Climb the Night Away
Join us for a night of climbing and other fun activities!
Who:Â Venturers and older Scouts BSA Scouts.
When: 2023 date to be announced
Where:Â Upper Limits, Maryland Heights
 Click HERE to Learn More
Climbing, Rappelling, & Challenge Courses
The Greater St. Louis Area Council is proud to offer multiple different Challenge Course and Climbing opportunities for our Scouts! These include two high and low ropes courses, three climbing towers, and natural rock face climbing and rappelling. All ages (including Cub Scouts) are eligible to participate at our climbing towers at Beaumont, Camp Lewallen and Camp Warren Levis. Scouts BSA and Venturing members are welcome to climb, jump, and challenge themselves with our Challenge Courses and Climbing programs.
Learn More by clicking here.
Fall Fun Rally
Fall Fun Rally includes non-stop activities for Venturers, Sea Scouts, Explorers, and Older Scouts (High School). It is a unique event where the main focus is fun!
Event Details: SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2023 at Beaumont Scout Reservation.
Learn More About Fall Fun Rally http://www.fallfunrally.org/
Thank you to our 2023 Event Sponsor Army ROTC!
Fishing
2023 Scout Fishing Day
April 29th
S-F Scout Ranch - Knob Lick, MO
Register Here
All Scouting youth are invited to experience fishing on Nim's Lake at S-F! Our Council Canoe Guides will be onsite to give you tips and tricks on fishing and help you have a great day.
Valid state fishing permit is required for those between the ages of 16–65 wanting to fish on Greater St. Louis Area Council properties. You can purchase permits online at:
Missouri:Â https://mdc-web.s3licensing.com/
Illinois:Â https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/LPR/Pages/FishingLicensesFees.aspx
Get on board and create your own adventure!
All the fishing resources you need in one place to learn, plan, and equip for a day on the water. Â https://www.takemefishing.org/how-to-fish/fishing-resources-events/everything-you-need-to-start-fishing/
Free Learn to Fish Course!
https://learn-to-fish.igfa.org/courses/intro-to-fishing
Select a state to find fishing and boating information:
https://www.takemefishing.org/missouri/
https://www.takemefishing.org/illinois/
Complete Angler Award Service Project: This option is ONLY for Scouts who have earned all three fishing-related merit badges – fishing, fly fishing and fish and wildlife management and would like to earn the Complete Angler Award. In addition to earning all three fishing-related merit badges the Scout has to complete one of the following four service projects. Scouts registering for the Complete Angler Award Service Project will be able to complete the service project at the skill center.
Register here for the Complete Angler Award Service Project
Complete Angler Award Application
Your last step is to successfully complete one or more of the following projects:
- Teach a Fishing or Fly Fishing merit badge skill to your troop, crew or team as part of a unit program activity.
- Help instruct Cub Scouts on fishing skills or fishery management as part of a Cub Scout  meeting or outing.
- Participate in a local fishing derby or tournament, either a Scouting or Community event.
- Complete a conservation project that will benefit a local fishery.
If a Scout is registering for a merit badge (fishing, fly fishing or fish and wildlife management) they CANNOT register for the Complete Angler Award Service Project.Â
Note: Scouts registering for the Complete Angler Award Service Project MUST bring proof they have earned fishing, fly fishing and fish and wildlife management merit badges. They can bring their blue cards (or photocopies of their blue cards) for these merit badges or a signed letter from their Scoutmaster stating the Scout applying for the Complete Angler Award has earned fishing, fly fishing and fish and wildlife merit badges. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
Horses
From September until May, several opportunities exist with the Greater St. Louis Area Council’s herd of horses. Come out and enjoy a trail ride, horse camp, or a tractor-drawn hayride!
To reserve a spot for tractor-drawn hayrides, visit our online portal: Online Reservations
TRAIL RIDES
Scouts BSA, Venturers, and Explorers can hit the trail, beginning and ending at Nagel Base located on Beaumont Scout Reservation. There is a 5-horse minimum and maximum of 12 horses. There must be two registered Unit Leaders per ride. Trail Rides are available for 1 and 1/2 hour, 3 hour, 6 hour and overnight trail rides. We have horses for your experience level.
1.5 Hour Ride - $30/person
3 Hour Ride - $40/person
6 Hour Ride - $55/person
Overnight Ride - $100/person
Trail Rides are available Saturday and/or Sunday during the months of September, October, and January - May.
For March, Trail Rides are only available on Sunday.
Overnight rides are only available during the months of April, May, September, and October.
All rides begin and end at Nagel Base Camp located at Beaumont Scout Reservation.
All rides are weather permitting (i.e. rain, snow, severe cold, extreme heat).
Again, a minimum of five and a maximum of 12 horses can be reserved for trail rides. There must be two registered Unit Leaders per ride.
Trail Ride Recommendations – All riders must be a minimum of Scouts BSA age 11 or older.
1 1/2 hour and 3 hour rides are for Scouts BSA/Venturers 11 and older.
6 hour and overnight rides are recommended for Scouts BSA/Venturers.
For safety reasons no one can ride who is over the maximum weight limit of 230 pounds. Weight will be checked at camp. Rangers and/or trail guides have the authority to restrict any person from taking part in a horse-related activity who may pose, in their opinion, a safety risk to themselves, others, or the horses.
Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance at a Greater St. Louis Area Council office or by clicking here.
HORSEMANSHIP MERIT BADGE SKILL CENTER
The Horsemanship merit badge skills center will provide Scouts with the knowledge of how to care for, groom, and ride a horse. In addition to the riding, Scouts who take this merit badge will gain an understanding of horse instincts and behaviors to better their horsemanship.
2024 DATES
We are excited to offer a Horsemanship Merit Badge skill center this March! The skill center consists of an online orientation and 3 sessions of in-person instruction.
Orientation: March 7 via zoom meeting
Session 1: Saturday, Mar. 9
Session 2: Saturday, Mar. 16
Session 3: Saturday, Mar. 23
Registration Coming Soon!
HAY RIDES
Come down to Nagel for a tractor-drawn hayride! This is a great outdoor activity for Scouting units of all ages. There is one wagon available and each hayride wagon holds a maximum of 20 people. A minimum of two adults for the wagon is required. Hayrides can be reserved in one-hour blocks and come with the use of a picnic area.
- March 1 through May 15 & Sept. 1 through October 31
- Saturday: 5-6 p.m., 6-7 p.m., 7-8 p.m.
- Sunday: 5-6 p.m., 6-7 p.m., 7-8 p.m.
- $75 per wagon
Hayrides are not offered on Saturday nights during heavy camporee weekends.
A maximum of 20 people are allowed on a hayride wagon.
Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance at a Greater St. Louis Area Council office or online by clicking here.
HORSE CAMP July 23-29, 2023
Spend a week at an intermediate riding camp cantering around the property and learning more about horses. There are many trails to be ridden, competitions/games to be played on horseback in the riding ring, and other activities to further your horsemanship along with a chance to show off your advanced skills in a Cavalcade at the end of the week. Other activities while at Horse Camp are swimming, skeet shooting, climbing tower, ropes course, campfires, and much more.
All youth participants must be Venturing age, 13 and out of the eighth grade.
Registration is now open for this year’s Horse Camp.
Maximum number of participants is 24. The Greater St. Louis Area Council Trail Guide Committee provides adult leadership for Horse Camp.
You can sign up for Horse Camp here.
Custom Horse Programs
Are you planning a camporee, birthday party, Unit Court of Honor, wedding, or something else out at Beaumont and would you like to use the horses? Please call the Camping Department for availability and pricing.
Iron Scout
What is it?
This is a multi-day skills and endurance backpacking race with four person teams and multiple checkpoint challenges, scored by overall time. Register as a four person team or individually. Individuals will be placed into a team.
Teams will be hiking over 20 miles during the course. At this event, you will be tested​ ​physically and mentally. Participants should have good map reading skills.
October 13-15, 2023
S-F Scout Ranch | Register Here
Memorial Day Good Turn at Jefferson Barracks
Jefferson Barracks Memorial Day Good Turn
Scouts of all ages are invited to participate in the Memorial Day Good Turn on May 28, 2023. Check-in for Jefferson Barracks Good Turn, hosted by Gravois Trail District. Registration will be from 10:30 am until 11:30 am in front of Beasley Elementary School at the south side of the cemetery. The procession from Beasley Elementary to the cemetery will begin at 11:30 am. Upon check-in, the unit leader or designated adult will receive a map and participation ribbon. A Memorial Day Good Turn patch is available for $4.00, and segment patches are $1.00.
Participants will attend the Flag Ceremony before proceeding to the flag boxes. No one will be allowed to begin placing flags until after the ceremony has been dismissed.
Register Here
About Memorial Day Good Turn
For more than seven decades, approximately 5,000 Scouts have gathered at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery before Memorial Day to decorate each of the approximately 280,000 graves with an American Flag. In its 74th year (2023), the tradition is one of the longest-running Memorial Day events within the BSA.
The public is welcome to attend the event. Scouts from across the Council assemble at Beasley Elementary School and march into the Cemetery, where they proceed to the main flagpole for assembly and ceremony honoring our fallen soldiers. A flag presentation marks the opening of our ceremony, proceeded by a guest speaker who will address the crowd. The ceremony will close with the retrieving of the flags, Taps, and Amazing Grace by the Bagpipers. Everyone will be dismissed to begin placing the flags on each grave.
It takes approximately 2 hours to complete the Good Turn, and Scouts will have placed over 200,000 flags placed on each grave.
In 1866, Jefferson Barracks was established as a National Cemetery, and today is one of the oldest interment sites of the National Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.
Memorial Day Good Turns for Jewish War Veterans
Jewish Committee on Scouting Good Turn
Sponsored by the Jewish Committee on Scouting
The Jewish Committee on Scouting is also proud to assist Jewish War Veterans Post 644 by placing over 8,000 American flags on the graves of veterans at eight local Jewish cemeteries. For more information on this good turn please CLICK HERE.
Scouting For Food
Scouting for Food
America's largest one-day food drive! Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Scouts were able to make a big impact in 2020. Over $50,000 dollars was raised which equals approximately 200,000 meals provided to local families in need. We were also able to collect and donate over 145,000 food items to local pantries. And in 2021, we were able to resume traditional food collection practices and collected 1.98 million items. In 2021, 1.7 million items were collected!
Click Here to check out the 2023 drive details!
Thank you to our 2023 Sponsors:
Taste of Venturing
Join in the fun at Taste of Venturing!
Whether you camp with your unit for the weekend or come out just for the day, its going to be an action packed weekend of fun at Warren Levis!
The event is packed with activities including:
- Shooting sports - rifles, pistols and more
- Climbing - crate stacking, bouldering wall
- Lake Activities
- STEM fun
- Silk Screening
This event is open to all Venturers and Scouts BSA Scouts aged 14 or 13 and have in 8th grade (great recruiting opportunity) and older!
DATE: March 24-26, 2023
Register Here
VSOA Celebration Event
The Venturing & Sea Scouting Officers Association recently held its annual Recognition Event!
This event celebrates Ventures & Sea Scouts who have earned various awards over the past year as well as both youth and adult leaders who go above and beyond for the programs.
DATE: May 21, 2023 at Gateway Central Church of the Nazarene (11703 Old Saint Charles Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044), 2pm
Council Pinewood Derby
World Wide Technology Raceway
April 29, 2023 9:00 AM to 2:00 pm
Inaugural Council Pinewood Derby - Celebrating 70 years of pinewood car racing!
Join us on the morning of Saturday, April 29 at World Wide Technology Raceway for a council wide competition and other fun. Sponsored by the generosity of WWT Raceway Gives.
For all Cub Scouts, and a league for Scouts BSA and Venturing to compete! Don't miss this grand time!
The Pinewood Derby is one of the highlights of a Cub Scout's year and great memories for older Scouts. This event will bring Scouts from across the council to have some fun as they race their cars to see who has the fastest one.
This event is open to ALL Cub Scouts in the Council, regardless of a Scout's placement at their home Pack's or District race.
Fee is only $5 per car to enter, all spectators are free. Please register by April 22. Youth under 18 must be in the care of an adult.
Click here for more information to to register: https://buff.ly/3TRKFlx