Camp

For Guides, the year culminates in a two-week wilderness camp. We start with an empty field and spend the first few days pitching our tents and building our campsites.
We cook over fires, hike, play games, sing around the campfire,
and learn to live in nature as a group. Read all about it below!

Questions? Want to register?
E-mail Info@GirlGuidesUSA.org

Constructions
Woodcraft has always been one of the basic elements of scouting, and the first few days of each camp are spent building our campsites. The constructions are amazing! During the year, we learn how to safely and securely build our tables, beds, counters and fireplaces, and at camp, we put those skills to use! When the new homes are completed, each Patrol invites the chiefs to a “housewarming” party for a tour!

Dirty Day
It might be called something different each year - Olympics Day, Army Day - but there’s always a day at camp reserved for getting down and dirty! Patrols cheer each other on in relay races and other physical contests.

Cooking Contest
Do you dream of being the next Top Chef? Then the cooking contest is your event! Each year at camp, the Patrols spend a day planning, preparing and presenting a unique meal (in line with their theme) to be judged by the Chiefs. But in camp cooking, ingredients are limited and fires replace ovens or stoves - so be ready to add a heaping helping of creativity!

Hike
Once during every camp, each Patrol sets out on its own path, finding its way using mapreading and orienteering skills. The hike is an adventure as well as a time for the Patrol members to work together and to bond.

Theme
Every camp is organized around a different theme - anything from “Around the World,” to “Cinema,” to “Magic and Fantasy” Each Patrol is assigned one element in that theme (i.e. a country, a film genre, a fantasy story), and its members prepare their costumes, their constructions, their cooking contest meal, and even an evening program around it.

Evening Program
At the end of the day, the whole Company gathers around the campfire. Each evening’s program is organized by a different Patrol and includes songs, games and contests that go with its theme. For many Guides, these moments of song, laughter, and friendship are some of their most precious memories of camp.

Milestones
Guides in their fourth and fifth years have the chance to be leaders in their Patrols (see Structure), but Guides in their first, second and third years have their own special milestones. These are some of the few times when the Guides are separated into groups by age, and undergoing the rites together helps strengthen bonds of friendship between them. Read more on the Milestones page.