Finding the right sleepaway camp is one of the most meaningful decisions a parent makes for their child’s summer. However, sometimes it can seem like the websites all look similar, the activity lists all sound impressive, and, on the surface, most camps seem like they could work out perfectly.
Most parents spend weeks researching camps online, asking friends, and reading reviews, and still walk away without answers to the questions that actually matter, about safety, about how a homesick child is supported, about what the counselors are really like. Those types of answers are rarely found on a website.
What separates a good camp from the right one for your child comes down to the details, and the details only come out when you ask. Here are the right questions to ask before signing your child up for sleepaway camp:
10 Questions That Make Choosing a Sleepaway Camp a Lot Easier
To help you make the best choice, Camp Lakota put together the 10 questions every parent should ask before choosing a sleepaway camp.
1. Is the Camp ACA Accredited?
This is the first question to ask because it is the fastest way to filter out camps that have not been held to any external standard.
ACA accreditation is not automatic. Camps have to apply, undergo a thorough review, and meet over 300 rigorous standards across health, safety, staffing, and program quality. Every three years, the ACA visits the camp to verify compliance. Not every camp goes through that process, and the ones that do not are worth questioning.
Accreditation does not guarantee a perfect experience, but it does mean the camp has been independently evaluated. For parents who are new to this, it is one of the clearest indicators that a camp takes its responsibilities seriously.
Camp Lakota is fully ACA-accredited, which means it meets rigorous standards for health, safety, and emergency preparedness reviewed by an independent body every three years.
2. How Long Has the Camp Been Operating?
Longevity is one of the clearest signals that a camp actually delivers on its promises.
Any camp can have a great first summer. Staying trusted across decades, and especially across generations, requires something more. It means the program works, the staff culture is genuine, and families keep choosing to come back because the experience lives up to what they were told.
Multi-generational families are among the strongest indicators of this. When parents who attended a camp as children send their own kids there, that is not nostalgia. That is trust built over a very long time.
Camp Lakota was founded in 1924. Multi-generational families are not unusual at Camp Lakota, they are the norm. Read more about Camp Lakota’s history.
3. What Is the Camper-to-Counselor Ratio?
The ratio tells you how much individual attention your child is likely to receive, but the number alone is not the whole picture.
Ask for the ratio specifically for cabin life, not just activity periods. Ask whether counselors sleep in the cabins with campers at night. Ask whether the camp distinguishes between counselors who manage cabins and those who lead activities, and how supervision works across both.
The quality of the relationship matters as much as the number. A camp with a strong mentor culture will produce counselors who genuinely invest in the kids they are responsible for, not just manage them through the schedule.
At Camp Lakota, counselors live alongside campers, build genuine relationships with them, and are trained to notice when something is off. Learn more about Camp Lakota leadership.
4. What Are the Session Length Options?
Asking about the length of the summer camp matters more than most parents realize, especially for first-time campers.
A 3-week session is genuinely different in design and intention from a 6-week session. It is not just a shorter version of the same thing; it is structured for kids who are new to being away from home, giving them enough time to settle in and have a real experience without being overwhelmed.
Longer sessions allow for deeper immersion. By week three or four of a 6-week session, the community has had time to form, friendships have real depth, and the kind of growth that comes from being away long enough to truly settle in becomes possible.
Camp Lakota offers two session options: a 3-week session designed specifically for younger campers in grades 1 through 5 and first-time campers, and a 6-week session available to all age groups for deeper immersion and growth. See Camp Lakota’s session dates and tuition.
5. What Activities Does the Camp Offer?
Activities are the most visible part of camp, but the way they are structured matters as much as which ones are on the list.
Ask whether activities are exploratory or performance-driven. Ask whether kids have any say in their daily schedule or whether everything is pre-assigned. Ask whether there is room for a child to try something completely new without pressure or judgment.
The best activity programs give kids access to experiences they genuinely cannot find at home, and lets them try those things without the social stakes that come with trying something new at school.
Camp Lakota offers a wide range of activities, including water sports, waterskiing, horseback riding, gymnastics, golf, athletics, outdoor adventure, art, and evening program events.
6. Does the Camp Have Any Special Features?
Every camp offers activities, but not every camp offers something genuinely distinct.
Ask what makes this camp different from the dozens of others on a parent’s shortlist. Is there something about the location, the community, the traditions, or the program that cannot be replicated somewhere else?
Special features are not just amenities; they are the things that make a child want to come back year after year.
Camp Lakota has several features that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere. The camp is nestled on Masten Lake in the Catskill Mountains, and the lake sits at the heart of everything. Learn more about what makes Camp Lakota different.
7. How Does the Camp Handle First-Time Campers?
This question is especially important if this is your child’s first summer away from home.
First-time campers are navigating everything at once: a new place, new people, new routines, and the reality of being away from home for the very first time. A camp that treats first-timers exactly the same as returning campers is missing something important.
Ask whether counselors are briefed on which kids are new. Ask how the first few days are specifically designed to help a nervous child settle in. Ask whether the camp has a formal onboarding process or whether new campers are simply expected to find their footing on their own.
At Camp Lakota, counselors are trained to recognize the signs that a child is struggling to settle in and respond with genuine care. We also offer Rookie Day, a one-day event where prospective campers can get a firsthand look at what life at Camp Lakota is really like.
8. What Are the Living Arrangements and Bathroom Facilities Like?
This is one of the most practical questions a parent can ask, and one of the most commonly overlooked.
Ask how many campers share a cabin. Ask how many counselors sleep in the cabin with them. Ask where the bathrooms and showers are in relation to the sleeping areas, and whether they are private or shared. Ask about the process for lights-out and morning routines.
For younger campers especially, the physical environment of the cabin and bathroom setup can have a real impact on how quickly they settle in. A child who is anxious about sharing a bathroom with twenty people needs to know that before they arrive.
For specific details about living arrangements at Camp Lakota, feel free to reach out directly with your questions.
9. What Are the Safety and Emergency Protocols?
Safety is not just about whether the camp has a nurse on site. It is about whether the camp has thought through what happens when something goes wrong.
Ask whether there is a nurse, doctor, or EMT on site and what their hours are. Ask how the camp stores and administers medications. Ask what the emergency action plan looks like for severe weather events like floods, wildfires, or extreme heat. Ask how close the camp is to the nearest hospital and what the relationship is with local emergency services.
Following the devastating floods at Camp Mystic in Texas in July 2025, many parents are asking these questions with more urgency than before. That is the right instinct. A camp that has genuinely thought through emergency preparedness will have specific, clear answers. Vague reassurance is not enough.
Camp Lakota is ACA-accredited, which means it meets rigorous standards for health, safety, and emergency preparedness. Learn more about camp safety at Camp Lakota.
10. What Is the Electronics and Communication Policy?
Most sleepaway camps limit or prohibit personal devices during the session, and for good reason. A phone keeps a child tethered to home, makes it harder to settle into the camp community, and competes directly with the experience the camp is working hard to create.
Ask what the specific policy is and whether it is consistently enforced. Ask how parents receive updates and photos during the session. Ask how the camp handles a situation where a parent needs to reach their child urgently. Ask whether campers can send and receive letters or packages.
For parents sending a child to camp for the first time, this question often comes with real anxiety. A good camp will have a clear, honest answer and will help parents feel informed without creating the expectation of daily check-ins. And at the end of camp, you’ll appreciate the screen detox benefits.
Choosing the Right Camp Starts With the Right Questions
The questions above are a framework. What they are really helping you evaluate is whether a camp has built something intentional or whether it is just running a program. The difference shows up in the answers.
A camp that has thought deeply about homesickness will have a specific answer, not a reassuring one. A camp with a genuine counselor culture will talk about mentorship without being prompted. A camp confident in what it offers will invite you to come see it.
The right camp for your child is one where the environment itself is doing the work. Where the structure of daily life, the relationships with staff, and the community they are part of all push them forward in ways that last well beyond camp ends. That is not something you can see on a website; it is something you feel when you visit.
About Camp Lakota
Camp Lakota has been welcoming families to Masten Lake in the Catskill Mountains since 1924. Over 100 years, the program has been refined, the staff culture has deepened, and the community has grown to include families who have been sending their kids here for generations.
If you are in the process of choosing a camp, you can always request more information or browse our FAQ page for answers to the most common questions from parents.