6 Tips for Choosing Scout Summer Camp

Scout summer camp, the name alone calls out for a week in the wilderness enjoying nature, earning merit badges, and camp food. Well, not always camp food… This is not a one size fits all article. Some Troops plan 3 different Summer Camp trips – one for the new Scouts, a high adventure trip for the older Scouts, and the third trip for all the rest.

Other Troops always go to their Council Camp. Our Troop, being small, planned one summer camp experience each year and alternated between a local camp and an out-of-state camp. After being involved in nearly 40 different Summer Camp trips, I have found that there as some basic tips to make the job easier.

1. When to Start Planning your Scout Summer Camp

There is one best time to start planning summer camp – immediately following the court of Honor after summer camp! We found that scheduling a Court of Honor within two weeks of returning kept everything fresh in the Scout’s minds and let the parents see how everyone in the Troop enjoyed their trip.

I would make an announcement that planning for next year’s trip will start at the next PLC so be sure to start thinking about where you want to go. I would encourage parents to think about next year’s summer camp as well.

2. Getting a Short List of Camps

The PLC after summer camp is dedicated to starting the planning for next year’s trip. In addition to the Scoutmaster and the PLC, be sure that the Outdoors/Activity Chair (at least – the Treasurer might be good to have as well) is present. I suggest this agenda to guide the SPL in running the meeting.

Open the meeting
Introduce the Outdoor/Activity Chair and any other committee members in attendance.
Outline the goals of the meeting – review of the last camp, setting a date, setting a budget, and looking for Camps.
Discuss briefly what everyone liked about the recent Summer Camp
Discuss briefly what everyone disliked about the camp.
Decide on the “form” of next year’s Summer Camp local, travel, hold your adventure, High Adventure, etc.
Decide on when the Troop would go camping. Allow a week or two either way as no specific Camp has been selected.
Choose an approximate budget. ( This is why it’s good to have the Treasurer present) Once the budget is established, be sure to restate it as to how much per week the Scouts will need to raise/save/earn.
Task the PLC to work with the Outdoor/Activity Chair in generating a list of (no more than) 3 camps that will work with the form and finances that the Troop decided.
Set a Goal for when the list will be ready. I recommend no more than 3 weeks – preferably shorter.

3. Picking the Final Location

Once the list of camp options is prepared, it is brought to the PLC to choose. The trick here is to have a detailed report on each choice. Show camp cost, transportation cost, possible dates, features of each camp, and so on. The more information the PLC has, the better the decision. Be sure to consider possible issues like travel restrictions, overnight stays on the way to and from camp, and any interesting side trips that could be taken.

4. Getting Everyone Involved

Once the PLC has decided, immediately schedule a Parents Meeting! Share with the parents the features of the Camp, the dates, and the projected cost. It’s best to also share the cost per week to avoid “sticker shock” as most trips are not bad when viewed that way. You are also looking for parents to help with fundraising, transportation, and perhaps also attending camp to ensure two-deep leadership. This meeting can be lots of fun!

5. Financial Considerations

Treasurer and the Outdoor/Activity Chair should work together to determine the final cost for the trip. Be sure to add a contingency amount and add for any side trips, meals to and from camp, and overnight camping during the trip. Once the final number is ready, set up a schedule of payments that the Scouts have to meet. Get the first payment directly from the Scout or Parent to lock in” in their reservation.

If the Troop has a Fundraising Chair, they should get involved as well so that a plan for the distribution of earned funds can go to the summer camp fund. Our plan was simple – participate in the fundraiser and apply the earnings to your camp fee. We found that some parents just paid the whole amount, while others wanted fundraisers to cover it all. Work with what you have and everyone can go camping.

6. Transportation

This can be challenging – or can almost be a highlight of the trip! If you are going to a local camp you can simply have a few parents drive if necessary. If you are traveling a long distance it becomes a more difficult situation. Here are some methods we have used in the past:

See if you can borrow a minibus from a local church or your sponsor.

Check with the camp to see if they can provide transportation from the nearest train or bus station. If so, the trip can be an adventure.

Consider flying in. Often airline tickets can be cheap. Once we had a dad who was a private pilot and flew himself and his sons to camp!

If you have a local charter bus company, see how much they would charge. This worked very well for us for one year.

See if any parents might be interested in a road trip :) One year I ended up being called into work so I drove the Scouts up to camp (7 hours) and dropped them off. Worked the next week and went back up on Friday to bring them back. This is a non-recommended solution, but it worked!

Here is an example of a trip planned using this method. As a Central Florida Troop, we would go out of state every other year. Georgia was a favorite destination as Floridians love the mountains. (until we get there – then we complain that everything in camp is uphill in both directions) From the list of possible camps, we selected Camp Rainey Mountain. On Saturday morning we left early and stopped at Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, GA.

We camped overnight at a nearby State Park and left the following morning for Camp. After camp, we got permission to leave early and spent the day at 6 Flags. An overnight stay and we returned home on Monday – with so many stories to tell! We were able to cover nearly all of the trip with fundraisers as we had 9 months to be ready.

References:

BSA Unit Adult Functional Roles & Unit Committee