Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp

This is truly my favorite place on earth. I went to this camp from age 2 to 16. My best memories are here. I’m having trouble writing this review because there are too many wonderful things about it. I even volunteered here when I was 15. Also a great experience. The staff really care. The campers are ALL sweet. I met my first love here:) Ahhhh it’s seriously like all of your hopes and dreams in one place. I will take my kids here (when I have them haha).
To the person complaining about the dining hall and sitting with other people… WHAT? That’s how you meet people. Try talking to them.
Anyway,
There’s no place like caaaaamp Tuolumne, there’s no place that I would rather beeeee. ‚)
I left my heart in BTC and I’ll be back.

Five stars aren’t enough for this fabulous gem! My family had been going to Camp T for 4 generations now! The best thing is, in a world of change camp stays the same. You know that disapointing feeling you get when you go back to a place you LOVED as a child and it doesn’t have that same magical feeling? That is SO NOT the case with Camp Tuolumne! This place has it all! Beauty, relaxation, fun, activities, great food, awesome staff, just an all around great family vaca for kids and adults! We always plan to go with all our cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts uncles etc at the same time every year and it NEVER DISSAPOINTS! Some people may say its «pricey» I say, where else can you stay for a little over 100 $ per night where all your meals are included, (all you can eat) all your activities are Included, perfectly safe for your kids to roam free, all in a little slice of paradise surroundings! I’m counting the days as we are going again on July 7^th!

Love, love, LOVE tuolumne!
I have gone to BTC my whole life, and it’s one of the best experiences you can have. I started as a little girl, 4 to be exact, and dashed right out of my parents car the first day we arrived. Since then, I’ve been going back every summer for at least 3 or 4 days. It’s a great experience, and the staff are friendly and will try to accommodate your every need. I worked their a couple years ago, and loved being with some of my best friends. It’s a great place to go if you love the outdoors, and aren’t afraid of a little bit of dirt or bugs. I wouldn’t recommend it for a girly-​girl, but it’s great if you love the smell of pines in the summer and love the outdoors.

You have to take my review with a grain of salt because I am more a four star hotel girl and my only comparison is Camp Mather down the road and CYO camp in in the 4^th grade.
The drive from San Francisco is easy and if you leave early enough, you will never hit any traffic. Just be sure to pack some gum for your ears since you will be going up to 3500 feet above altitude. There are plenty of interesting spots along the way such as Chinese Camp, Groveland, an Indian store (maybe in Escalon) and lots of lakes and rivers.
You will feel left out if you forget your tie dye at home. Everyone else will be wearing socks, shirt, shorts, skirts, etc. in bright, loud tie dye. There are lots of crafting opportunities– during my stay, I made books, wove baskets, made a fancy twisty lanyard, beaded a necklace and earrings and made a dream catcher.
I loved the «DAWG» service. Once you check in and pick your cabin, a crew will unload your car and cart it to your cabin.
The staff that works there is young and friendly. There are kid activities for the little ones and a teen night.
The cabins are equipped with cots, some hooks and and dresser. There is no electricity. Many people brought bedsheets or previous tie dyed projects to give themselves some privacy on their decks. Candles are verbotten– be prepared to deal with bug bites. I brought my air mattress and set that up on top of the cot with my bedsheets and blankets from home. My daughter was happy in her sleeping bag.
Some cabins are along Harden Road which must be incredibly noisey when the trucks come by, but that area is flat-​ish. There is a hilly area and a lower river area, too. This is not a place for people with joint pain.
There are families that have been at camp for 7, 15, 20 years… three generations of families come which is something in particular that I find quite charming. People are friendly and warm. I like that it’s so family orientated and safe. Kids get their Ranger certificates and the dining hall stands on the benches to salute them. There are traditional songs (to Tuoumne) before meals.
Why not five stars? They don’t permit you to swim in the river during the hottest part of the day (i.e. quiet time). I was fully dressed sitting on a rock with my toes in the water and the director came and told me I either had to be in my cabin or out of the camp. You can’t swim after dinner either.
Another aspect that wasn’t terrific was the quality of the food. It was plentiful, but not delicious. However, if someone has special dietary needs, they will accomodate you. They have a salad bar, too, for lunch and dinner. There is always fresh fruit, bread, peanut butter and various jams and hot drinks available.
My friend who invited me to tag along her vacation, told me that this is a very safe place, people leave their stuff out, etc. and sure enough I lost my camera and it was turned in to lost and found. AMAZING.

We went to Berkeley Family Camp for the first time in June along with 2 other families.
Hats off to the AMAZING team at the camp for making our visit so wonderful.
The other reviewers mention a lot of amenities and strong points.
Here’s my short list:
–A staff who oozes with hospitality and charm. They want you to have a comfortable, amazing stay.
–Awesome crafts that my 8.5 year old very crafty daughter loved. Very organized and interesting projects.
–Food! Yes, food. Steamed salmon with asparagus. Gourmet coffee. A large selection of herbal teas.
–The Staff Show. We saw their very first performance of the summer. It was fun and well done. Once it was over, I declared to my friends that I was so over-​the-​top impressed that the tip I had intended to leave just doubled. (and it did!)
The all-​inclusive price may seem disarming when you are thinking of camping — but if you want a Quality experience and Quality family time — I whole-​heartedly recommend Camp Tuolumne!

Amazing place with some Berkeley quirks. Even though we’re not residents we were able to get in and had a great time. It is a fairly primitive setting and the tent cabins are rustic so it’s good to come prepared both mentally and with some supplies (bug nets anyone?). The food was adequate, and better than some family camps we’ve gone to, but my highest praise goes to the kids who pretty much run the place. Now in general I don’t have a lot of faith most youngsters these days, but this crew was incredible and so positive and friendly that I think the world might just have some hope. Also the other campers attending were very friendly in general and it was nice for a change to see a group of people who were working to get along. The only down side is many families have been coming here for generations, so there’s a mild clique attitude that you have to deal with («we’ve been coming here since 1960»). Now everyone was very friendly and welcoming, but as first timers we did feel a bit like outsiders. Also, you should prepare yourself for the politically correct «we’re the righteous» Berkeley attitude… Now to be fair we didn’t see a lot of this and most folks were respectful, but there still was a kinda vibe to the place (we were even a bit surprised they sold candy considering how bad that is for you :-) But the positives far outweigh the negatives and we’d love to go back to this wonderful (and I forgot to mention) beautiful place. Tuolumne Rangers!!!

I have waited a few weeks to write this review… hopefully I have calmed down and «recovered» from our experience there. I should say that our family has camped at San Jose FamilyCamp for MANY years. SJFC is closed for remodeling, so we tried this camp. The good: food quality, coffee, activities for the kids, staff/​counselors were fine.
The bad:
1. Cabins are REALLY close together. So close, I could hear the campers next to us roll over at night. Sadly, our neighbors brought a baby with them… On the best night, the baby only woke up 3X./night. Sleep was difficult.
2. Mosquitos were horrid!!! Even when we used tons of repellent! My daughter had 11 bites on her forehead alone.
3. SJFC can be hot, but this camp was hot, humid, almost stuffy and stagnant. It was really weird. The air doesn’t have the mountain fresh feeling. Also the dumpsters are not too far drom the common area, so the smell of garbage hits you as you are walking to the dining hall.
4. Dining Hall — crowded, noisy and hot. You sit with other campers and have to pass the dishes of food back and forth. I spent all my time passing…
5. Mandatory Quiet Hour — this is during the middle of the day from 1:00 — 2:15. The rule is either in your tent or leave camp. I saw a counselor tell an older gentleman sitting on the beach reading that he had to go back to his cabin to read during quiet hour. Who wants to sit in a hot tent during the middle of the day?
6. Activities were ok but were not communicated well.
7. The food quality was good, but the choices were limited. The salad bar was very small compared to SJFC. Also, we had some dietary concerns (wheat intolerance) Before arriving the manager told us not a problem, I brought appropriate substitutes for them to use. When we got to camp, one of the employees told me it would be too hard because they are short staffed. No effort was made at all to provide any of the food we brought, even though together we looked at the menu and made switches. Corn tortillas would be provided instead of wheat for example. Nothing…
8. It is not as pretty as SJFC. It is crowded and noisy. None of the main paths are paved, it is all just dirt everywhere. It didn’t feel calm and relaxing.
We left 2 days early — just couldn’t stand it… we were so tired and bit up and stressed out…
To us, this camp was an over-​crowded, mosquito-​infested hippie commune, that happen to serve great coffee. Never again…

Some of my best memories are here, it is one of my favorite places in the world. If you have kids, start taking them here when they are young. There is no better place to spend a week during the Summer. I went every year from 3 – 19 at which point I felt a little too old to attend.
Heading back this weekend with my family and my wife after a 8 year break. Nostalgia got the best of me…
What to expect:
Friendly staff
Friendly campers
Good food in a communal setting
Activities if you want them
Relaxation if you want it
Awesome memories
Beautiful natural scenery
A very social atmosphere (only time you are alone is in your cabin)

The Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp is a rustic tent camp within shouting distance of Yosemite Park. Rustic = no cell coverage, no Internet, no electricity in the tent. Meals are communal in the dining hall and bathrooms /​showers are shared. The setting is beautiful. The Tuolumne river runs through the peaceful wooded camp. There’s nothing plush here but the setting. Meals are surprisingly good considering they’re serving 3 – 4 hundred people at a time, and there’s always a veg option. It’s a very social environment; conversation is high quality and readily available in the common areas. The camp is especially good for families with kids. The safe and supportive environment makes it easy to let the kids free range.
Don’t book the Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp if you want a romantic vacation or a private tryst. This is an old school camp with theme days, staff singing, and hikes in the woods. My rating would have been one star based on my initial impression of the camp, but that changed to four stars by day three. For me, the key was to let go and enjoy the ride.