Young Adults & Parents Speak Out

"Hidden Valley is the only place on earth where I could truly be me. It gave me so much confidence. I was liked for who I was."

Hidden Valley Adventures

"This program was a wonderful experience. In addition to gaining outdoorsmen skills, I had the opportunity to make very close friends, whom I speak to or email regularly. The activities in HVA were exciting, demanding and showed me I could master challenges which I never thought I could do. This was a life lesson which will help me with different types of challenges I may encounter throughout life."

"It was a terrific program! My son gained a lot of confidence from the summer adventures, and still brings up the kayaking, hiking, camping, canoeing stories (from over a year ago) often!"

"A city kid, Daniel went out and did things I never thought of him doing. The kids really gain independence during this program (with excellent counselors) and even do their own laundry. Plus, he loved Quebec."

"Two years later and dispersed around the world, the friends I made that month are still my family. I would recommend HVA to anyone who is interested in a life-changing experience and the best month of their life."

"All I can say about the adventure program is WOW! My non-adventurous daughter wants to hike, camp, canoe again. I only wish you had a family or adult version; I'd sign up first."

"Finding a challenging and well supervised summer adventure for a 14 year old young woman is not easy. The pressure to behave socially like a much older teen, or the 'insult' of being treated like a child made most ideas for an independent summer experience seem inappropriate or just unappealing to Nora and to us.
"Nora came home feeling proud of herself for roughing it through physical challenges and she had a lot of stories of fun times. I know she feels proud of trying and succeeding at new experiences. It wasn't always easy for her. She also loves that she came home in great shape!
"We live in the city where it's hard to turn off all the external messages about how to be. Being in the woods with friends and in this beautiful setting was obviously very restorative for Nora. She grew up a little bit. She came back smiling and glowing!"

Hidden Valley Community

"This was a great way to see Maine by meeting local residents - visiting people in a retirement community, a day-care center, a dairy farm, and other encounters."

"As a practical matter, Daniel has a community service requirement at school and the Community program was a good way to earn a lot of hours over the summer. And he loved it. It was an opportunity to actually do things and not just sit in school and learn about things. He made good friends and worked with a lot of different people."

"Our 15-year old daughter went to camp liking community service and she returned in love with community service. In a world scarred by self-absorption and greed, HV Community teaches the pure joy of giving. Along the way, she helped plant 600 trees in Acadia National Park and tasted curry for the first time. The friendships she made are lasting and deep."

"I didn't realize what an incredible experience Community was going to be for Max. The name says it all: community in terms of the community service work and, even more importantly, community in terms of the relationships that are built. The small group living in Blodgett House was so close-knit and comfortable and accepting of one another.
"I know Max grew in terms of independence and leadership by getting to make decisions on what the group did, and being given responsibility for carrying them out. The counselors were phenomenal and really made Max feel like a young adult who had a great deal to contribute."

Hidden Valley Alive

"We found Hidden Valley Alive to be a very supportive program which offered many opportunities for exploration of the arts. My daughter enjoyed the field trips to see various concerts and dance performances, as well as the arts activities at the camp. There was something for everyone's tastes!"

"It's a really great experience in a creative environment. I got to meet people and do things and accomplish more than I ever thought I could in a teen program."

"Alive was so great for me, because it gave me a chance to find out what I could really do when given the opportunity. I got to be in the place where I love to be, and express myself through the arts every day."