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Summer Camp Scouts

2630 Views 20 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  Bax*
Wanted to get your guys ideas for Summer camps for 16-18 year old scout kids. They are all past the Eagle/merit badge stage so we like to go have some fun. The past couple years we've backpacked to Red Castle, Brown Duck Basin, and spent a week at the Gorge.

What other places have you gone? Organized or unorganized. We Have access to boats. Looking at the month of July.
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We've done Zion national park a couple of times and had fun with it. Plenty to see and do there. The summer heat sucks, but if you get the hiking in early it is manageable.
Coyote Gulch.

If you don't take them there, I will ban you from this forum.
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Green River rafting. Camp out wherever along the way in the evenings. My boy did it this year, LOVED IT.


-DallanC
I knew you'd all be full of good ideas! Keep them coming. Coyote Gulch looks awesome, but in July could be brutal!


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Green River rafting. Camp out wherever along the way in the evenings. My boy did it this year, LOVED IT.

-DallanC
Half right! Take the boats for the lake and rent rafts for the river, loads of fun.
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I knew you'd all be full of good ideas! Keep them coming. Coyote Gulch looks awesome, but in July could be brutal!

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July is the BEST time to do it!!!! The temperature is cool in the gulch, and you hike in water most of the way. Plus the town of Escalante has a fun 24th of July celebration.

I generally hike this area June - August.
Backpack trip in the Uintas is a good one. A real 50 miler. Lots of guys on here know the area far better than I do, and could recommend a route. One thing we did with our boys that age for a few years was a major bike ride. One year we went from West Jordan down to Cedar City. The next year we biked from West Jordan up to Bear Lake. The bike trips and the 50 mile backpacking trip would really push them, and would take preparation and conditioning - lots of things to prepare - practice hikes/rides, tuning up bikes, preparing gear, etc.... Lots of good things to prepare for.

As for organized camps, we also did the High Adventure camps at both Jackson and Moab. I'm just not a fan of organized camps for guys that age. They are old enough to help organize, plan, and prepare - and will learn as much or more from doing all of that as well, than just showing up at an organized camp to be entertained for a week. Those are both real fun camps, and they guys will have a great time. Doing your own takes a lot more work, a lot more preparation and planning, but is also much more worth it to have the boys go through all of that.
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As for organized camps, we also did the High Adventure camps at both Jackson and Moab. I'm just not a fan of organized camps for guys that age. They are old enough to help organize, plan, and prepare - and will learn as much or more from doing all of that as well, than just showing up at an organized camp to be entertained for a week. Those are both real fun camps, and they guys will have a great time. Doing your own takes a lot more work, a lot more preparation and planning, but is also much more worth it to have the boys go through all of that.
Agreed 100%

I really like going on our own trips as opposed to a BSA camp with hundreds of kids. My favorite memories as a scout are from camps that we went to cool new places, not hokey camps that sing camp songs.

Just don't forget to apply for a tour permit
BSA Camp New fork, WY and Canoe the green river.
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Coyote Gulch.

If you don't take them there, I will ban you from this forum.
Pretty awesome place, I haven't been there for years. We use to do it on horseback and pack horses. It was great, I don't know if you can still take horses or not.

I have taken scout groups to Lake Powell many times.

I can still remember my first 50 miler through the Uinta's when I was 13, it was great.
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Green River Lakes is the head of the green river which is an incredible place. Great place for plenty of backpacking and fishing. You can backpack from there over to camp Newfork or vise versa. There is a camp ground with bathrooms and water if your looking just for easy camping.
Far away but a unique trip would be the Boundary waters.
Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like a lot of good places to try and hit


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Bax
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Far away but a unique trip would be the Boundary waters.
Do you mean the Boundary Waters in Minnesota/Ontario? I did a 50-mile canoe trip there when I was in scouts.

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Do you mean the Boundary Waters in Minnesota/Ontario? I did a 50-mile canoe trip there when I was in scouts.

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They had canoe's way back then?
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Lower Bowns Reservoir by Torrey, UT. I didn't go on the trip, but everyone raved about it.
They had canoe's way back then?
Birch Bark :mrgreen:
Definitely do something that you organize yourself. That age of kids doesn't want to go to a camp with someone telling them what to do all the time.
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