Jameson Ranch Camp Reviews

This is the best place ever I wold go for the whole year 100000000/10

My 9 year old son recently returned from his second summer there and he had another wonderful year. The thoughtful and insightful letter home from his counselor showed the high caliber of the staff, the level of care, and strong community that is built. His smiles and how he has built his confidence each summer are evidence of the wonderful camp that Erica and the whole JRC team run. He can't stop talking about how great the food and the activities are. Perhaps the biggest testament to the quality of the camp is that he not only wants to go back next year, but also wants to go for a double session.

As a summer camp for youth, JRC is a place of growth, rustic living, positivity, adventures, and nature.
The Jamesons also offer family camping when there is no summer camp. It's a great getaway, providing tons of open space. Perfect for social distancing and rebooting after months at home!
Looking forward to relying on the JRC for destination remote learning. We aren't going to just sit at home while the schools are online. There's so much leaning that happens here with farm animals, astronomy, fishing, and wildlife spotting.

Some of the best times of my life. I spent two summers there as a kid.

My kid looks forward to this all year. Super friendly staff. The camp is thankfully free from religion.

It was amazing when I first went to camp there I had a blast its everything that a summer camp should be sleeping outdoors, fishing, mud pits, zipline, horse back riding and more, and the dogs Rex and River are awsome they hang around the camp but the best part about my time there was leaving our bunk beds grabbing our sleeping bags and sleeping under the stars. Its a great place to make friends and bring friends the camp counselors there are amazing the food is delicious with their own home grown fruits and veggies the animals are amazing to see. Its fun, energetic, active, and friendly. I rate this place a 10/10 would go again I love this place

Honestly, a five star rating doesn't even begin to express how amazing Jameson Ranch Camp is. I've been a camper for five years, and I've absolutely loved every day I've spent there. The activities are all really fun, especially the goofy ones like yoga on kayaks and sock wrestling, but the real reason that's kept me going back is the people. Everybody is always extremely kind and welcoming, and I've made so many friends, many of whom I keep in touch with even though they live 6 hours away. I know it sounds cliche, but camp really has made me the person I am today. I was fairly shy when I started going, and I felt really intimidated because everybody else knew each other. All the friendly JRCers drew me out of my shell and befriended me pretty darn quickly, but it took me a while to learn how to be as confident and friendly as them. Maybe you could say "camp has changed me" about any camp, so here's a list of why JRC is better than all those other camps:
1. The setting - it's an hour east of Bakersfield, up in the foothills right next to Sequioa National Forrest. It's beautiful, and there are tons of great hikes (and mandatory hike day every Wednesday). Sunday Peak is definitely the best, but it is pretty difficult.
2. It's on a working ranch, which is really fun because you can (and don't have to) watch the butchering of a cow, and some of the campers get to ride horses to round up the cows. Everybody has a chore, and occasionally there are Work Crews (made up of campers and counselors) that help out around the ranch. There's also a giant cow that campers can ride, and there are plenty of chickens to catch (chicken catching is a pretty popular activity - and it's harder than it looks!)
3. The activities are awesome, and there's something for everyone. Don't plan to ride horses very much, unless you are really good. There are always way more riders than horses, but that is literally the only flaw with JRC.There are plenty of other activities - all the normal ones like mountain biking and rock climbing, as well as tons of goofy ones. Most of the bunks go on overnights, and I know I will never forget the experience of sitting around a camp fire looking up at 5 times as many stars as I thought existed and talking and laughing with my best friends, many of whom I had met earlier that session.
4. I could have counted it as an activity, but I'm going to make Barn Dance it's own category. All of my friends from home make fun of me whenever I mention it, but it's SO fun. After 5 years I've almost gotten the hang of Monevou, but all the others are very easy to learn. The music to the "Virginia Reel" is playing in my head as I write this, and I still have no idea what the story is behind the tofu dance. Long story short, Barn Dance is a great tradition, and everybody loves it, include me (and I refuse to dance in any other setting).
5. The flexibility - I know a lot of other camps require you to sign up for activities in advance, but not JRC. There's a morning and an afternoon activity period, and the counselors just stand up and announce their activity so that the campers can pick one - and sometimes it's really hard to chose!
6. The music - Before meals and before bed, we all meet up in Rose Arbor to sing songs. Ross (who used to be the camp director) plays his guitar, and we all sing along. People braid hair or form massage trains, or just sit back and relax. Everybody loves it, and the best time of day is when the bell rings to end after-dinner activities and everybody runs down to Rose Arbor, all sweaty form playing Ultimate Frisbee or still laughing at somebody's joke. We all settle down as the light fades, and everybody KNOWS that they are in the best place on Earth.

Okay, I could go on forever, but I don't know if anybody even read this far. Seriously though, the only way it is possible to not love JRC is if you have an issue with dirt, or if you don't like having fun.

The map leads u to town of Glenville, keep going another 8 miles about to actually get to Jameson Ranch Camp. Great place, very friendly, expensive but worth it!

I spent over 10 summers at Jameson Ranch Camp as a camper and counselor and it made me the person I am today. The camp is set on ranch in a beautiful oak valley in the Southern Sierras. It offers an opportunity to participate in ranch life- gardening, caring for animals, collecting eggs, etc. Each day the children choose their activities- horseback riding, lake activities, rock climbing, crafts, drama, archery, zip lining, and many more.

I have written a review about Jameson before but I just have to write another one just to explain why you NEED to spend at lest one Summer here. This is a review coming from a teen who has spent half of his life going to JRC every Summer and is now going back from another state just to work there where my second family is. This camp will make a bond with your heart in the weeks you stay. JRC will make you feel like the world around you is filled with adventure and I guarantee once you spend a Summer at JRC you will think throughout all the school year on how you will go back and try that rope swing you didn't go off of or catch that giant catfish you saw in the lake. I've been going to JRC for 6 years now and I still find new and amazing things to do around camp that shape my life for the better and help me make a better bond with friends that, even from when I was 12 years old, I still talk to and go to camp with. If you are reading this review than for the sake of a Summer that you will never forget go camp at JRC.