Hi BPNers, I'd love for my 12-year-old son to experience the fun and adventure of sleepaway camp this summer. He's never been before, and I don't even know where to start. (I've checked the BPN archives on this subject, of course, but still feel a bit lost and overwhelmed by the choices.) Although he loves sports, he's not a real roughing-it type, so a camp with comfortable and clean accomodations would be ideal. He likes horseback riding, swimming, archery, campfires, etc., so we're looking for a camp that offers those types of activities in a fun and laid-back setting. Something within a few hours of the Bay Area and that isn't horribly expensive would also be great. (The friend he'll be going with went to Oakland's Feather River Camp last summer, and didn't have a great experience, so I'm afraid that's out.) Thanks in advance for any recommendations and guidance you can offer! Mom of a first-time camper

My 12 year old daughter has enjoyed overnight camp-she's been to Pt Reyes camp and Winnarainbow. She'd like to try something else, in the Sierras or the foothills, that has more activities. I've heard Camp Tawonga and Mountain Camp are good, but they are too expensive for us. Has anyone gone to Sierra Friends Camp, Snow Mountain Camp, or Hidden Villa Ranch camp? Or any others? I appreciate any info! mae

High Sierra Camp

Jun 26 - Aug 27, 2004 Berkeley Echo Lake High Sierra Camp (HSC) is an informal camp for families and individuals. Select cabins are available for rent during the same time that the City of Berkeley offers a Summer Youth camp (but separate from Youth Camp cabins and no scheduled activities). At 7,300 ft, the camp overlooks Lake Tahoe and is on Hwy 50, 10 miles west of S.Lake Tahoe. Facilities include a heated swimming pool, basketball/volleyball court, bocce ball court, horseshoes, lodge with fireplace, bathrooms and showers. Echo Lake and Desolation Wilderness are a short walk from camp for spectacular day hikes, fishing and boat rides. Wood cabins with canvas tops, have cots and mattresses and accommodate 2 to 5 people. Rates per day- (3 meals and lodging): Adults- (16+) $46, Youth (11-15 ) -$39, Elementary- (7-10) $35, Child (3-6) $26 (under 3 free) Reservations: call City of Berkeley's Camps Office, (510) 981-5140. sueblue14 at comcast.net

Overnight program for teens

City of Berkeley Echo Lake Camp will again have a wonderful summer camp for kids 8-13 yrs. There is an additional program for CIT's (counselor in training). This is a wonderful camp in the High Sierras above South Lake Tahoe. Camp runs Monday through Friday and the program is always fun. A bus takes the campers up Monday AM and they return Friday 5 or 6PM in front of Berkeley City Hall. You can drive your child up or carpool with friends and pick them up at the end of camp. It is very reasonably priced and the food, activities, staff and setting are spectacular. There is a swimming pool in camp and beautiful Echo Lake is a short walk from camp. It is a great way to get your kids away from the city and to appreciate the wilderness. They sleep in tent cabins with their group and there are bathrooms and showers throughout camp. I have been going there for years as camp nurse and see the time spent there as my favorite part of the year. Call the camp office at 510-981-5140. Feel free to contact me at sueblue14 at comcast.net [official site - www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/camps/echocamp.html unofficial site - www.echocamp.org]

Chrysalis, is a nurturing, intimate and somewhat more controlled experience, carefully run by Berkeley teachers who've been doing this one camp for years. The kids get more direct contact with adults, more supervised and educationally relevant activities--although it is also quite adventuresome in various ways. The session my kids loved most was the Mendocino camp, which included early morning forays to the beach and an overnight canoe trip to sleep on an island. Chrysalis is also more face-to-face with nature in that kids sleep in tents, help cook their own food, etc. Finally, Chrysalis in my experience attracts a particular kind of family. Many kids are students at Berkwood Hedge or Ecole Bilingue, where the two directros taught for many years and there are more middle-class and private school kids.

Echo Lake, on the other hand, is kind of like a funky resort for city kids. There are many more kids and it's a more diverse and public-school crowd. Most of the supervision comes from teenagers who are former campers--all of whom in my experience have been great. Generally the kids love being with the teens. Activities are a little less seriously educational and there are a lot of hijinks. Also, Echo is more like camp than like camping--kids sleep on cots in tent cabins with wooden floors, eat in a dining hall, and swim in a pool. (Echo Lake, one of the most beautiful alpine lakes you'll ever find, is a half-mile or so away and too cold for lots of kids--a high point of each session is an early morning ''polar bear swim.'') Because Echo Lake Camp has been there since the 20's and because the Echo Lake forest service cabins were settled primarily by Berkeley residents in the 20's and 30's (including many Berkeley faculty and luminaries like the Sproul and Eshelman families), it has a nice community feeling--there are lots of silly songs and traditions that Berkeley kids have been doing for generations.

In short, both camps are great and your child is lucky to be going to both. Especially if he's going to Echo first, you might want to make sure that the Camp Director (who will be there when the buses leave for camp) knows that it's his first time away from home--just because Echo can be a bit chaotic. (You could also send a note to the camp and they'll make sure that his counselors get it.) But I'll bet he has a great time at both. Nina