Webelos Weekend is an awesome overnight camp for Cub Scouts and their parents available in Northern California. It is offered only two weekends per year. If you have a kid the right age, you don’t want to miss it.
Camp History
In 1933, an old logging camp along the Noyo River known as Camp 4 was purchased from the Union Lumber Company by the local Boy Scouts of America council. Camp Noyo was born, and has served many generations of Scouts.
My first visit to Camp Noyo was as a Cub Scout, when my father and I attended Webelos Weekend as participants. Since that first visit 24 years ago, I have been back many times to serve as staff for various programs.
The camp is maintained entirely by volunteer efforts, the bulk of which is performed by the Hemphill family.
The Train
One of the amazing experiences of Webelos Weekend is your arrival in camp by train. Leaving from Fort Bragg, the Skunk Train is your way into camp. After boarding and a little over an hour of train ride, the train will pull to a stop at the Camp Noyo Train Depot, where you (and your gear) will pile off the train and walk right into camp.
The return trip is also by train, picked up at the same train depot and delivering you back to Fort Bragg. The train route travels along track and across trestles previously used for logging operations, and travels through beautiful forest land inward from the coast.
The Activities
Webelos Weekend is a relationship camp, not an advancement camp. The boys don’t earn any merit badges, but instead get to spend time with their “buddy”. In fact, the boys are required at all times to be with their attending adult (parent, grandparent, etc.). As such, the camp provides many activities for the pair to do together.
After a brisk swim check with the lifeguards, the river offers an amazing paddle space with canoes and kayaks available. The waterfront is a popular activity in camp, particularly warm afternoons.
Shooting sports include BB gun shooting and archery, and this year they even had a slingshot/wrist rocket station. A variety of games are available, including badminton, volleyball, disc golf, crosscut saws, and handicraft.
In the evening, the staff and volunteers from the group put together a rousing campfire to complete the evening.
The Food
Every weekend, we get compliments about the food. We have an amazing kitchen staff/cook that does a top notch job. Hamburgers & hot dogs when everyone gets off the train and settled. Dinner is grilled chicken and steak. Hash browns, eggs, and sausage for breakfast, and sandwiches for lunch before boarding the train home. And the doughnuts. Don’t even get Jess started on the doughnuts. She may have eaten more than her fair share. A cracker barrel after the campfire rounds out the snacks for the camp.
Our Involvement
On and off over the last few years, our family has had the opportunity to volunteer and serve both in camp maintenance and as staff for Webelos Weekend. My dad has been been acting Camp Director for years, and takes advantage of our skills when we can make it. My older brother attends both weekends with his family as the camp paramedic, so its fun that we get to spend time with them as well.
Between the two weekends, we usually have the camp to ourselves. We always work on a project or two – this year we repaired water pipes and performed some light maintenance on the bridge spanning the river. There’s also plenty of time for play, swimming every afternoon, outdoor movies at night, and for our kids to enjoy the activities while they boys aren’t present. Thursday nights the rest of the staff rolls in and we get prepared for the weekend.
As staff for Webelos Weekend, we hauled and chopped wood, helped with meals (Rachel loved serving food!), and taught basic woodcarving and knot tying for the scouts and their parents. Jess was in charge of promotional photos, and I managed to take quite a bit of video this year as well. It was a wonderful time, and I’m grateful for the opportunity we had to serve there. Our kids are already asking when we get to go back.
Going to southern Utah in the summer is generally not a good idea. Its hot. Really hot. However, there are a few places that are high enough in elevation to escape most of the stifling summer heat. On our post-move out southern Utah loop, we spent a week at Bryce Canyon and then drove over to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Both are high in elevation with Bryce around 8000 feet and Cedar Breaks closer to 10,000. While not “cold” the weather was pleasant, cooled off at night, and definitely manageable.
