QUESTION: Do You Go to Your or Another Council's Summer Cam

[Billiken]

I'm curious about whether or not most troops attend summer camp at the facility owned by their council.

My troop does not.

I have mixed feelings about this. I think one should support their own council, but not at the expense of what's best for the boys.

Apparently, where we're going to does a fantastic job. The week we're there they are expecting over 420 scouts. (This summer 13 troops from my council will be attending.)

I guess the bottom line is (always) we should do:
A. What's best for the boys.
B. What the boys want.

[deweylure]

the troop I am involved with goes to another councils camp. The reason being our troo[ schedule does not allow us to go while our council camp is open.


Dewey

[Chief J]

Our Troop is going to 2 different summer camps this year. In June we are going to Custaloga Town Scout Reservation (Out of Council) and in July we are going to Camp Freedom at Heritage Scout Reservation (In Council).


In the past, we have always just gone to Camp Freedom. This year due to many scouts saying they were bored with Heritage we decided to add another week out of council. After much discussion and arrangement on my part and presentations, we have 6 scouts who signed up for our out of council week. The breakdown is 2 older scouts and 4 new scouts who just crossed over. In addition, the 2 older scouts are also part of the 17 scout contingent going to Heritage.

Not sure what happened, but as a result we are going both in and out of council this year.

Best Regards,
-Chief J

[Mrw]

We go out of council as the boys were not happy with the council camp. This was about 8 years ago and I have been seeing the number of weeks of summer camp offered by Council dwindling since then, so they either haven't turned it around or just haven't communicated very well why we should all go back.

Besides Manatoc is about 20 minutes away and Beaumont is a good hour.

What week will your troop be there? Ours is going the week of July 23. I am going on vacation that week bike riding across Ohio. My younger son is 17 and not interested in any programs at camp so he is working that week.

[scoutaholic]

Our Council runs 3 cub day camps, 2 webelos day camps, 1 11-yr-old scout day camp, 1 webelos overnight, 1 11-yr-old scout overnight, 4 Boy Scout Summer Camps, and 2 High Adventure Bases.

Each summer camp runs about 8 weeks during the summer with a capacity of 500-600 boys per camp per week. They seem to always fill up, so I guess our council doesn't have trouble filling them.

Our troop tries to do a council type camp every other year, and a troop- run backpacking or 'rough' camp on the off years. Our CO has been planning their own 'scout' camps for the last 2 years, and has messed up that rotation.

I checked into some out-of-council camps a couple years ago. The programs were very similar, and the costs were about the same. The boys chose a council camp instead.

This year we are going to Bear Lake Aquatics Base (in-council summer camp).

Years ago, I went to an out-of-council camp (Camp Browning - Trapper Trails Council) as a youth leader. At that time, the facilities and programs were better in our own council camps. I don't know how the costs compared then, but I think that is the reason we tried their camp.

[Billiken]

We go out of council as the boys were not happy with the council camp. This was about 8 years ago and I have been seeing the number of weeks of summer camp offered by Council dwindling since then, so they either haven't turned it around or just haven't communicated very well why we should all go back.

Besides Manatoc is about 20 minutes away and Beaumont is a good hour.

What week will your troop be there? Ours is going the week of July 23. I am going on vacation that week bike riding across Ohio. My younger son is 17 and not interested in any programs at camp so he is working that week.

Our troop goes to Seven Ranges Scout Reservation- Buckeye Council, BSA. We'll be there the week of June 18-24.

We use Manatoc for training-type campouts as it's less than a 15 minute drive from where we all live (east side of Cleveland).

[JRTroop270]

my troop goes the other councils because our council only has one camp

[FrankJ]

We go to an in council camp generally 2 out of 3 years. We go to an out of council camp the other year for variety.

[riverwalk]

Generally I think our Council finds Units supporting the Council Camps. And Council strives to keep their Properties safe and fun/interesting. At the same time however, some Units will want to go out of Council, for a particular experience elsewhere.

Councils naturally want their own Camp(s) to be utilized, and Unit leaders want to keep Youth members involved. Both motives are sound, yet they aren't always going to be on the same trail.

[WVBeaver05]

In reviewing what our Troop does, it appears that in recent years it has averaged about 2 of every 3 years going to the Council camp just like FrankJ. There is no hard and fast rotation.

They have gone just for something different for the older Boys who have attended the Council camp several times and they have also gone in order to attend a specific program. It sounds like some of the Troops responding do much the same.

I know of Troops in our Council who nearly always attend summer camp in an adjacent Council camp because it is significantly closer to them. Also, I talked to an ASM at our Council camp last summer who said that his Troop makes it a standard practice of attending their Council camp every other year and going to an out of Council camp in the alternate years. Also, I talked to a SM from another Council who says his Troop nearly always attends our camp because they like it better.

Billiken, looks like there are a wide variety of answers to your question and a wide variety of reasons as well.

While you all are answering this, can you let me know if this has changed over the years? When I was active in Scouting as a Youth (way back in the 60's and 70's) our Troop always attended our Council camp and I don't seem to recall many out of Council Troops being there in the 5 years I attended or the summer I was on Staff ther.

YiS

[Billiken]

While you all are answering this, can you let me know if this has changed over the years? When I was active in Scouting as a Youth (way back in the 60's and 70's) our Troop always attended our Council camp and I don't seem to recall many out of Council Troops being there in the 5 years I attended or the summer I was on Staff ther.

YiS

Apparently, our troop has attended the same summer camp (Seven Ranges Scout Reservation) for the last 13 years in a row.

As a youth, my troop in central Illinois always attended Camp Sunnen in south central Missouri. It is one of Trails West Council's two camps.
In the 1970s, it was so busy that only in-council troops were allowed to make reservations beyond 6 months out.

BTW, it's a great facility in the Ozark foothills and Mark Twain Nat'l Forest (complete with an on-property cave).

[Mad Dog]

Our council has two camps and we go to the same one every year. Our SM woiuld like a change. He would like to go to the other counciol camp. I would like to see the boys go a big trip say to the Midwest or New England. I am afraid if we go amy place that is more than and hours drive the parents will not be interested. How about it does anyone go far to camp? I would love to see us fly in some place. Was thinking about seabase. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I want to start planning next summer.

[WVBeaver05]

I am afraid if we go amy place that is more than and hours drive the parents will not be interested. How about it does anyone go far to camp?

Our Council camp is around 3.5 hours away.

[Billiken]

I would like to see the boys go on a big trip say to the Midwest or New England. I am afraid if we go any place that is more than .................... the parents will not be interested.

Mad Dog:

We drive about 2 hrs each way to get to summer camp,
We've got some parents that drive TO camp and some that PICK UP on the following Saturday.

Sounds like you've got the classic situation of needing to "lay it on the line"......

"We need XXXX parents to help with XXXXX to XXXXX."
Be polite.
Be blunt.

Good luck.

Billiken

[scoutaholic]

All of our Council Boy Scout Summer Camps are at least 2 Hours drive 1-way. 1 High Adventure base is about 5 hours drive.

I know of at least 2 camps run by neighboring councils that would be closer for us.

[Lynda J]

The last three years our troop has gone in council. THis year we are going out of council. Our boys really didn't want to go back. They were talking about the program being the same every year.

Last year I was upset that many of the counselors for merit badges weren't but about a year older than our boys. They didn't do a very good job of working with the boys. Spent about 3, 15 minute sessions on Nature and signed them all off. The three boys working on the badge told me they didn't do half of what the requirements were.

[lambeausam]

We are attending a camp that is operated by the adjacent council. This was based on similar reasons that Lynda J cited. Additionally, the programs offered were more interesting to boys than our council's camp program. Ironically, this camp is closer to home than our council's camp.

Sam

[DadScout]

We're out of Council this year and have been for the past 3. The boys keep voting to go back to the same camp.

[ccjj]

Our boys selected a camp out of council for this summer. Our oldest boys have been to our council camp for 5 years straight. They wanted a change.

ccjj

[Lynda J]

Councils need to realize that if they want the troops to come back year after year that they need to offer program changes. It does take more work on the camps part but right now the boys in our troop have done everything and seen everything that our Council camps offer. Nothing new to peak their interest.

One thing that got me when I was directing day camp was that the Council seemed to push the same crafts and projects year after year then couldn't understand why boys by the time they were Web's weren't coming to day camp. The second year I did camp I pulled the Web's off into their own camp with a totally different program. The first year we had 35 Webs. The second year we had 58 the third year we had 92.