Summer Camps in Los Angeles

Moms in the L.A. area are starting to consider summer camp opportunities for their kids. After all, many of the popular local camps sell out sooner rather than later so it's never too early to get a jump on organizing your child's summer activities.

For the majority of L.A. parents, sending their kids  to camp summer is practically automatic. It's just something they do.

And that's a very good thing because camp give kids fantastic opportunities to learn more about themselves, become independent, grow in self-confidence and esteem, make new friends, participate in fun activities, and so much more

Given all this, we were thinking ...  will you be sending your kids to camp this summer? ​

Is so, what kind of camp are you looking for?

Don't miss L.A. Camp Fair 2018 Sunday, March 11 at UCLA, Saturday April 14 in Thousand Oaks or Sunday, April 22 in Calabasas. With over 100 exhibiting camps and programs, attending L.A Camp Fair is the best way to find a great summer camp in Los Angeles for your child this year.

​Where is the best place to look to find the ideal program? And finally, what criteria are you looking for in a camp experience?  ​​Hopefully we can camp to provide some answers to these questions.

What Criteria Do You Use When Finding a Camp For Your Child?

​While there are many ways to choose a camp. But when all is said and done, we always suggest choosing a program with activities your child enjoys the most and to include your son or daughter in the camp decision-making process.

If your daughter's into science or robotics but you choose an acting camp for her instead, then her camp experience might not go as well as planned! Thankfully there's many fun robotics and science summer programs in Los Angeles to choose from instead.

​But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Let's step back and consider all the various kinds of available opportunities and where you can find camps that "fit" your child's interests to ensure an outstanding camp experience this summer.

What Kind of Camp are You Looking For?

Maybe a more appropriate question is, what do you think of when you think of camp, and what do you expect from the camp experience?

You probably already know about the amazing social, personal and developmental growth your child will benefit from by going to camp this summer.  But what kind of camp are you looking for?

​When you think of camp, maybe you picture a "traditional" program experience with horseback riding and archery activities during the day and signing songs and making s'mores around the campfire at night.  If that's you version of summer camp and you think your child would enjoy this type of camp experience, fantastic! These kinds of programs are readily available in the Los Angeles area in both day camp and overnight camp formats.

​But what if you're child's into less "ordinary" activities or, shall we say, looking for a more "unique" camp experience with activities that specialize in just one or a few related areas?

In that case you'll be happy to know pretty much any type of specialty camp you can imagine is available for your child to enjoy this summer from gymnastics camps to music camps to sports camps to beach camps and everything in between.  

Bottom line, if you can dream it, you can bet there's a camp that specializes in delivering the very activity or activities your child enjoys the most.

What Makes Summer Camp So Fun?

No matter who you ask, campers of all ages and genders will generally answer the same way when asked what they like most about going camp: "It's FUN!" ​

And of course, summertime is all about having fun.  

But even though there's nothing a child enjoys more than having a great time, let's dig a little deeper. Why is camp so fun? What makes the camp experience so great? ​

We wanted to find out the answer to these questions ourselves, so we conducted a few phone interviews with L.A. area parents who've sent their kids to local camps in the past.

After speaking with more than 25 them, two common reasons why their kids loved camp so much consistently came up:

1. The activities were incredibly fun
2. The counselors and friends they made at camp were amazing.

In other words, the activities and the people are the two primary elements that make the camp experience so much fun for everyone.

The Activities

Any child will tell you one of the things they love most about going to camp is all the fun activities.

​Where else but camp can you climb a mountain, swim in the ocean, shoot bows and arrows, ride a jet ski, go horseback riding in the hills, act in a skit, and roast marshmallows around the campfire all in a single day? 

Thankfully L.A. is loaded with summer camp programs where kids can do all this and more.  After your child tries some of these amazing activities, you won't believe how much fun they'll say they had at camp and can't wait to go back for more!

The People

Camp people are some of the most wonderful people you'll meet.  We're talking everyone involved from the campers attending the program to the owners and directors of the program and everyone in between.

In fact, if you ask an adult who went to camp as a child what they liked the best or remember the most about their experience, they'll often say they still keep in touch with many of the childhood friends they made at camp and even remember their funny camp counselors who made such a positive, lasting impressions on them.

And so obviously this is good news for all of us.

When you child goes to camp this summer, you can feel confident in advance they'll have a blast and make lots of friends they will keep forever. THIS is best outcome of the camp experience for everyone.

How to Find the Best Summer Camps in Los Angeles in 2018

If you're familiar with how Camp Fairs work, you already know attending one is the way to get information about dozens of program opportunities all in one place. 

You'll find all kinds of different summer camp program opportunities in L.A. ranging from traditional camps to music camps and even beach summer camps and more.

In fact, at the upcoming L.A. Camp Fairs at UCLA, Calabasas and Conejo Valley this March and April, there will be at least 50 camp exhibitors at each event. ​

L.A. Camp Fair will be a fun, informative and festive atmosphere where you can meet representatives from all the programs to help you find the best summer camps in Los Angeles for your child this year.

Get  your free tickets to the L.A. Camp Fair here.