Tamarack Day Camp — Local services in Randolph Township

Summer of 2019. It was my twins' first time attending a summer camp that wasn't local. I was hesitant at first but upon attending the open house early in the year, I was convinced that Camp Tamarack was the camp I wanted my children to attend going forward. It was the camp I wish my parents could have sent me to when I was a young boy. With all the activities that not only provide the kids fun, first and foremost, but also builds confidence, teaches cooperation, encouragement, support and instills the idea of what team spirit looks like, not to mention the friendships that were made between the campers but between the camp counselors and the kids too.

Yes, the camp is pricey but as the saying goes: you get what you pay for. My kids certainly did. The fact that the camp not only provides Door to Door Service (whoopie!) they also provide lunch (double whoopie) is a win win. Progress reports on how well my kids were doing were greatly appreciated and gave me something I could connect with my kids in regards to their daily activities. I loved seeing how excited my kids would be over getting certificates, written compliments from their counselors praising their efforts as well as a "bead" they would earn for being outstanding.

Camp Tamarack also has a day where parents, family members of the camper can come and spend a few hours hanging out with the kids to get their own taste of camp life. As the camp season winds down, there is a talent performance showcasing the kids and the counselors. As a family headed by a same-sex couple, there is always a concern that we (but more importantly my kids) will feel discriminated against but we no reason to be concerned. The camp made us feel extremely welcome and comfortable.

I call Camp Tamarack the 'camp you see in the movies' with all the things a camp should have for kids of all ages. It's not too many camps where the last day of summer camp is met with tears all around from the counselors who have come to love the kids they've spent all this time with. My kids' attendance at Camp Tamarack is now something we build into our family budget in order to provide them with a unique opportunity I...

We were attracted by its fishing&boat class “once a week” so we joined 8 weeks. However, 4 weeks later it was replaced by LEGO FREE PLAY class without notifying us. After we realized it, we tried to contact Terry (who in charge tamarack) to get our kid, who loves fishing&boat, back to this activity. She just played around the brush. In the end, my kid was able to attend only once out of the 4 weeks left. Worst part is that Terry never replied my any other following up emails any more. She just ignored all my requests thereafter. One excuse from her is that there were plenty of other activities to schedule so no more fishing class could be filled. However, activities like rope class were scheduled TWICE a week. She would say, your kid class voted for LEGO to replace fishing&boat. But it is just a trick to replace a high cost activity by low cost one. Why not replace rope class by LEGO? Why replace fishing&boat? It’s LEGO class just let kid FREE PLAY without any class design. Therefore, I strongly warn the parents considering this camp. You may be tricked without noticing it and ignored by Who in charge...

This was our 7th year and our last! Every single part of this camp has gone downhill. From staff to activies. We’ve paid more and got so much less. I could write a novel but I won’t. The worst part is I tried long before camp started to speak or communicate with the owner. Sent several emails right off the camp website. Crickets. Reached out directly to camp to get his name and phone # because I assumed someone else ran the camp. I wasn’t given a #, just the same email I’d been using for months. The office staff reached out to him and gave me a different email for another camp. He responded saying he never got email and didn’t know his tamarack email wasn’t working…at this point camp was over so it was pointless. I am saddened and disappointed that over so many years and over 100K the owner couldn’t be bothered. I emphatically do not recommend this camp. There are so many better ones...