Summer Camp near Amtrak Train Station SC,NC,VA

[Tampa Turtle]

I was wondering of anyone knows of any Summer Camps close to Amtrak Train stations on the Eastern Line (The Silver Star from Tampa). The boys want to explore that as an alternative. I have not had good luck running that info down...

[Eagle94-A1]

East Carolina Council may be able to help. Wilson, NC station is about 1.5 hours away, and the council has used their passenger vans to transport units from the East Carolina Scout Reservation, home of Camp Boddie (formerly known as Camp Bonner South) and the Pamlico Sea Base, to that station. Don't know if Rocky Mount, NC station is faster to the reservation, but my DE dropped off folks in Wilson.

[Eagle94-A1]

Tuscarora Council, NC also has a camp approx. 50 minutes from Selma, NC train station. They had a HA program 2 years ago, but not last year.

[Eagledad]

Sound like a fun idea.

 

Barry

[blw2]

East Carolina Council may be able to help. Wilson, NC station is about 1.5 hours away, and the council has used their passenger vans to transport units from the East Carolina Scout Reservation, home of Camp Boddie (formerly known as Camp Bonner South) and the Pamlico Sea Base, to that station. Don't know if Rocky Mount, NC station is faster to the reservation, but my DE dropped off folks in Wilson.

sidetrack...but that was the camp I went to as a scout!

[Stosh]

dirt track.... early literature of the BSA had scout units using trains to get out to a depot were they could hike into the back country for summer camp.   Oh, by the way, summer camp was summer camp.  Lasted all summer long and the SM would come out and check on them on the weekends.  I guess the only thing different nowadays is the shuttle from the depot to the camp?????

Edited August 9, 2016 by Stosh

[Tampa Turtle]

dirt track.... early literature of the BSA had scout units using trains to get out to a depot were they could hike into the back country for summer camp.   Oh, by the way, summer camp was summer camp.  Lasted all summer long and the SM would come out and check on them on the weekends.  I guess the only thing different nowadays is the shuttle from the depot to the camp?????

That is what the Boy Leadership was hoping. Get off the train and backpack into camp assuming it was not more than half a day. I like that spirit!

[Stosh]

"Boy Leadership was hoping?"  You actually let your Boy Leadership come up with some cockamamie idea like that and you're going to go along with it?  You have to be careful, stuff like that could lead to some real adventures and then you'll have to do that adventure stuff all the time.  If that happens and the boys are leading it could mean you might have to be drinking twice as much coffee as you do now!

[Tampa Turtle]

They started the 1st meeting last night by promptly (and politely) requesting all the adults but the SM and the Advancement Chair (for the MB updates on the laptop) out of the room for a MBC training session. I heard it went well but I had no idea!

[Stosh]

They started the 1st meeting last night by promptly (and politely) requesting all the adults but the SM and the Advancement Chair (for the MB updates on the laptop) out of the room for a MBC training session. I heard it went well but I had no idea!

 

Fantastic!  Major step in the courage to even "promptly (and politely)" challenge adult authority and the courage of the adults to let the reins pass to the boys!  Kinda exciting, isn't it!  Next time order donuts for the adults while they wait for the boys to mature into great young men.

[Eagle94-A1]

I'm jealous with what your scouts want to do.

 

If they want to create their own summer camp experience, like they do in the UK, there is a small local Scout camp about a 25 minute drive. from Wilson, NC railroad station. According to Mapquest, it is 15.8 miles miles away, 6:18 walking time.

[Eagle94-A1]

 

Video is old, and pics are a little older. Didn't realize the council used some of my photos for the promo. Yep, saw the oldest in the video twice, back when he just joined Cub Scouts

 

EDITED: This before the OA did an Ordeal weekend that did a lot of improvements, and just after they harvested some timber. It's a lot more shady.

 

And if your guys are interested, better reserve it ASAP. We usually do Cub Scout Day Camp there.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Eagle94-A1

[Tampa Turtle]

I'm jealous with what your scouts want to do.

 

If they want to create their own summer camp experience, like they do in the UK, there is a small local Scout camp about a 25 minute drive. from Wilson, NC railroad station. According to Mapquest, it is 15.8 miles miles away, 6:18 walking time.

 

Thanks, I'll pass that along.

[AlamanceScouter]

The Cherokee Scout Resevation is about 30 miles from the Burlington, NC Amtrak station.

[Tampa Turtle]

Thanks for all the advice. Boys decided on Camp Raven Knob, NC and will take the train from Tampa to Raleigh (the camp said that was preferable than a closer location) and a bus to camp the last 2 hours. We looked at Camp Boddie was a close runner up but it looked a lot like here in the summer and the boys wanted mountains.

 

It was not easy to look for the 'big' camps. Eventually I downloaded all the regional camp maps from the BSA website 'stitched' them together and overlaid them on a scanned Amtrak map. Then I could at least winnow out the camps near Amtrak stations, contact the local camps, Districts, and Councils for contacts and ask for help in getting from the train station to camp. Then I turned over the semi-digested info to the PLC and they debated the issues.

 

I wish there was a one stop Summer Camp site; the lack of one makes it so difficult. 

 

The boys are still working out the new logistics (one backpack per boy, travel light, minimal Troop gear, best food to pack for early arrival) and have come up with some good (enough) ideas. We looked at the Campsite reservation table and it looks like we are the only Florida unit there this summer--so it should be a nice change from Woodruff and Daniel Boone. A lot of excitement about doing something new.