WOW! 4 girls.....Congratulations Mom!
Does the friend's daughter WANT to go to camp? The statement "sending her to camp to keep her out of trouble" is questionable. Is this child a problem child? If she is trouble, she can find that wherever she is. Does mom just want a week off?
That said.....my daughter begged to go to Kamp Kickapoo just outside of Kerrville TX. We went on a Mom/Daughter weekend and had a nice time. So, I paid up and we took her for the week. It was a CAMP experience.....lake, crafts, horseback riding, games, old cabins, etc. My daughter did this at 10 and she did not enjoy it that much.
The following year, she chose Sky Ranch because it is a "camping" experience but a lot nicer cabins, etc. She was not crazy about that one either.
The Y's usually have day camps you can be involved in. My daughter loved a 1 week cooking camp and a 1 week babysitting camp. She was trained at babysitting camp for the basics and CPR. I would say the Y had the most fun camps for us...
We have a family friend with 3 daughters (youngest 15 now) and they all LOVED Pine Cove and 2 of them even went back 2 years as counselors.
I wish this little 13 yr old girl well. It is a tough age and I hope she does not feel like mom just wants her to be away a week. Is mom leaving her home alone during the summer?
My daughter was invited to a friend's house this summer and I took her over and she stayed the day. Later on is when I learned that this child was left home alone all day. We started having her at our house at least once a week for all day so she could hang out with us.