Arkansas Summer Camp Research

[SR540Beaver]

The troop I serve is in Oklahoma. We have attended the same summer camp for the last three years and while it is an excellent camp, we feel it is time to seek out new scenery and adventures. We have divided up our state and surrounding states for research purposes and I'm looking into Arkansas. I have knowledge of Camp Pioneer and it was a hit with an old troop of mine. I have come across three other camps in Arkansas which I know nothing about. One camp is Blass Scout Reservation and their website has little to no information. It appears to be a small camp with little to offer. The other two I found are Camp Orr and Kia Kima Scout Reservation which somehow appears to be two summer camp facilities in one. Both have great leader's guides in a downloadable PDF format. On paper, they look like great camps with much to offer.

 

Has anyone been to Camp Orr or Kia Kima in Arkansas and what were your impressions of those camps. Thanks!

[Lynda J]

Camp Orr is great. Beautiful country. I grew up in Harrison,

[Eagle69]

What do you want to know about Blass Scout Reservation? It is located in North Central Ark outside the town of Damascus. The camp has an Olympic Size Swimming Pool and a small lake. Here is a link to the 2006 Summer Camp Leaders Guide that might answer your questions.

 

http://www.quapawbsa.org/db/uploads/1138307706_Local_2006summercampleadersguide.pdf

 

Camp Kia Kima, while in Arkansas, is not associated with Arkansas Scouting. It belongs to the Chickasaw Council in Memphis, TN. It is located near Hardy, AR on the banks of the Spring River. I went there once 40 years ago so all I know is what I see on it's website.

[SR540Beaver]

Eagle69,

 

Thanks for the link, it helped a lot. I usually find summer camps listed under camping on most council websites. There usually is a leaders guide there. Quapaw has the leaders guide listed under "forms" instead of the page about summer camp. I guess I just didn't look hard enough, but the placement doesn't seem logical to me. Adding the same link to the camping or summer camp page is easy. I'll give them a look.

 

I realize Kia Kima isn't an Arkansas council camp as it belongs to a Tennessee council if I recall. WE split up our research within geographical boundaries, so that is why I have in included in Arkansas.

 

Again, thanks!

[Eagle69]

SR540Beaver,

 

The Quapaw Area Council hasn't caught up with this new thing called the Internet yet. It doesn't offer any online registration, recharter or any of this other stuff I read about. The placement of some of the things on the website make no sense, but I suspect that they have no full time web maintainer and nobody at the Scout Office really understands how to make it better. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions. I haven't had anybody in camp in 3 years, but I know up to talk to.

 

A bit of History, for what's it worth. For years there used to be another Scout Camp right down the road from Kia Kima. Camp Cedar Valley, which belonged to the Eastern Arkansas Area Council had a camp out of Hardy on the Spring River as well. It moved in 1967 about 45 miles West and became part of a new camp Pine Trail Reservation, Camp Cedar Valley. It was a beautiful camp with a 40 acre lake, Jr. Olympic Pool, nice Dinning Hall, tents on platforms, etc. About 2000 the East Ark Council went bankrupt and all Scouting functions were absorbed by the Quapaw Council. They didn't need the other camp and it was sold to a private individual who happened to be a scouter. He has maintained the camp and it is available for use by Scout Groups for a very reasonable fee.

 

"I used to be a Beaver, a good old Beaver To". WWB-SC134.

[ancientdruid]

Our Baton Rouge troop went to Camp Orr in 2004 and were pleased with it overall. We rated Camp Comer in Alabama (2006) a little higher. Someone I work with went to Camp Blass and had excellent things to say about it.

[bigcowhead]

When I worked with a troop in Oklahoma , We went to Camp Nile Montgomery in Arkansas. It was a pretty nice camp, the dining hall was new and had AC, and they had a great program. One feature I liked was that during the nighly leader meetings, you also met with the staff who had progress sheets on every boy they were working with. You could catch up with a boy who might have been skipping out or not paying attention and then help correct that problem,

 

Everrett

[OneHour]

Camp Pioneer is not bad at all. MB classes are relatively close to each other. Temperature range is very decent in June, in high 80s to low 90s. Only one negative ... between the check-in and camp is a highway. First timers would think that this is part of the camp and would casually walk across an active highway ... this is very dangerous. Otherwise, it's a great camp in Arkansas (on the east side). Camp Orr is good as well. We liked camp Pioneer better.

 

1Hour

[Eagle69]

Camp Pioneer is in West Arkansas over near Mena, which is South of Fort Smith and almost on the Ark/Okla border.

 

Here is the website: http://www.camppioneer.org/

 

Here is the Blass Scout Reservation info (this is the Quapaw Council camp located North of Conway outside of Damascus on Hwy 65): http://www.quapawbsa.org/facilities/blass/

 

Here is Camp Orr, Westark's camp: http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=3300&orgkey=1154

[OneHour]

I sit corrected. Eagle69 is correct. Camp Pioneer is over the west side of AK. The camp is great ... camp staff are very spirited. Camp food is the standard camp food! When all else fails, pb&j and the salad bar.

 

1Hour