Reposted

…also a call to the powers that be to better define the term “family camp”. 

Based on talking to other family camp directors and countless prospective family campers, I propose a set of variables that when present, will define a family camp as most people understand it to be.  And hopefully this list will help you sort through all the information on the web (trust me, there’s a lot and much of it is confusing) to find the family vacation you are looking for.

1) Family camps should be full-season, that is it operates as a family camp for the entire summer, just like a childrens camp (usually June-August).
2) A family camp facility should be at least partially designed with the interests of its adult campers in mind as well as its children campers. This means comfortable sleeping arrangements (real mattresses with boxsprings, one family-to-a-cabin privacy) and ready access to clean bathrooms and hot showers, preferably in the cabin itself.
3) Family camps should serve 3 meals/day and food should be of a standard that is satisfying for its adult campers and easily pleasing of its child campers.
4) Family camps should provide activities that appeal to its adult as well as child campers and ideally should provide qualified guidance and instruction in those activities through the use of trained staff.
5) Family camps should recognize, as expressed through their programs and facilities, that they function to provide a quality and meaningful family vacation, usually modelled in the style of the traditional childrens summer camp and that this unique distinction is what defines them as family camps.

Advice on Family Camps from a Family Camp Director