Cali Camp

This is my son’s first year at Cali Camp. He has been attending for 5 wonderful weeks and it truly been a wonderful experience for him and for our family. The camp offers a great balance of fun activities, outdoor adventures, and meaningful social connections that have helped my son grow in confidence, independence, and blossom into a strong and confident boy. The counselors both on and off the bus are caring, attentive, and really go out of their way to make sure every child feels included and supported. The bus counselors “Turbo” and other staff on the bus go above and beyond to make sure my son feels safe and taken care of. I appreciate how well-organized everything is, from daily schedules to special events. His group counselor “Spotlight” is a breath of fresh air, and really has made a lasting impression on my son. The camp is run by “Kahuna” and “Blaze and they pour their heart and souls into the camp and it really shows. These two ladies do an amazing job giving these kids the time of their lives. Communication with parents is clear and consistent, which gives me peace of mind knowing my son who is six years old is safe and happy. One of my favorite things about Cali Camp is the variety of activities they offer — from horses, yoga, sports and swimming to arts and crafts and nature hikes. My son always comes home excited to tell me about what he did each day, and the new friends that he has made. We will be returning to Cali Camp next year and look forward to watching my son thrive as the summer concludes.

this review is for special needs/ autistic campers only. Cali Camp is a beautiful camp with wonderful programs. I really can’t say enough about it but not for children with special needs who require any extra attention or accommodations. Before I sent my son there I read so much about Cali Camp and I assumed there was a group within the camp for kids with special needs. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I think they mean to say we will accept kids with special-needs and we will do our best to make sure they’re OK but we’re not going to do anything specific for them or have any knowledge about them fortunately, we sent my son with one aid, so he wasn’t on his own, but he was unable to do most of the things. The other campers were doing, and it was obvious that the counselors and people who worked there had no knowledge of children like him because they didn’t really know what to do with him. They didn’t in anyway try to buffer him with the other kids or help him along in anyway or make him feel welcome they just went with the other kids and sort of ignored him. It was pretty uncomfortable and I wish that I hadn’t sent him there because I think that it really did a number on his self-esteem. so if you’re the parent of a child who has autism or any special needs or any way different, I implore you not to send your child to this camp. It is not what you think it would be, and I wish that they would remove any wording from the brochure that makes it seem as if it is anything other than a camp for Neurotypical children

I have been sending my two kids here every summer since they were 3 years old, and now the oldest is going into 8th grade. This is the best day camp in Los Angeles, hands down. Kids can have a real summer, unplugged, playing outside all day, making friends, doing the most amazing activities. Swimming, horses, archery, rock climbing, arts and crafts, aerial arts, gymnastics, sports, hiking, singing songs. Even the bus ride is fun! And it's so easy with lunch available for purchase on site. The kids have the best time all day and come home exhausted from all the fun. The counselors and directors are fun, caring, and such great role models. We are so happy that we found Cali Camp and so greatful for the amazing summers our kids have had there!

My son has an autism diagnosis & has a hard time separating. I had a tough time picturing him even getting through one day of camp with several transitions and a complete separation at the camp bus in the morning. I am floored about his experience during his 3 weeks of Cali camp. He developed autonomy for the first time of his life and came away from his first week of camp with the honor of camper of the week! I am positive that his experience of camp magic with creative and incredible staff are going to help his transition into kindergarten this year. Kassandra aka blaze is one of the camp directors. She does an incredible job of hand picking and training staff to bring out the best in each other and support everyone through long hot and memorable days at camp! Too many things to highlight but my kiddo enjoyed archery - swimming - horses - arts & crafts - aerial arts- dance & gymnastics. Each week is refreshed with a new theme to make it all the more fun. I love that they have an app you can download that posts daily pictures at camp so it feels like you are there for the adventure! While they are not a camp dedicated to special needs children they have an inclusion program to help insure your campers needs are met. We can’t wait to return next year!

This will be our son's 3rd year at Cali Camp (I wish we would of known about it earlier). We went to one of their open houses (highly recommended - see my pics) and saw how big and beautiful the grounds were and how many different activities the kids can do. They have different themed weeks with games that go along with the themes ex. Pirate Week. The staff and camp counselors are well trained, helpful and super friendly and its always great to hear how many years they have been working there. In addition some of the counselors used to be kids that attended Cali Camp year before. Our son loves Cali Camp and every year he has more friends that join him. We live in Marina del Rey and Cali Camp has a bus that comes to pick him up...the bus ride is about an hour but they have a ton of fun on that bus with the counselors, they sing songs and play games. And every day they come home exhausted and can't wait for the next day :).