Camp Flintlock Field Trips & Summer Camp — Local services in Benson

I went to Camp Flintlock in Maryland as a kid in 2002 with my sister and best friend and all three of us were traumatized by it. Netflix should really do an investigative series on this camp because there’s something sinister about the whole thing. The people who ran it were extremely controlling and unsettling to be around. The first day when we were dropped off by our parents they immediately made us change into colonial style outfits. Then they transported us to a second location where the camp was actually held which I don’t understand the point of, besides making it difficult for our parents to know where we were. They made us have freezing cold showers under a bucket with holes in it. We had to sleep on musty straw beds. The activities mainly consisted of chopping wood and other chores that essentially equate to free child labor. They wouldn't let us contact our parents at all for the entire duration of the camp. They literally told us running away would be pointless because we were in a location too isolated for any of us to successfully escape. One girl named Charlotte did try to run away (we were all rooting for you Charlotte) but they caught her in the woods and punished her by forcing her to rake up the grass in a circle pattern in the field for hours in the hot sun. My best friend developed a UTI from the stress and they still wouldn’t let her contact her mom but her mom had secretly given her a cell phone in case of emergency, so she discreetly used it one night to let her know she wasn't feeling well and wanted to be picked up. The next day the guy running the camp creepily told my friend “I know about your little secret…” then we discovered that he had gone through her bags in her tent and confiscated the phone. We were majorly disturbed by the invasion of privacy by this strange man and wanted nothing more than to get out of there, but of course we were powerless. At the time I thought we might be held captive there forever. I remember when the camp finally ended, feeling like an alien entering back into regular society. Kids’ camps are supposed to be fun but this experience left all of us feeling violated and I’m still trying to comprehend the psychological toll it has taken on me. Needless to say, I don’t recommend sending your kid to...

Today, I picked up my son from Camp Flintlock. He said “it’s the best camp that I have ever been too.” He has been to YMCA camp, Boy Scout Camp, and 4-H residential camps. Thank you for providing children with this great experience to learn about life in the late 1700s. He said, “the food was great.” He enjoyed the stories, the cooking, and capture the flag. His only complaint was that you do not currently offer a one-week option. He would have liked to stay at Camp...

Nice field trip. Kids enjoyed making necklaces, writing script, sword fighting, tug of war and dressing up(5 stations). There were only 2 people helping run everything, parents mainly controlled each station. Looking at pictures online and their video it looks like we weren't offered many of the other options that they had. Overall...