Choosing another summer camp for next year.

[robvio]

I am currently looking into planning to attend an out of council for our troop.

 

While Camp McKee in Kentucky is a good summer camp, we want to broaden our horizons and let our boys interact with others from another state. Some of the camps I have seen also offer diferent merit badge programs and such.

 

I'd like to keep it within a four hour drive, but may extend that time frame only not by much.

 

Anybody with feedback would be appreciated about any of the camps in the states that surround Kentucky would be appreciated.

 

[Ohio_Scouter]

You may want to consider Camp Falling Rock owned and operated by the Simon Kenton Council, in the central Ohio area. It's about 4 hours from your location. Our guys have attended there for the past 2 years, and they love it. Feel free to check it our at www.campfallingrock.org.

 

Camp is located at:

 

Camp Falling Rock

12637 Houdeshell Road

Newark, OH 43055

 

Happy Camping

[John-in-KC]

Sounds like a great research project for your PLC.

 

Have them set up a wall map... then draw a 4 hour ring around it.

(avg speed 50MPH=200 miles, avg spd 70MPH=280 miles).

 

Next, find the Scout Councils that fall in your area. One way to do that is have the kids do googlemaps to find towns and Zip Codes from the post office, and plug them back into Scouting.org.

 

Now, you have a big list of camps to evaluate and pare down to a smaller list.

 

When you have a short list maybe the PLC can take a road trip.

 

Have fun.

[prof]

Robvio,

Ditto what John in KC said.

You might check to see if the local lodge of OA has a Where To Go Camping book or website. As a youth, our lodge listed all of the camps in adjacent states.

In my neck of the woods,south central Indiana, we have Camp Ransburg operated by the Crossroads of America Council. Also, you might want to check out Camp Maumee operated by the Hoosier Trails council. Might be worth a look.

Prof.

[John-in-KC]

My logic is this:

 

We can give you all manner of recommendations, but if we want to teach these kids how to lead and how to manage, why not give them the tools and the chance to do research?

 

Besides, it gives you a chance to talk about fuel economy, and how to make good choices

 

Let us know how you decide to approach the challenge, and what the young men actually do in the process!

[kbandit]

Just got back today from Camp Buffalo in Indiana (Sagamore Council). This was our first year at this camp. We go out of council for our summer camp. We left this morning with our reservation in place for next year. Our scouts had the best time. Great food. Great staff. We felt very welcome.

 

kbandit

[Sir_Scoutalot]

Our council camp (Middle Tennessee Council - Nashville area) is Boxwell Reservation. It's actually a complex of camps. The two Boy Scout camps are Craig and Stahlman. Nice facilities and a very comprehensive program.

 

In 2007 we went to Skymont, located in southeast Tennessee and operated by the Cherokee Council out of Chattanoogs. A little more rustic and off the beaten path, but we gave that camp the thumbs up as well. The camp offered a white water trip to the nearby Ocoee River and also had many nice climbing and rapelling areas nearby.

 

[ASM915]

robvio,

Check out Buckeye Council's 7 Ranges Scout Reserve. It's a little farther the Ohio-Scouter's suggestion, about 45 minutes east of Canton Ohio. On your way out of camp, the Troop could stop at the Football Hall of Fame or the McKinley Museum and Monument They are both only 5 minutes out of the way, north of Rt 30 on Rt 77.

7R has OA tap-outs on Wed. night. On Friday, they run the Pipestone Camp Honors program,one of the oldest honors programs in the country, approximately 85 years old.

If you decide to come, the boys will need to bring a cubic foot of branches ranging in size no smaller then their little finger and no larger then their thumb and barkless, stacked and secured tightly with twine. The Pipestone staff will use it all that week for all the different ceremony fires on Friday night.

If there is any interest, PM me.

[Ohio_Scouter]

Hey, Old Grizzly, nice to hear from you again! How's things up North?

[ASM915]

O_S

I almost forgot about that nickname. As you know, it's was one of the rainiest Junes on record. At least the camp roads are drying up nicely. I haven't had any trouble getting into the youngest staff campsite yet. Make a deal with you. You just let one storm a week come on up the valley and divert the rest across W. Va or Ky. and I'll send the ones from up north across to Pittsburgh. As I was coming home from the store about an hour ago, we had nice clear skies here, but you could see lightning to the east toward camp.

The youngest is on staff at 7R. 100 miles round trip twice a weekend just to get him there and back. And that doesn't include the occasional other trips out there and back for other things. The staff pranks are in full swing.

The Pipestone gang are having to car pool since some of them come from as far as Columbus and Cleveland every Friday night. So far the gas hasn't seemed to keep many Troops away so far.

So how are things west of Columbus?(This message has been edited by ASM915)

[Ohio_Scouter]

Not too bad down here in the birthplace of aviation. Weather seems to be exceptionally mild and pleasant so far this summer. Deal on the storms, but if you can, try to let the Alberta Clippers stall over southeastern Michigan. I just noticed that one of our scout bretheren/moderators in that area is threatening to start telling humorous Ohio jokes (oxymoron?) soon.

 

Our troop just returned from summer camp, and as usual, they had a blast. Eagle son just finished his first high adventure trip as an Assistant Scoutmaster. The Venture Patrol cycled from Cincinnati to the New York state line (559 miles including side trips) along part of the Underground Railroad bicycle trail. Pretty successful trip--only 1 run to the hospital E-R when one scout took a fall and scraped his head and face up pretty badly. Thank God for bicycle helmets, Ashtabula cops, and the G2SS. His helmet was unusable after the fall, so the rest of the patrol chipped in and bought him a new one at the local Wal-Mart as a birthday present which they all autographed and clear-coated.

 

Probably should go before the moderators catch me hijacking robvio's thread.

[prof]

robvio,

Take a look at http://www.takachsin.org/

It will have a where to go camping guide which lists Camps in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. You and your PLC might wish to use this as a starting point and narrow down/do more research on the camps that jump out at you.

Also, check out http://www.bsa-gwrc.org/oa/

That lodge, in Ohio, has a good where to go camping book as well!

Good luck with the decision!

Prof.

[robvio]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions.

 

I would love to go into full detail about how I fill about our summer camp, but I think it would sound bitter and unprofessional of me having only been to one facility. While I give McKee a thumbs up for a lot of things, they are lacking severely in so many other areas. It cant be all good all the time, right?

 

All I ask for is a decent cot or frame with matress (many here are frame amd matress), good dining facility (McKee's is outstanding) although this year with the rise in food cost, the boys got slighted very badly, and a well designed and executed merit badge program (which is a bad system here outside of aquatics) and a camp with a good COPE program for any older boy who wants it.

 

I think I could spin a whole other thread about this.

 

 

 

 

[ASM857]

Robvio I also would recomend for your PLC, last year we had them research and present to the scouts their top 3 canidates. Their are several camps within 6 hours of McGee unsure as to your location in Kentucky. The greater St. Louis area have a couple camps that might fit your needs I have attached our property list that your PLC can review.

http://www.stlbsa.org/Camping/Properties/?WBCMODE=PresenJoinUsDetailsJoinUsDetailsJoinUsDetaiJoinUsDetailsJoinUsDetailsJoinUsDetailsJoinUsDetailsJoinUsDetails

YIS

Doug

[t4eagle137]

Like ASM915 I also attend Seven Ranges Scout Reservation, Buckeye Council. (7070 Meter Rd. Kensington, OH 44427)

 

It features 900 acres of property with an excellent program. The property is well maintained and features a 40 acre lake, COPE course, and Patrol Games in the afternoon. There is the option of camping "inpost" and eating in the Dining Hall or go with a traditional Patrol Method of camping and camp "outpost".

 

The Pipestone Camp Honors Program is also a very exciting part of camp. It honors those Scouts that show Scout Spirit, can identify plants, constelations, and animals, and also those that advance in rank. The Pipestone program is exclusive to Buckeye Council and has been honoring Scouts for the last 83 summers. For more information, feel free to contact me or visit: www.buckeyecouncil.org/Pipestone.htm