The Oaks Camp and Conference Center

I came here for a summer church retreat last week, and I had an amazing time.
Some thoughts on the conference center:
— We stayed in cabin 6, which didn’t have any bug issues (yay!).
— Each bunk bed came with two fresh white bed sheets so your sleeping bag stays clean.
— The bathroom is shared between 14 girls. It has a large wall mirror, 3 sinks, 2 toilet stalls, and 2 shower stalls. Paper towels and hand soap are provided.
— The cafeteria buffet food is a little below acceptable. It’s slightly better than other retreat camps, but it’s still pretty bad. I think someone went food shopping at the clearance section of Food for Less and the 99 cent store (yes, they sell food). The food reminds me of complimentary food at a budget motel. But can’t complain too much because I didn’t come to retreat for the food. Came hungry for Jesus: D
— One more note about the food (sorry hehe). Don’t get the orange juice… my taste buds spazzed out when I tasted it. Also, the ham skin has pig hair fuzz on it… so eat with caution.
— The walk from the cabins to the chapel is kinda far. At nighttime, it gets pretty dark so bring your flashlight!
— The chapel has a funky old building smell but you’ll get used to it. Sensory adaptation!
— There’s plenty of awesome activities to do here (archery and zip lining are free; paintballing is $ 25 each).
— The chapel has lots of benches and tables in the shade. Perfect for small groups.

Amazing experience!!! It’s the best of both worlds. I stayed in a lodge, which is super comfortable (great beds, comfy pillows, a/​c, big bathroom) and we had our meetings in the Curnutt Lodge. So I had a lot of walking to do! But I think this was the best part… Being able to be alone and just walk through nature. The FOOD WAS DELICIOUS!!! Breakfast, lunch & dinner were all wonderful, not to mention dessert!
I will be returning in November for our youth retreat. I can’t wait!!!

This facility located in lake Hughes is a wonderful spot for a group retreat.
There are a wide range of activities (Archery, rope climbing, basketball, human foozeball, etc) and a large field and ball court area on site to facilitate great free time and organized rec activities for any retreat or conference. There is also some hikes you can go in a few trails as well.
While staying here, be sure to check if you are staying in the lodge vs the cabins as it is a much different experience since I have stayed at both. The cabins provide a rather rustic and camp like stay (no sheets provided, bring your own sleeping bag, shared restrooms per cabin) and the lodge has better accommodations like sheets and pillows, a community fridge and restrooms for each room.
There is staff on site to help you and its just great views at the top of the hill for quite time. I also like, since your meals seem so close together that you get a good amount of exercise going around the site. There is also a coffee spot that is open at some short windows for you to get your caffine fix!
Overall, a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle. Careful on that last turn and go slow up that last slope!

My church has been attending this site for our Youth camp for the past 10 years I think? I have so many childhood memories at this camp! I abosolutely love it!!! Im actually coming here in a couple of days for a youth camp again. (as a counselor of course) We use to get the cabins, however our group has been smaller this year so we will be in the «Lodges» which I prefer.
Cabins: The cabins are pretty decent here. When you walk in there is a common room in the middle so alot of the kids usually play cards there if they cant sleep haha. So it splits up into two rooms and each of the rooms can sleep about 10 – 12. There are two showers in each room with three bathroom stalls. There isn’t a heater though… but at least theres hot water (sometimes HAHA). I really have no complaints about this place. Its a camp afterall. BUTTTTTT sometimes the water is cloudy… which kinda freaks me out but it changes back to clear after 4 – 5 mins.
Lodges: The lodges are AMAZING!!! I don’t even feel like I’m in a «camp» anymore. The rooms sleep 4 comfortably. You can squeeze 5 if you share a full sized bed. These rooms do have heaters as well as constant flowing hot water! They come with pillows, sheets and blankets. So no need for sleeping bags. (you need sleeping bags for the cabins)
The campsite itself is beautiful! I usually wake up at 6AM for a morning for a jog and the sunrise is amazing! There are two cafeterias, one is at the top of a mountain and the other is at the bottom. Also they have many meeting rooms to choose from. They usually accommodate you to your group size. But I’m sure you can request for certain ones. They have a lot of activities available like rock climbing, swimming, paintball, zip line and many others. I also really like their fire pit! We made Smores last year with our kids.
Lastly, I think this camp is considered on the pricier side. So account that in if you are thinking about coming here. Other than that, this is probably the best Christian Camp site I have been to.
PS: THE FOOOOOD IS AMAZINGGGGG HAHAHA :-)

Probably my favorite retreat site! Here’s why!
1) I really like Four Square people. Something about them. Really down to earth. Every time I’ve met ppl from a Four Square church, seminary, or at this retreat site… Ultra cool ppl!
2) The workers here are phenomenal. There’s a culture that they have which is different from any retreat I’ve ever been to. They wave «hi» to everyone as you drive by or walk by. They’re not only helpful, but they’re encouraging. They’re not just employees… you can see they want you to be blessed in your experience of Jesus at this retreat!
3) The food is 3 to 5 grades above any other retreat eating experience. I came here 3 weeks ago… here’s my recall. I remember a breakfast burrito which offered 3 different meats. We had hamburgers one lunch and the buns were amazing. We had gyro’s… what the heck. I’ve never had a gyro at a retreat site. The salads all came with an option for ham or turkey… so you get to have meat with your salad. They offer not only your standard beverages of soda, juice, coffee, & tea for every meal, but they offer dessert as well.
4) You can tell there was a lot of love put in to designing & building their new facilities. I was examining the bass traps for the acoustics in the dining hall. They did a phenomenal job building it. I spoke in the large sanctuary soon after they opened it 4 some years ago. Great sanctuary! The new bedrooms are all clean, comfortable, & well made.
5) I come here mostly as a preacher. So I get the pastors retreat. The pastors retreat include 4 separate rooms for speakers & a common area where you can relax, store food, cook, read, etc. It’s a nice home away from home!
My only tiff… which is a small one… the retreat site is not centralized, but spread out far & wide… The pastor’s retreat is the farthest from anything… I’m so lazy… I took my car & drove it to the sanctuary every time… Haha!
It’s okay! God blessed me with a spiritual gift… it’s called efficiency! ;)

Having come here over the years for several church retreats, I can say this is one of the best spot to enjoy God’s presence and each other’s fellowship!
The conference rooms are high quality with built in sound equipment and mixer. The staffs are always very helpful and will come around giving you all the rules and policy (according to my friends, they had to add some of the rules over the years because of certain someone in our group… like, don’t sit on top of a car while it’s moving forward… you may fall. Somehow, people forget the American traffic law is still enforced when you’re up in the mountain =P)
There are several levels of cabins. There are huge rooms with bunk beds that squeeze in over 10 people per room with nothing but mattresses (bring your own sleeping bag!). Then there are higher grades with almost a Motel 6-​like arrangement that fits 4 people. The downside with the higher quality cabin is that you’re next to other rooms which may house people from another group. We tend to get pretty rowdy so I was afraid we would bother other people. The good thing is, you can stay up in the conference room as late as you want. And man… were we loud!
Three meals are served in each day (breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 5:30pm). We have to learn to pace ourselves because the meals are so close together and you don’t have time to get hungry for lunch after breakfast. By the time dinner rolls around, it’s difficult to stuff everything in. The quality of the food is… well, it’s camp food, at least you can come around for seconds. =P
And my friend just found out that if you’re a pastor, the center makes arrangement to provide you arrangement to come up and stay. =D
I can’t wait to come back and run across the open field, spending time getting to know my brothers and sisters in Christ, or learning more about the love of God at The Oaks!

Tidbits of my experience at The Oaks:
–Driving up to the camp in the dark and fog was the creepiest drive I’ve ever taken (lots of curves and zero lights)! Bring a confident driver!
–The camp size itself is pretty compact with regards to the main conference area, dining hall, and cabins. I was able to walk between all three even with heavy winds, rain, and snow (disclaimer: I have a high tolerance for cold and wet weather).
–There are some small trails that lead off into the woods not far from the camp; be sure to look for the trail maps placed at the entrances. They made for some pretty awesome early morning trail runs.
–The cabins themselves are actually quite nice. Just bring a pillow, blanket, and an extra bedsheet to spread over the bunk mattresses and you’re set to go! I should have done that instead of bringing a sleeping bag.
–The food served here is equatable to buffet-​style dorm food. I always came out full but not always satisfied.

This past weekend, i visited The Oaks for the first time through a church weekend retreat. i noticed that my particular group has chosen The Oaks as its retreat centre for nearly 4~5 years straight. This weekend, i found out the reason why
First of all, if you drive to many of these retreat centres that are nestled in our local mountains, they’re usually difficult to reach. It’s usually first the long freeway drive, followed by the long drive up the squirrely mountain road and then getting lost in the mountains because of the small roads. The Oaks is thankfully not that complicated to reach and when you get to the entrance, there is a large sign that indicates where to enter
The next complain of these places is age of the facility. Many retreat centres have been around for decades and it clearly shows. The Oaks is newer (perhaps less than 20 years), clean, spacious, modern and well-​maintained. The sleeping lodges are almost hotel-​quality. i enjoyed the food as well (excluding the stuff i can’t eat)
By far, one of the best Christian retreat centres you can find in Southern California

Five stars sheerly for sentimental reasons. I attended DCS for elementary school and this was the spot of our fourth grade outdoor ed. Three days and two nights in a cabin with your classmates for the first time with only one chaperone per room? Practically freedom!
I remember how cool it was that during meal time you could go to the soda fountain and put a little of each drink into your cup. They also have a little pool, huge lawn to run around, and the mountains in the background have a pretty aggressive hiking trail. There was also a small, cozy chapel tucked away in a corner of the property.
My little brother’s going to DCS now and they recently went here for the second grade’s last day shindig. Still looked exactly the same. Comforting to know some things barely change in this crazy world. Most interesting addition since I was a little kid is their giant foosball board where you are one of the players. Pretty innovative in my opinion.