Willow Lake Day Camp — Local services in Sparta Township

Pure greed.

I'm not generally one to complain too much, but I would like this to serve as a word of caution to anyone considering sending their kids to Willow Lake Day Camp.

First, the scenario. My son attended Willow Lake in 2021. At the end of the season, we put down a deposit for 2022 and signed the contract for the following year.

In January 2022, my son decided to attend sleep away camp. That's where the problem started.

After doing some research, we informed the owner that my son would not attend this year and requested a refund.

He was adamant (and rude) that we had signed a contract and would not receive the money back.

I even suggested that instead of refunding me, he use it for a scholarship for an underprivileged camper.

He wasn't having any of it. Instead, he's lining his pockets.

I could understand if my son was occupying a camp spot that he could not fill, but that was not the case. He had no trouble filling the spot...we confirmed.

I made the same request of him this year to return the 2022 deposit before 2023, and he has continued to maintain his position.

We weren't first-timers either. In addition to 2021, my older son attended several years ago.

I realize that I signed a contract. However, there is good faith, and there are good business practices.

He doesn't believe in either one.

There are plenty of people enjoying his camp, which is great.

However, that's not my experience, and I hope the owner's business practices aren't reflected in the experience your children will have.

*Update. Just received the folllowing completely inappropriate response from the owner of the camp. Scary:

We noticed the google review and as someone in the communications world, we would think you would be careful not to give disinformation or slander a business publicly. We feel you have done both. We understand you do not like our refund policy. This is the same policy that every Willow Lake family has agreed and abided to for over a decade. Camp is our business and feeds our families, keeps your niece and nephews safe and happy as well as employs your sister in law.

We ask you to consider removing your post today.

*Apparently, he is unhappy with someone stating the facts and seems to be getting inappropriately personal.

The bad look...

I can’t say enough about Willow Lake! The camp, the activities, and the counselors are all phenomenal. I’d love to share a couple stories that I hope illustrate how amazing this camp is and how confident they made my son feel in himself.

The first story is about their swimming program. My 8 year old loves the pool but had never been able to get his face wet or go underwater prior to Willow Lake. In the past, he had attended another day camp with a daily swimming program—they were never able to help him achieve this even after 2 summers of 8 weeks each. We then had him take 1:1 weekly private lessons at a well known swim school for 4 months. That still didn’t work. It wasn’t until the amazing counselors and swim instructors at Willow Lake worked with him this summer that he achieved this. Wait for it. He was able to gain the confidence and go underwater in the first week of camp!!! By the 4th week of camp, he had achieved 7 “mini levels” within Willow Lake’s American Red Cross Swim program. I can’t make this up. Thanks to Aiden, Brian, and team!

The second story is that my son mentioned he didn’t feel as confident playing basketball with the other kids. He didn’t know how to properly shoot a basket and kept having airballs. I sent an email that evening to his head counselor to see if they could help my son out. The very next morning, he had a 1:1 lesson on handling the basketball, dribbling, and shooting. He came home ecstatic—he made some baskets and could hit the backboard now! It was a total game changer in his confidence.

We love Willow Lake. But don’t take my word for it. The best review I can provide is the quote from my son when he got off the bus after his very first day at Willow Lake: “Best....

As a first-time camp parent, I was hesitant… but Willow Lake changed everything.

I never went to camp as a child, so I was naturally reluctant to send my son—especially with a 45-minute bus ride each way. I kept wondering, How would he handle that?

But after hearing wonderful things about Willow Lake, we decided to take a tour—and we’re so glad we did.

On the very first day, my son confidently put on his backpack, got on the bus (his first time ever on a bus), and never looked back. He had an amazing time from the start.

There’s truly so much to do: cooking, art, tubing, SkyZone, soccer, basketball, Willow Town, theater, themed days, swimming—you name it. Many camps are heavy on sports, but Willow offers a great variety. With 11 periods a day, there's something for every interest.

The staff is fantastic. Charles, in particular, goes above and beyond—he responds to emails day and night and makes families feel heard and supported.

My son made great friends, both at camp and even just on the bus. It turns out kids are incredibly resilient… it’s us parents who worry the most! 😊

We’ll absolutely be...