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December 2023 by Allison M.
They did not deliver what was promised. I was told my kid would be supervised at all times, which is what my kid required and I was very clear about that. They promised me they'd have 1:1 supervision at all times. My kid was not supervised, and had a negative incident with another camper. The camp had no explanation as to why they were unsupervised, and my kid was asked to leave early with a lot of urgency even though the camp's negligence caused the problem. The camp owner wouldn't even meet with me. The office was also incredibly disorganized and messy as well, which didn't bode well for how they run things.
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September 2023 by Scott Burger
Our son has gone for the mini session the past two summers and had a great time. First thing out of his mouth at pickup this year was “can I come back next summer?” Everyone at the camp is very kind. Communication about how your camper is doing is just enough to keep you informed but also allows you to disconnect knowing they are safe and happy. They have a really nice service that updates with pictures every day so you can see what they are up to. Highly recommend Summit Camp.
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September 2023 by RUSSELL AVOLIO
Camp Summit is a blessing. The staff are AMAZING. They take the time to really get to know each camper and develop true relationships. This was evident by the tears from each of them as they said good bye to my son at pickup. Two of his counselors stayed until the bitter end as we drove off… as if my son were there little brother.Shep is a great stand in Dad….since obviously most kids would never want to go to summer camp with their own parents… Shep took over the role from giving out hugs when needed, to rides in the golf cart or even nightly visits at lights out. He did everything I would do minus tucking my son in under the blankets.My son went to another camp for 4 years, but we wish we had found Camp Summit sooner. Fantastic experience for my son and us.My son cannot wait to go back…after seeing his growth as a young adult, an unbelievable amount of improved self confidence and the ear to ear smile in the many photos… I am excited to be able to send him again next summer….Wish there was a way to give them a 10 star rating.
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September 2023 by Jack C.
I went to the summit center that was 7 weeks long so this review will only apply to that. I've made a pros and cons listPros: * Staff are nice * You'll do some fun activities and trips * The bunks in the center are slightly nicer than the main camp (with a tv and a kitchenette) *Shep tries his hardest to devote to the campers *many staff are international (talking about your lives outside camp in other cultures gives you something to pass the time)*They played good music (except for kidz bop)Cons: * As a high functioning college student this place wasn't great although I did learn a few things I felt out of place because this place is for low functioning kids who don't know what they're going to do in life* You're not as independent as they say you'll be. Your food intake is controlled, meaning you can't eat outside of designated snack, breakfast lunch, and dinner, which isn't healthy for people like me, you can't go outside the center without a counselor, and you can't stay up late. Understandably some students do need that but I was much more independent than most kids at the center* There were some kids who didn't belong in the center or even the main camp. Some had violent tendencies (I was almost assaulted once). They definitely should kick some of the kids out. There was one kid in my bunk who stole people's stuff and hoarding it, yet they didn't kick him out. Although they kicked a few people out they didn't do enough and pay close attention to the kids I personally think needed a mental institution. * Aside from designated trips you are confined in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of annoying kids, since I came late I was only there for 5 weeks, but 7 weeks of being overwhelmed by "young adults" without some sort of decomposing is extremely unhealthy. To this day I still can't believe I made it through*They were pretty dishonest of what it would be like. They said you'll be independent which is extremely untrue. If you try to reach out to shep with complaints he would be too busy to answer. Obviously things change but they aren't good at clarifying that* If you write letters home I'd recommend you send them physically your unit leader lies to you that they emailed them if you staff to take a picture of them (especially if you say anything negative about the camp or want to leave early) My first week there my unit leader said she did but my mom said she never got them until I started to mail them physically*Aside from the kids who actually went to far. Most of my bunk were very obnoxious, acting like children not young adults. Creating a toxic and overwhelming environment. *It also seemed like the work environment was toxic I saw a couple staff complain about how stressful it is and a few left mid session*Honesdale is cute little mountain town but it's somewhere I'd only spend a week in, not an entire month or summer, especially around kids who don't know how to behave and I'd prefer to have a lot of communication and knowing what's going on in the outside world (which leads me to my next point)*You won't have much communication outside of the once a week center calls, where you call your parents from the landline. You can't use your phone cuz the WIFI is so bad. You also won't know what's going on in the outside world, which in the center they should let you grow more independence by letting you do those things. *There is also not many places to decompress when you're exhausted by the kids who are so loud and annoying. I don't know how any of the staff are able to stay sane through the shit I went through (unruly ass kids in my bunk)Overall, I'd only recommend this place if you are extremely dependent, low functioning, and not a college student. I was able to contain my anxiety and homesickness, which was a skill i learned. Even though the so called magic on the hill didn't have an effect on me it certainly did on others. My advice is if you lo
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September 2023 by Lia L.
Summit Camp was probably the worst experience of my life. I was told it would be a nice break and it'd be a great place to make friends. I was also told most of the people there would at least have my intellectual standing which was not the case. I have many friends who are neurodivergent and I enjoy there company but the reason I was going to Summit Camp was to get a break from playing caretaker. When I arrived people seemed friendly enough but as soon as I entered the cabin my heart sunk. The floors were covered in dirt and the toilets clogged so easily and there was a pool of brown water around each toilet the entire three weeks I was there. The showers were dirty and so were the shelves. None of the children were in anyway neurotypical and all needed high levels of assistance. There supposed trampoline part was one small trampoline each child took a turn on while the others waited. Arts and crafts didn't really have any paper that wasn't scrap and good the food was horrible. The food was either undercooked, or soggy or burned. The juice was so watered down that it was essentially just water and the pasta sauce was so watered down it was basically red water. Whilst I was there I wrote my mother a long letter about my issues with Summit camp and had the head councilor named Jill take photos of it to text to my mother. Not only did she not send it she continuously lied in my face. Each day I asked her if she'd gotten a reply and she'd just say "I'll tell you when I get an answer." So the entire time at camp I though my mother was ignoring me. Eventually I was able to arrange a meeting with Jill and the other head of councilors Bre. But when I didn't want to take a group photo Jill tried to guilt trip me into taking a photo saying "We're rearranging our whole day for you so you should be in the photo it's the least you can do." We were also meant to have McDonalds lunch one day as a treat but it turns out the "lunch" was one order of small fries and two burgers for my cabin of eight to share. Although there were some nice people like May and Sienna my counselor who no longer works there. When It was time for me to leave Jill the horrible women attempted to give me a hug which I rejected. And when I went home and wrote a complaint to the owner of Summit Camp Shep he didn't respond.Overall the camp was horrible and the conditions were mortifying with most staff being rude or bossy. And I didn't even mention half the issues like when a counselor named Abby threatened to get someone to force open the door of my bathroom stall and spent the whole time threatening me cause she didn't think I was using the bathroom and when I proved I was she was all snappy at my justifiable annoyance. This camp is overpriced and not worth $5000 dollars at most it's worth $100 dollars and that's being generous. So unless you want to traumatize your child I say spend your money taking them out to lunch.
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April 2023 by Nick Abbatiello
I went to Summit Camp in 2016-2017 and was homesick but still loved it. Now, I don't go to Summit Camp anymore because I lost touch with all the campers and staff. I loved computers, adventure, go-carts, swimming, video production, canteen, basketball, tennis, breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining hall. Summit Camp has been around since 1969, but then Shep bought it and became the new directer and owner in 2016. Summit has a life skills program called the Summit Center for ages 18+. I miss everyone at Summit Camp so much. This summer it will be the BEST SUMMER EVER!!
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April 2023 by Nick A.
I went to Summit Camp in 2016-2017 and had a great time with everyone. I loved computers, adventure, go-carts, canteen, basketball, tennis, social dances, swimming, breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining hall. Shep was the best at Summit Camp. This summer will be the BEST SUMMER EVER!!
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February 2023 by Alan
I attended this camp when it opened in 1969. It really helped me and my late parents were very happy with the camp and the late owner Mayer Stiskin. I hope to visit the camp but it’s 3.5 hours away from me. I’m 66 now and I will always hold Summit Camp in my heart and in the highest regard. Highly recommend.
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January 2023 by Megan Gresham
My child went there during the summer and came back with permanent injuries and was abused
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January 2023 by Adrian D
I just got to say the bunk housing was pretty disgusting there were wasps thank god i did not get stung never have yet ? in the bathroom by the lights no locks on the doors to enter the bunk very hard to get hot water in the showers it felt like that i was living in an old rusted abandoned for years mobile home RV like a escaped prisoner on the run from the law like the prisoners that escaped from the Clinton county in upstate New York NY jail went through on the run back in 2014 or around there but anyway what can you do ???? and i just got to say that hill by the pool and the lake was a leg killer what a workout ??
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January 2023 by Irene lin-schmidt
My son just spent 2 weeks at this camp. He was having significant problems last year because he was in fight and flight due to situations from school. He’s now in an amazing out of district school that helped prepare him for this experience. We were worried that he wouldn’t be able to sleep since he was still needing suppers to sleep but he did amazing. They asked many questions to try to understand how to support my son.I would recommend the short program of your child has never been to a sleep away camp. It has less people and it’s the perfect time for them to get used to it. And not feel overwhelmed. Please make sure they are ready for it. We did a short 1 week program for special needs kids that was local that I think helped him as well.He has his favorite counselors and felt so loved. He loved the trips as well.Of course he had some difficulties and the counselors are mostly young but many of them have experienced in their lives people like our kids. The ones I met at the end of the season were so caring and loving.The first week he was home sick a bit and wanted to go home (he wrote a journal for the first week that he shared with us) and then he stopped writing in it because he was having so much fun.Nothing is ever perfect and everyone has different experiences. You won’t always have the glowing reviews because sometimes the kids aren’t ready for this experience. I know last year when my son was in fight and flight status, there’s no way he would have been successful there.He had 4 counsels and 5 kids in his bunk. They have less kids at the end of the season and I think the counselors are more seasoned then.Next year he said he wanted to to the whole season! We probably won’t be able to do that but we would love to Have him go again for the two week program.I’ve been reading he other reviews and the negative reviews didn’t reflect what we experienced. I know they changed hands a few years ago so anything from about 5 years ago would be different.Also you might want to try a weekend trip. I think they have or have had a trial sleep away camp experience one weekends.We hope they have it again because I would love to bring some of his friends to the camp and experience it before they send them to the camp.This is the first place (besides his special needs school) where he says that there are “people like me”.He still struggles with social interactions but I know through this experience he will get the experience to learn.Thank you Shep and crew for being part of the best summer he has ever had.Looking forward to more.
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January 2023 by Sam Katz
Great Summer Shep!!
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January 2023 by Donna Kennedy
This was my 19 year old Autistic sons 2nd year in Summit Camp the Center Program that was 7 weeks long. I can’t even tell you how very disappointed we were this year. He was sick most of the summer and instead of them telling us to come get him, they kept telling us that he was fine. The leader person in his house was very young and not trained very well to observe that out son was dehydrated and running a fever by the time he was picked up. The next day we had him in the hospital for 3 bags of IV fluids and a high fever. We could not visit because of Covid and a once a week face time always looked prompted from behind the phone.The ultimate best was that Shep did not even care enough to call us back after we told them about our hospital visit. It’s a great money maker for him but I personally don’t think all the children can be accounted for 24/7 with the young staff members that are trained to deal with Special needs kids a couple of weeks before the camp opens. And his prompted video advertisements are a farce. It’s really sad because we thought we found a great place the first year and now my son says”No no no no camp please!”.
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January 2023 by Bella Devaney
Speaking as from a campers perspective... Yes the camp charges very high prices for your child's stay which is understandable due to everything this camp includes! You have everything from traveling the world to going to waterparks for senior travels... They use this money 1. To pay their staff who work there (Who travel from all over the world!) 2. They use it for the world trips (With as big as 15-20 possibly 30 kids who attend) 3. They use it to upgrade the camp and continue to make it comfortable for the kids and staff as well... I can say they tend to hire younger staff which in my opinion is both good because they are more relatable but also bad because they are as new to life as we are! The camp has changed quite a bit since it's under a new owner... But they strive to keep your kids happy and do whatever they can to reach those goals.. I can say when I was staying there I was the absolute biggest handful they have ever had but the worked with me and saw that I had separation anxiety with my mom so even though we aren't necessarily allowed they made me make a phone call with my mom who agreed! So understandable some of your kids didn't have the best time but please don't blame it on the staff or the showers not being hot... Your in the woods I wouldn't expect it to be as hot as it gets because there are over 100s of people taking showers!! Please also keep in mind it's a camp belongings might go missing by other kids or something it's not that big of a deal never went on a trip and things were misplaced? There's no reason to say " my child's things were mistreated" because it's a special needs camp and most of the time my stuff was misused by the other camperso not the staff so.. If you read this thank you! All in all my experience was great a few flaws but what doesn't have any? <3
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January 2023 by will R
I had a very bad time at this camp a while ago but for reasons that will remain true today. This is a great place for certain children who really need a supportive environment to encourage their growth, but I felt very out of place among kids with more severe issues…. Like I just felt confused and alone unable to meet peers who weren’t “special” per se, so please make sure your child truly wants to be in an environment like this because I’ve struggled for a long time with how this place made me feel
