America's Best Summer Camps 2023

By Ed Barredo

Summer camps are an iconic American tradition. According to the American Camp Association (ACA), approximately 20 million kids go to summer camp each year—and for good reason. Camps can offer children a unique opportunity to explore new interests, make lasting friendships, and gain independence in a fun and supportive environment.

With over 12,000 summer camps across the United States, it can be daunting for parents to search for, vet and select the best camp for their kids. Choosing a summer program requires careful consideration of a camper's interests and personality. By doing your research and asking the right questions, you can find a summer camp that provides a fun, safe and rewarding experience for your child.

To that end, Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group ("Plant-A") have partnered to determine the 500 best summer camps in the U.S. "America's Best Summer Camps 2023" recognizes the top summer camps in the United States, categorized by state, based on social media reviews and a comprehensive survey of 15,000 parents. The list is composed of approximately two-thirds non-profit and one-third for-profit camps; 483 have earned ACA accreditation. There are 17 non-accredited camps under final review. These camps have been asked to complete additional information and may be added to the ranking upon completion.

We hope this list serves as a supplemental resource as you scout out suitable summer camps for your family. As with most things, there is no one-size-fits-all option for activities for your children, so please keep in mind that our list of camps speaks to a diverse audience of camp-goers.

Nancy Cooper Signature 5

...

These rankings are intended to support parents as they research summer camp options for their children. They are informational, not prescriptive: Parents and guardians, who know their children so well, are the decision-makers.

Camp

State

Gender

Categories

Type

Affiliation

ACA accredited?

Singing HillsAKOnly girlsWater Activities, Academic, Adventure, EnvironmentalDayGirl Scouts of the USAYesAlabama 4-H Center Summer CampALCoedWater Activities, SportsOvernight4-H ClubsYesAlpine Camp For BoysALOnly boysWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightNondenominational ChristianYesCamp ASCCAALCoedWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightEastersealsYesCamp GraceALCoedWater ActivitiesOvernightHospital/Health/MedicalYesCamp LaneyALOnly boysWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightNondenominational ChristianYesArizona Camp Sunrise & SidekicksAZCoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/DayIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCactus Day CampAZCoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, SportsDayIndependent, For ProfitYesCamp Sky YAZCoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/Family or AdultYMCAYesChapel Rock Camp and Conference CenterAZCoedSports, Religious, Water Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, EnvironmentalOvernight/Family or AdultEpiscopalYesAloha Beach CampCACoedWater Activities, Adventure, EnvironmentalDayIndependent, For ProfitYesAstroCampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, SportsOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesBrave TrailsCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCali CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsDayIndependent, For ProfitYesCamp Bob WaldorfCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightJewish, Association of Independent Jewish CampsYesCamp Jack HazardCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCamp JamesCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsDayIndependent, For ProfitYesCamp Jaycee (JCCA)CACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsDayJewish Community CenterYesCamp Krem - Camping UnlimitedCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/DayIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCamp Laurel CaliforniaCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCamp OkizuCAOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCamp Ramah in CaliforniaCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/Family or AdultJewish, ConservativeYesCamp Ronald McDonald for Good TimesCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/Family or AdultIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCamp StevensCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/Family or AdultEpiscopalYesCamp SummertimeCADayYesCamp WinnarainbowCACoedArts, Academic, Water Activities, SportsOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesCamp4KidsCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightMultidenominational ChristianYesCanyon Creek Summer CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, For ProfitYesCloverleaf RanchCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/DayIndependent, For ProfitYesFarm CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, For ProfitYesGold Arrow CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, For ProfitYesGrizzly Creek RanchCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/Family or AdultIndependent, Not for ProfitYesJefunira CampCACoedArts, Academic, SportsDayIndependent, For ProfitYesJohnny B'sCADayIndependent, For ProfitYesK3 Martial Arts Summer CampCACoedAdventure, SportsDayYesLawrence Daley CampCACoedReligious, Water Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightSalvation ArmyYesLazy W RanchCACoedReligious, Water Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightUnited MethodistYesLuther GlenCACoedArts, Water Activities, Adventure, SportsOvernightLutheran, ELCAYesMount KareCAOvernightIndependent, Not for ProfitYesPali Overnight AdventuresCAOnly girls, CoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, For ProfitYesSchoepe Scout Reservation at Lost ValleyCACoedAcademic, AdventureOvernightBoy Scouts of AmericaYesShaffer's High Sierra CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, For ProfitYesThe Painted TurtleCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/Family or AdultYesThe Phoenix Ranch Day CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernight/DayIndependent, For ProfitYesTom Sawyer CampsCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Adventure, Environmental, SportsDayIndependent, For ProfitYesTumbleweed Day CampCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsDayIndependent, For ProfitYesUCCR - Jesuit Retreat Center of the SierraCAOvernightYesUCCR - Monte ToyonCAFamily or AdultUnited MethodistYesWalden WestCAParks and RecreationYesWalton`s Grizzly LodgeCACoedWater Activities, Arts, Academic, Adventure, Environmental, SportsOvernightIndependent, For ProfitYes

12...10

Licensing:

Are you on the list? Click here to claim your award and learn how to use it.

METHODOLOGY

The ranking of America's Best Summer Camps 2023 identified the 500 best summer camps in the United States. The list is based on a study consisting of four main parts:
The evaluation and scoring was based on the following factors:
* Peer-to-Peer survey: Plant-A conducted a peer-to-peer survey beforehand with camp managers to validate the questionnaire for the parent survey regarding the relevance of the queried topics (offered activities, accessibility, food, etc.). Therefore, the camp managers rated the importance of the queried evaluation categories from a professional perspective.

* Social media reviews: Plant-A researched all camp reviews on the social media platforms Google and Facebook. Both platforms provided a significant amount of reviews as well as the reviews on a 5-point/star scale. Plant-A consolidated reviews on both platforms into a total amount of reviews and calculated the average rate on a 5-point scale. Plant-A collected in total about 670,000 social media reviews from both platforms.

* Parent survey: Plant-A conducted an online survey of 15,000 parents (U.S. census based) who have either sent their child to camp or plan to do so in the future. The surveyed parents were asked to rate up to 10 camps that they knew of either through direct experience (child attended camp) or indirect experience (e.g., knowledge gained through personal research or exchange with acquaintances). In total, 4,412 camps were evaluated, and 114,820 camp ratings were given (an average of 7.7 camps per respondent).

* Desk Research & Media Monitoring: Plant-A researched every single camp on the variety of programs, gender specification, address of the camps as well as if the camp is accredited by the American Camp Association (https://www.acacamps.org/). We also screened the press coverage for each camp over the last 24 month to identify legal disputes or disqualifying incidents such based on the following key words: abuse, child abuse, harassment, sexual harassment, lawsuit.

Plant-A Insights Group has a strict no-pay-to-play policy. All awards are based on independent research and unbiased data analysis. No applications.

Disclaimer:
This work is based on primary and secondary market research and analysis of publicly available data or provided to Plant-A Insights Group LLC. Placement in the ranking is a positive recognition based on research of publicly available data sources at the time, the information provided in the validation survey and an extensive survey of parents in the U.S. The ranking is the result of a detailed research process which, due to the interval of data collection and analysis, is a reflection of data from the last 24 months. Furthermore, events following March 30, 2023, were not a subject of this ranking. Newsweek and Plant-A make no claim to the completeness of the companies examined. The information provided in this ranking should be considered in conjunction with other available information. Plant-A nor any of its subsidiaries or their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, or agents accept any responsibility or liability with respect to the use of or reliance on any information or analysis contained in this document. The quality of the camps that are not included in the ranking is not disputed. This work is copyright by Plant-A and may not be published, transmitted, broadcast, copied, reproduced or reprinted in whole or in part without the explicit written permission of Plant-A Insights Group LLC.
Copyright © 2022 Plant-A Insights Group LLC. All rights reserved.

Click here to request the detailed methodology document.