Camp Qwanoes Review

The grounds are amazing. Some staff are nice and some not as much. Food wasn t very healthy. Kids are scheduled into activities and don t have options.

Words cannot describe how amazing this place is. I've been attending Qwanoes ever since 2013. And I have served in the step out program, in 2018. The staff have this amazing love for kids and many come from all over the world, to participate in the mission of making kids feel loved and valued. This year I'm planning on doing the CIT program, and cannot wait to hopefully give the same experience to my campers as my Councillors have given to me. I have a feeling the six weeks I will be spending at camp will be so amazing. And I'd love for any kid to come and see for themselves how amazing this place truly is. It is very religious, but in my experience my councilors have never forced the religion on any kid. Sure you will have to go to Q town and listen to a pastor and have faith discussions with your cabin, but that's a short part of the many activities and relationships you can build. If you want to grow in your faith or learn more about Jesus I would also recommend coming here. Jesus is super alive here whether you come as a camper or staff member. 10/10 would recommend coming.

I came here as a kid and loved every moment of it... especially canoeing.

It appears they opted to keep our camp fees as an unapproved donation. We requested the money back and were planning to donate to a charity of our choice. However after multiple requests they still haven t returned the money.

This is a wonderful, high energy experience that our entire family enjoys. You just can't beat summer camp!

Camp Qwanoes is a Christian camp and the leaders share lots of love by using God's word. You do not have to be Christian to go, there job helps to introduce and maintain a relationship with God. People complain that they did not know camp was religious, so now you know. I strongly advise this camp to all kids, you will enjoy it. I went last year. The food is great, cabins are fine, and buildings are maintained and are in great sanitary state. I strongly encourage campers to bring friends! Remember to follow all the rules at camp, and bring a flashlight.

Thank you to camp staff who pour out there months to help.

Went here as part of a school trip in grade 7. Beware of brainwashing..... also they tried to serve us veal.

awesome activities and waterpark, not a fan of the cabins though

This is the greatest place on earth and i wouldn't go to any other summer camp. The staff are the nicest people you will ever meet and you will never get bored cause there is so much to do!

i've been to this camp 4 times and it has never let me down. when i think of summer i think of camp qwanoes. amazing atmosphere here. yes they do have religious parts of camps but like i said i have gone 4 times and i have never had a bad counsellor. they let you believe what you want and treat you like family. the food is pretty good and portions are good there are seconds and thirds. i think whatever religion you are its a good camp to give a try.

This is the best place you could ever be I have been loving this camp since I was a kid you should go

Camp Qwanoes is the best summer camp ever! Their staff is really good and they are the best! Highly recommended!

(Edited to remove references to defunct Facebook group)

Sweet rides, but the staff (while fraught with good intentions) don't realize how much evangelical pressure they're putting on young people. No matter what the counselors seem to think, it's completely unacceptable to scare children into believing in Jesus lest they go to hell. It's downright despicable. I went a couple of times as a youth, and loved it at the time. The sermons scared the living crap out of me. Anyhow, the staff mostly means well, are good-hearted people, and seem to genuinely care about young people. It's just the damn evangelical pressure. It's way, way too much. Having talked with a couple hundred people into adulthood who went to this camp (and a number of friends who were counselors), I can only hope that the practices of old have diminished, because they screwed up a lot of people. Do they still keep checklists of how many kids they converted? Because they sure used to.

Mandatory chapel, several times a day. Awesome rides. Threats of eternal hellfire. Ice cream. I don't really care anymore if a camp is religious (I used to), but Qwanoes definitely needed to work on its pedagogy. I hope it's improved since then.

very fun place! go on the sky station. you wont regret it!

i wish i didn't have to leave every year i love the music i miss my concealer already and it has only bean 3 days on your b-day they will throw you in the air it is so fun every year they have new songs, games, and therms

The first time I went to this camp was for a one day open house. I was amazed at all the activities, and boy are they great! You can water ski, go in the trees and test how you are up there (it's like tree go) as well as an 80 foot swing that is sure to get you excited! In total there are 75+ activities! I was also at this camp for 3 days before and couldn't find anything wrong with it other than all the preaching but I m not a Christian. The preaching was for about 1/3 of the time. But when I went there for 7 days I noticed how little food they gave you! What made it even worse was the food you get was portioned per cabin and we had a large cabin for the first 5 days until some of them had to go. Until then we had very little food per person. Also there were only 2 water fountains in the center of the camp. Two! And there were over 300 kids!!! The rides are still fun but I don t want to wait for 1 of the 1.5 hours we get a day to go on one ride there. On the 3 day trip I went on I had a crazy counselor who called me a dead branch because I didn t believe in God. At least on the 7 day trip I had a good counselor. If you are not Christian you shouldn t go there at all but if you are it might be a fun experience.

Here is a daily schedule:
8:05. Wake up to Christian music; 8:30 have rations; 9:00 have a guy scare the living crap out of you and say you are dammed forever; 10:30 bible study; 11:00 random fun thing; 12:00 rations/order more rations for money; 1:00 first activity; 1:45 second activity; 2:30 eat your pre-ordered rations; 3:00 free time (the fun thing); 4:30 more of your soul scared out of your chest; 6:00 last rations; 7:00 more songs/bible stuff; 8:00 last bible stuff or on last day hear how people s lives have been changed. And on one day there is a fun night game! Yay!

The thing that was sad to me wasn t people saying I m changing and believe in God. I don t care. It s their choice and I m fine with that, but this one kid had a different religion with his family and he said that he was changing. I feel bad for his parents and hope this doesn t cause a divide between them. I don t care if this what you believe that Is fine this Is just my perspective of the camp and if you are a Christian this would be a great camp for you to go to, if not it might not be worth your money is what I think.

Over all, great rides, too much religion.

I went to Qwanoes for all 3 years of Junior high (for me Live It Up, Right Here Right Now, and Unbelievable) and it was the best times of my life! Qwanoes is like a second home to me and many other people because it just has that environment. Even just visiting for less than an hour leaves you feeling warm and tingly inside. The staff are amazing, the activities are AMAZING and the friends you make will last you forever! I have so many memories from my years at camp and I miss it so much everyday of the year. I recommend everyone (religious or not) to come experience this life-changing camp!

I went to unbelievable and here goes everything and I'm most likely doing the Step-out program this year! I'm super excited and I can't wait to be able to go through with this experience. This to week program looks amazing to me I can't believe I can go back to camp this summer and enjoy the camp experience and a staff experience! I am Christian and if you are to I would recommend this camp, if you aren't then I still would recommend it, so many people aren't religious at camp and that's okay because it's like if you are that's great and if you aren't that's great too! Everybody loves you all that matters if you aren't is that you respect that lots of people around believe in one thing and some others don't just use it as a learning experience run up and sing and dance to the lyrics and do everything you can because it's 10 times better that way :)

honestly the highlight of my life was here im sii lucky im going again soon highly highly recommend this place

A Second family. It's like my second home. So much funny, full of adventures and people who receive you with so much love and with arms wide open

i have not been yet but i am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excitededdddd yeaaasssssssssssss

the senery is amazing the activities too and the food is delicious, i can't wait to go back!

Very good counselors, good food, and fun activities. The overall atmosphere is very friendly, and there is nothing bad I can say about this camp.

One of the most amazing times from my childhood! My daughter loved it too!

epic,fun the bets Qwanoes for the win its good its true.

I had a journey through christ at this camp. My expirence with Jesus grew and prospred. If you want a action packed camp and a christin edication then Camp Qwanoes is the place for you.WOW qwanoes was great. This year (2014) will be my third year as a camper. I absaloutly loved it.

this is the best youth friendly camp in the universe!! there are so many activities to do and the staff are amazing!! I cant wait for this summers camp quanoes so im ready, you cant stop this!!

Camp Area and Premises clean and tidy. Many actives, and many chances to use them. As for the fundamentalism-down-your-throat, it depends on the counselor and how seriously you take them. In general, an interesting experience.

It's the most awesome place ever I go every year that's how great it is

I worked here Summer 2012/2013. What a life changing experience.
Such a safe, supporting community to work in.
So much fun and hard work put into ensuring kids can be kids.
Christian values are taught, which I think can be quite refreshing for children to learn new ideas such as forgiveness and an unconditional love for them.

If you are considering working here do it!! You grow as a person so much and see how big Camp Qwanoes does every activity.

If you are considering sending you kids here, do it!! They have soooo much fun!!

I just went for the day and they tried to rip me off I was supposed to Go on the sky station for 1 hour they made us practice for 50 minutes I could barley actually go on ohh and a tip when going on the skyscraper go up high you won't regret it

My week at Qwanoes was the best week of my life. When I first went I wanted nothing to do with the religion, and they didn't push it on me. The food is amazing. They have RN's (Registered Nurses) that are on the property and available 24-7. There is a 'six inches' rule for campers of the opposite sex so that you have to be six inches away from eachother, but you can enter the six inches within reason (e.g, friendly hug or handshake) as long as it is appropriate. I have literally nothing bad to say about the camp, except one thing. In the morning you play a big game with a large team, and that is an hour or so after breakfast, and it makes you quite hungry. You cant eat anything during the time between meals unless it is open which is Club Coco (milkshakes and soda), Ice-Cream Island or Shave Ice Palace. These are only open for about an hour in the day. There is a Tuck Shop where you can buy snacks but that isn't open during that time either so I found myself quite hungry during the gaps between meals. Otherwise, the camp was incredible. I left as a Christian. I think that they explained the religion very well and not to pressuring.

Its the literal BEST PLACE ON EARTH!! Im going today and im SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO exited! The foods great, the activities are great, the staff are great, JUST EVERYTHING IS GREAT!!!

Camp Qwanoes is an absolutely fantastic place to spend a week during the summer or a weekend retreat during the rest of the year! The staff is super friendly and the activities are amazing. Our family has recently enjoyed a few of the weekend retreats and our oldest child is now able to attend summer camp! Looking forward to spending many more years at Camp Qwanoes!

Camp Qwanoes was very dishonest with the job description. I applied as a certified sailing instructor and the recruiter suggested i might have a double role as a camp counselor. However, after speaking with the camp director, it was clear that they were being dishonest with the role description as it had already been written in a typed description that I would be a half-time cleaner. They wanted me clean toilets half the time and i had no idea about this. Their boat lacked a mast and was not seaworthy. In fact, i likely could have called up Transport Canada about the lack of safety. Mind you, this is a semi-volunteer position and dishonesty such as this has no place in a place that calls itself a christian institution.

I will tell all my friends at TWU and Regent about this dishonest place

staff and counselors are nice and caring they accept you for who you are. One of the best camp's in Vancouver. Definitely would go again

I can not say enough good things about this camp. Have been sending our youth group kids there for over 10 years. I am exceptionally impressed with the staff's genuine heart and care for the kids. Nowhere else have I seen the dish pit, kitchen, administrative and activity staff united so strongly with the counselling staff. Every single person there is building into the campers experience, not just the counsellor and it creates an environment where every single staff interaction is upbuilding for the camper. Their activities are wonderful and I have been so impressed when going to their free Open House each June, to see the detailed measures they go to to ensure all equipment and activities are safe from the water front, to the high ropes course to their innovative land activities.
Their leadership training is essential to us as we send many teens there each year to get a caliber of training we have not found rivalled anywhere. They come back so well equipped. Well done Qwanoes for your high caliber of staff, incredible unity and commitment to the kids emotional and physical safety. We look forward to a continued partnership with our youth and kids and Camp Qwanoes!

Loves coming here for a youth retreat. Great food and lodging!

I spent ten summers at camp Qwanoes (2004-2013) first as a camper, and then as a staff member. As a child, Camp Qwanoes was always the highlight of my year. As soon as I got back from camp, I would start counting the days until I could go again. I would always meet the most unbelievable friends and the camp staff were loving and welcoming. Every day was a new adventure - anything could happen at camp. In many ways coming back to Qwanoes felt like coming home. That's why I was so anxious to join the staff team in 2010. Who wouldn't want to spend a summer at camp?

Having fun all the time! Swim in below 50 Celsius water! What fun! Laser tag! Basically a laser pointer in the forest! Yay!