e-letter (a system Camp Friendship uses) that she knew she had packed. She asked a counselor to print her new ones and she was told they couldn't. She then asked if she could call me and ask me where they might be. She was told No you can't call home. She was given a piece of paper and told to write me via snail mail (btw, I just received it today after I picked her up) . I just learned when I picked her up today that they didn't even provide her with the stamp or envelope, a cabin-mate gave her them. Even though the camp director said that Camp Friendship provided her with paper, envelope and stamp (also documented in his letter) Long story short, Camp Friendship's Director Cris Higginbotham wrote me the most pompous letter citing the camps phone policy, why they couldn't print her e-letters and why I had trouble when I initially enrolled her. He went on to tell me how I should see his counselors had done everything that they could to help her. What he was most appalled by was and I quote, "Personally, I'm appalled that our office and system administrators caused so many errors and made your experience enrolling with us so difficult and for that I sincerely apologize." "However, I do believe your daughter has been provided with a quality camp experience. One where she is having fun but also experienced adversity in a safe way." Here is what I find appalling: The Camp Director finds his office issues and system most appalling - not how they responded to lost e-letters and how a child felt Multiple camp counselors didn't help my daughter look for the letters (which were found), didn't call me or email me so they could provide her with new e-letters or allow her to ask me over the phone. They allowed a child to feel isolated and feel as if she couldn't communicate with her family when she wanted to. They ZERO common sense on how to resolve a MINOR issue immediately Took no responsibility for the issue and called it a "learning" experience They refunded me 50 cents for a stamp!! The Camp Director lied I did hear back from the owner, in a nut shell they have trust in Mr. Higginbotham to follow up and improve their service. He has always taken parents comments seriously and they are sorry that I am losing confidence in Camp Friendship. They hope my confidence in Camp Friendship will be restored. I think that last part was a joke, right?

I love Camp Friendship! They hosted an all adult weekend retreat for our group this spring. I work for a business that hosts weekend retreats at camps across the country, so I visit and collaborate with camps on a regular basis. Camp Friendship is top notch. We met with Sarah Ackenbom, the retreats director, twice before camp to plan every hour of the weekend. Her attention to detail is absolutely impressive, and all of our plans were executed precisely as we hoped. She (and her entire staff) went above and beyond for us on everything from a lovely menu, to planning an adventure race complete with an interactive online trail map, and even little touches like twinkle lights, cute table cloths, and tiki torches. Camp Friendship staff was zipping around camp attending to our every need from sunrise to well after sunset. They were up before 6 AM preparing for each day before our campers emerged from their cabins for sunrise yoga! We plan to return to Camp Friendship every year with our group. Camp Friendship has set the bar high for every camp we will work with in the future. After experiencing Camp Friendship as an adult, I have decided this will be the camp where I will send my own children in the future.

I was a camper at Camp Friendship as a mini camper at age six and I remained a camper until I was 13 years old. I went to mid-year get-away weekend camps, horseback riding equestrian week long camp, and also a week - sometimes two weeks - of general camp. It was marvelous! As an adult I enjoy going to family camp every summer with my husband and my daughter. Camp Friendship is a nearly 50 year old institution in the camping world and an excellent place to grow as a person. I love this special place more than I can explain.

I spent 9 years at camp friendship and loved it so much that I hope to work there soon. It's such a wonderful place to be. They have so many different activities. Quite a few staff members are previous campers, so they really have a passion for the camp and are happy to be there. Camp is what you make of it and for me it was one of the best experiences I've ever had.

I have gone to camp since I was 7. I am 14 right now. I haven't missed a year at camp friendship. This camp is amazing I love it so much. There's so much to do and you meet a lot of people. The staff are incredible. Every year I have more friends and more people to see. And every year I enjoy it even more. This is a great camp. If suggest going. You won't regret it.

My review is of the equestrian portion of this camp. My daughter is a seasoned rider with many years of horse ownership and showing under her belt. The horses are not camp appropriate whatsoever. The horse assigned to my daughter bit and kicked and had horrible ground manners undersaddle was forward and not a school horse. 2 of the girls in her group were taken off on with the horses they were assigned. Another little's horse broke 3 halters and ripped out a tie ring in the stall. The kids in the advanced group that all had experience only walked and trotted. The website claims they jump up to 2'6, they trotted poles in the ground and small 12" crossrails. The website is extremely misleading. The "trainers" are 20 year old girls from the UK, they do not have experience teaching nor do they have the knowledge. As one of the girls was being taken off on she was told to slow down her posting to stop the horse. Any horse rider knows you do not post at the canter or gallop like this horse was doing you only post at the trot. The counselors are very nice at drop off but as soon as parents leave it turns into a nightmare. Summer camp is suppose to be fun, the counselors punish the entire group for minor things- one such instance was it took the counselors 3 times of them clapping their hands to get the girls to be quiet so they were sent to bed 45 minutes early and had to walk the long way to breakfast not use the shortcut. One morning the girls took 10 minutes to get dressed for the day, that was too long so again they had to walk the long way to breakfast and back. What kind of summer camp does this?? The food is awful breakfast was eggs from a carton and potato chips. My daughter was denied a shower and she was covered in mud. They told her there was lightning in the distance and she could not shower she was told no she couldn't wait until the storm in the distance passed and she could not take one in the morning she would have to wait until the next evening. Meanwhile the counselors went in to take showers. The head trainer Dani is a 20 year old kid that doesn't know the difference between a ground pole to a cavaletti. She also is the one that said to slow down posting when horses landed a crossrail in a canter to get them to stop. There is NO adult supervision. The equestrian director Skye is either driving around on her golf cart or sitting in her office. If you bring up any concerns to her she does not look into them, she tells you your child is lying. My daughter brought home photographs and written statements from other campers. The horses are not taken care of at all. One poor mare who was given to them by a girl who went to college is covered in bite and kick marks. Several of the horses are underweight. They make their own sawdust- it has literal garbage in it, zip ties, plastic and general debris. They feed all the horses barely anything. If they are lucky they get a quart of food- not sufficient when there is not 24 hour turn out and they are worked everyday. Some of the girls attending the session my daughter was at are repeat campers, they are all saying this year is different from years past, that it has gone downhill and they won't be returning. The non equine part of the camp all the campers seem to enjoy themselves, the equestrian camp needs some serious help. With having such inappropriate horses and having a staff of barely out of their teenage years running the place it's not safe to send your child.

My two kids spent a week in camp friendship. My daughter did a cheer focus and my son, a fishing focus. That week the only other kids doing a fishing focus were the children of the owners of the camp. They were older than my son and bullied him the entire week. I still feel bad that I put him through such a horrible week.

My daughter has gone to Camp Friendship for Spring Break Riding Camp and Summer Camp. She cries when she has to leave because she has so much fun with the other kids. I was nervous about having her go alone when she was 8 but she did great. They kept her so busy with all of the activities - she did kayaking, archery, tennis, horseback riding, friendship bracelet making, and arts & crafts. Friendly staff and beautiful setting. Nice cabins and dining hall.

I went to the horse camp and it is the worst camp I have ever been to. It was a total waste of a large amount of money.

My son just finished his 4th summer attending Camp Friendship. We absolutely love the camp. It is an incredibly wholesome family like environment where the kid friendly tone is set by owners and staff. I spent a lot of time researching camps before sending my son to a sleep away camp. There are lot of great sleep away camps out there but what set Camp Friendship apart for us was the international aspect. They apparently have more international campers than any other residential camp. My son has had boys from countries from all over the world as far away as China and Russia in his cabin. At the opening ceremony for each camp session they raise flags of all the countries represented at the camp. The camp has all the traditional camp activities and amenities to include beautiful lake and river. The last two years my son has done the half day tennis with Alina, the tennis pro from Russia. He loves her. She is VERY nice and an excellent tennis pro. The grounds are beautiful. The counselors are exceptional. The first year my son attended the camp he was 10 and got homesick. He told me how one of the Senior counselors knew exactly what to say to make him feel better. I know the camp is very selective on their counselors and the counselors genuinely love working with kids. They have a lot of fun and ensure the kids enjoy themselves. For my son, Camp Friendship has become a home away from home. He cant wait to go back every summer and NEVER misses his electronics! Camp Friendship is a classic all American camp every child should experience. We are very grateful to have found this very special place.

DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE! I went to this camp at age 9 and i hated it. I love overnight camps, just not this one. the counselors dont care about the kids and the activities are not fun. there is nothing good about this camp, and the food is disgusting.

My daughter has been going to Camp Friendship for the last 5 years and has enjoyed every single year. When she first started going to camp she was afraid to try new things, painfully shy and only into computers. This all changed when she started going to Camp Friendship, which has been in business since 1966 and is still run by the original founder, a former Navy Pilot. There are so many daily activities to choose from and something for everyone: sports, crafts, art, music, theater, equestrian, water skiing, gymnastics.... Summer Camp isn't for everyone - and occasionally I will see a negative review but the majority of the kids who have been (many who go on to become counselors here) seem to have truly enjoyed their experience. Cell phones and other technological devices are not allowed - which is a good thing - it allows the campers to unplug and just be kids and have fun. You can write your camper with their e-stamp program but in talking with the parents - most kids won't write back because they are having too much fun! so don't worry). 100's of pictures are available for the parents to review twice a week so you are able to see your kid in action. One of the unique things about Camp Friendship is the number of international campers and counselors that come to Camp Friendship. My child has developed friendships with kids from all over the world and each year many of them come back and they continue to stay in touch throughout the year. In terms of the price I would say (based on my research of summer camps up and down the East Coast) it's middle of the road. Some may think it's expensive, however, there is no way that as a parent I could possibly create that experience and all those activities for my child. The food seems to be pretty good - large variety and lots of fruits and vegetables - my kid used to be a picky eater until she came to Camp Friendship. One year she came home and asked me to get vegemite because one of her friends from Australia had brought some and let her try it. Camp Friendship will accommodate food allergies, vegan, vegetarian etc. The cabins are divided between age groups and there is a junior camp and senior camp. The cabins are rustic and there is No AC but most kids bring a mini fan that can be plugged in (bring an extension chord) (highly recommend this). Each week they have a new theme and the kids have the option to dress up - Aloha week, 70's Week etc. Then there is Color Wars - you never know when this is happening (it's always a surprise and it happens maybe 2-3x per summer) and the kids absolutely love this. All the campers divide into 3 teams and participate in friendly competitions like tug of war, water sports etc. (Look up Color Wars on Wikipedia for more info). Camp Friendship is rustic, it can be hot and humid but it has been an awesome experience for my child. If you do send your child to summer camp, I would start with one week for the first time and if they like it extend to 2 or 3 weeks. There are some campers (mostly international) that will go for the entire summer which is about 8 weeks.