Outdoors

Lessons learned in the outdoors teach youth skills that make them more self-reliant. They can explore canoe paths and hiking trails and complete challenges they first thought were beyond their ability. Attributes of good character become part of a youth as he or she learns to cooperate and meet outdoor challenges that may include extreme weather, difficult trails and portages, and dealing with nature’s unexpected circumstances.

Winter Sport Safety Guidelines
Camping Advice and Tips

Play safe in the snow

By Scouting magazine

Use these guidelines to help you and your Scouts stay safe while participating in snow sports this winter.

Features

SummitCorps builds a trail to the future

By Michael Freeman

Breaking rocks. Raking roots. Digging dirt. All in a day’s work for Order of the Arrow volunteers during last summer’s trail-building program for the National Park Service. But what they really built was something much bigger.

Features

A backstage pass to the World Scout Jamboree

By Bryan Wendell

After reading Senior Editor Bryan Wendell’s first-person account of the 2011 World Scout Jamboree in Sweden, check out more great World Jamboree content below. First, watch this exclusive video: Then catch up on Bryan’s blog

Aquatics

Canoe race teaches teamwork and skills

By Scouting magazine

The competition might be fierce between paddlers in this 120-mile race. But the White River Showdown also teaches camaraderie — an not just with your buddy in the canoe.

Aquatics

Whitewater rafting safety tips that may save a Scout or Scouter’s life

By Scouting magazine

You’re whitewater rafting down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho when you approach a Class IV rapid. Midway through the rapid, you fall out and become separated from your craft. You’re wearing a helmet and PFD, but you need to act quickly before you’re seriously injured. What do you do?

Camping Advice and Tips

Secrets for improvising in the out-of-doors

By Scouting magazine

Why do I love camping? In spite of the obvious reasons, there’s always something new to learn. No one has a monopoly on good ideas, even those who’ve spent a lifetime outdoors. Here are some tricks I’ve stolen from friends and acquaintances.

Backpacking & Hiking

Hiking North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park

By Scouting magazine

Consisting of 70,447 acres of rugged topography, of which nearly half is designated wilderness, Theodore Roosevelt National Park offers some of the best national park solitude south of Alaska. More than 100 miles of hiking trails wind through the park’s three units.