Does Your Teenager Think She's Too Old For Camp? Think Again! There's Absolutely No Shortage of Summer Camps for Teens in L.A., And Here's How to Find the Best Ones

In a previous article we discussed how to find the best Los Angeles summer camps for kids. Now we'll discuss how to find L.A.'s best summer camps for teens.

Aloha Beach Camp Owner and Executive Director Eric D. Naftulin

Not surprisingly, parents and teens may have different feelings about camp. As a parent, you might feel your teenage son or daughter is too young to stay at home unsupervised, so you want them to go to camp.  If you're a teenager, you might think you're too old for camp and worried you'll be the oldest one there.

Well, I'll tell you what. In some cases these are valid concerns -- teenagers certainly don't want to go camps with boring activities and tons of little kids around. That wouldn't be fun at all.  But in other cases, you'll be glad to know there's some really great summer camps geared specifically for older kids and this article will attempt to help you find the best ones.

Day Camp or Sleepaway Camp?

The first thing to consider is whether you're interested in a day camp or sleepaway camp.  

Some people think day camps -- where kids attend camp during the day and return home in the late afternoon - are only appropriate for younger kids and sleepaway camps (where campers live at camp for extended periods) exclusively for older ones.  But nothing could be further from the truth because both age groups can enjoy both kinds of camps.

In fact, some of the best summer day camps in L.A. are designed specifically for teens.

So if you're a teenager and prefer a day camp experience rather than a sleepaway camp, don't buy into the argument that day camps are for just for younger kids and sleepaway camps only for older ones. It's simply not true. The best camp for you is the one that appeals to you the most, period, irrespective of what kind of camp it is.

Price Doesn't Always Determine the Best Summer Camp for Teens

Sometimes people think the more expensive something is, the better it must be. Sometimes that's true, others not. When contemplating summer camps for teens, one thing you should never do is assume one camp is better than another simply based on price.

First of all, "expensive" and "affordable" mean different things to different people. And the further you get into your camp search, you may find that many of the more costly summer camps are just as good as those that don't cost as much. 

​While a lot comes down to what you're comfortable paying, just as much comes down to perception.  

Teeanagers can learn to surf, boogie board, jet ski, and participate in all sorts of other fun aquatic activities at Aloha Beach Camp, one of the best summer day camps for teenagers in the Los Angeles area.

As you narrow down your prospective list of what you consider to be the best camps for your teenager, be sure to consider various price points. 

You don't want to exclude any camps from consideration just because they're pricey, nor do you want to exclude any others you think aren't good enough due to their affordability. Taking this approach might cause you to miss out on some very good summer camps for teens!

Contact an Impartial Source Like the American Camp Association for a Free Referral

The first thing people do these days when they need information is consult the Internet.  Typing "best summer camps for teens in Los Angeles" into Google can be a pretty good way to find what you're looking for. But beware of one thing...

Don't forget that many of the results you see on Google are actually paid ads by camps themselves, so the information may be biased. If you really want impartial information, you need to visit an impartial source. We suggest contacting the American Camp Association (ACA) for a free referral.

The ACA is the largest trade association for summer camps including those in L.A. When you contact them, let them know you have a teenager who's looking for a camp, and you'd like them to help you find a summer program that specializes in serving teens. In turn they'll give you a non-biased list of some really great camps that specialize in serving teenage campers like yours.

We hope this information has been helpful in helping you find the best summer camps for teens in Los Angeles. Have a great summer!

By Eric Naftulin, Executive Director, Aloha Beach Camp
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