We schedule Troops to arrive as a whole group at specific times to smooth the unloading and check-in experience. This means you get to park, check-in, do medical checks, and head into camp much quicker than if the entire camp showed up at one time!
Arrival times can be scheduled during our Pre-Camp Leader Meetings or during a phone call you’ll receive the week prior to your arrival.
Click here for the troop arrival schedule:
So that your vehicles all arrive at the same time, we strongly recommend that troops meet at a staging area a few miles from camp, get organized, and leave together so your whole group arrives together at your appointed time. If a partial group of vehicles arrives, they will need to wait until the entire troop arrives before heading to the check-in area.
Here are a few suggested meeting areas:
You can meet anywhere you want and are not limited to these spots. Some of these spots are small and may not accommodate large or multiple troops.
It is very important that troops enter camp with all their vehicles and Scouts at the same time. Once you arrive, a staff member will welcome you at the gate and give you directions to the main parking lot for check-in. If your troop is not all together, vehicles will need to wait for the rest of the troop to arrive.
We recommend eating lunch before you arrive, as our meal service begins with Sunday dinner.
When you enter the parking lot, camp staff will greet you with song and help your vehicles back in to park (see below). Once parked, your troop can start unloading and your troop’s ranger (Camp Meriwether’s troop guides) will greet you to help you through the check-in process. When you finish checking in, your ranger will take your troop on the camp tour and you can take one vehicle at a time into camp to unload gear at your campsite.
When you reach the parking lot, staff will give you parking directions based on the following:
All vehicles must be out of camp and parked in either the main or overflow parking lots by 7pm Sunday. No other lots or spaces are to be used without a parking permit signed by the Camp Director.
If you’re arriving by bus, the only difference is that we’ll direct your bus to the dining hall for unloading (and loading at the end of the week). The road to the dining hall and the parking area there are better suited for buses. We will handle all the check-in and medical checks right there, and then head you toward your campsite. If needed, we can have a truck/trailer ready to take your gear to your campsite if it’s beyond walking distance.
There are two parts to the check-in process: medical checks and troop check-in. Here’s what to do for each:
When you get out of your vehicles, your ranger will ask that one adult leader or the Senior Patrol Leader give each Scout their medical form. Each scout will need their medical form in hand (and not in a plastic sheet protector) to do medical checks. Stapling the medical forms together is helpful, however.
Once each scout has their form, your ranger will help them line up and direct them one at a time to a responsible staff member who will ask them a few simple health screening questions under the supervision of the camp Health Officer. As your scouts complete the process, your ranger will ask them to wait as a group to start the camp tour.
One adult leader should come to camp with the following paperwork (we suggest designating someone other than the Scoutmaster):
While your Scouts are completing medical checks, please send this adult leader to the pop-up canopy at the end of the parking lot, where a camp staff member will check your troop in.
During check-in, you will receive wristbands for your adult leaders, parking tags, a copy of the Daily Schedule and Merit Badge Schedule, among other things. We will also answer any questions you might have.
<aside> 💡 How to print a Youth Protection Aging Report from my.scouting: The person doing this must be a Unit key 3 member (unit leader, committee chair, chartered organization representative).
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<aside> 💡 How to print a Roster Report from my.scouting: The person doing this must be a Unit key 3 member (unit leader, committee chair, chartered organization representative). For additional guidance, see Downloading My.Scouting Roster Report Guide.
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If your troop is from outside of the Cascade Pacific Council and needs to travel four or more hours to reach Camp Meriwether, you can opt to arrive on Saturday evening for an overnight fee of $100 per troop.
For Saturday arrival troops, arrive at camp as normal at your appointed time, where a staff member will welcome you and direct you to the Discovery Lodge dining hall. When you arrive, check-in will proceed normally as described above at the camp office, with the only differences being location and that your troop ranger will greet you on Sunday.
When done checking in, you can take your gear to your campsite to unload. Once you finish unloading, please take your vehicles out to the parking lot and back-in to park.
Remember that all of the program areas are closed and that scouts need to have things to do so that they are not bored (and sometimes find unacceptable things to do 🙂). Some suggestions:
The first meal served will be Sunday evening dinner. Early-arrival troops should bring gear and food to complete meals as needed.
We do have a limited number of propane stoves, propane, coolers, and cooking supplies that we can lend to troops checking on Saturday, with priority given to those flying in who are unable to bring any kind of cooking gear. If your group is arriving on Saturday and would like to reserve one, please email [email protected].
Saturday-arrival troops will meet their ranger in their campsite Sunday morning to start the camp tour.
From the Guide to Safe Scouting:
“Two registered adult leaders 21 years of age or over are required at all Scouting activities, including meetings. There must be a registered female adult leader 21 years of age or over in every unit serving females. A registered female adult leader 21 years of age or over must be present for any activity involving female youth. Notwithstanding the minimum leader requirements, age- and program-appropriate supervision must always be provided.
“All adults accompanying a Scouting unit who are present at the activity for 72 total hours or more must be registered as leaders. The 72 hours need not be consecutive.”
Consequently, we need to have proof of registration and current Youth protection for all adult leaders staying longer than seventy-two hours. We recommend bringing a printed copy of the YPT Aging Report for your unit, but individual certificates are also acceptable.
Because our camp road is the primary way for campers to get around during the week and the dangers vehicles can pose to pedestrians, troop vehicles and trailers are not allowed to be anywhere in camp except in the main or overflow parking lots starting 7pm Sunday until Saturday morning.
While troop vehicles are allowed in camp, traffic flows in only one direction (with one exception): clockwise from the main parking lot, to the T-intersection near Mandan campsite, past the dining hall, and out.
For units in campsites past the T-intersection, traffic runs both ways. Please make smart use of the turnout by the Struan campsite and Handicraft area to avoid traffic jams.
When driving in camp, please drive slowly - 5 MPH MAX. Many trails enter directly onto the roadway and a Scout or staffer could emerge suddenly from what seems like a solid wall of underbrush. Keep vehicles on the service road and do not drive into campsites, program areas, and onto pedestrian trails; our water pipes cross trails and many are close enough to the surface to break under the weight of a vehicle.
On Sunday (until 7pm) and Saturday, troops are allowed to bring one vehicle into camp at a time to load and unload gear. In order to avoid gridlock on our service road and to keep campers safe, no matter how many vehicles a troop brings to camp, only one vehicle per troop will be allowed in camp at a time. If you have more than one vehicle with gear, you will need to rotate vehicles to unload your gear in your campsite. When you finish unloading, please take your vehicle to the main parking lot (or overflow lot, if it’s a trailer) to park for the rest of the week.
If someone in your unit has a medical or mobility issue requiring use of a vehicle, they need to turn in a Special Needs form before camp. Only vehicles with a parking permit issued by the Camp Director will be allowed in camp during the week.
Once your troop has finished checking in, your ranger will lead your unit on the Camp Tour. If your troop arrives on Saturday evening, your ranger will meet you at your campsite at noon on Sunday to take you on the tour.
At least one adult leader must accompany the troop for supervision. More adults are welcome to take part in the tour, although many units use this time for adults to drive gear to your campsite to unload.
The key stops on the tour are
Your ranger will also point out program areas so Scouts will know where to go for merit badges and activities throughout the week.
Each Scout should pack their swim trunks and towel at the top of their pack so they are easy to find when it’s time to change for swim tests.
CPC camps do not accept pre-camp swim checks; Scouts and adults who wish to swim or boat must complete their swim check in Lake Chamberlain. The camp tour includes time to do swim checks and they can also be done during any open swim time through the week.
Why do CPC camps not accept pre-camp swim checks? Camp lakes have very different conditions (temperature, visibility, depth, altitude, etc) than in-town heated pools and we need to ensure that Scouts are able to swim proficiently in the camp lake.
The swim test at camp is the Standard BSA Swim Test:
<aside> 💡 Swimmers pass this test: Jump feet first into water over the head in depth. Level off and swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: sidestroke, breaststroke, trudgen, or crawl; then swim 25 yards using an easy resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be completed in one swim without stops and must include at least one sharp turn. After completing the swim, rest by floating.
Beginners pass this test: Jump feet first into water over the head in depth, level off, and swim 25 feet on the surface. Stop, turn sharply, resume swimming and return to the starting place. Anyone who has not completed either the beginner or swimmer tests is classified as a non-swimmer.
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At 4:00pm, we will have a meeting for the leadership of each unit at the south end of the dining hall. At least one adult leader from every unit at camp must be present (preferably the Scoutmaster), though we invite all adult leaders as well as the SPLs.
This meeting will cover important topics about your troop’s week at Camp Meriwether, including safety and medical policies, meal service, facilities, as well as our program. You will also have a chance to meet the camp’s leadership as well as your campsite’s commissioner for the week.
Camp is formally dismissed at 9am Saturday morning with our closing flag ceremony. Departure will take place between 9am and 10am.
At 6am, camp staff will unlock the gate at the main parking lot. At that time, units are welcome to bring one vehicle into camp to load their gear following the guidelines described in Vehicles in Camp.
At 7:15am, your troop ranger will meet you in your campsite with “Breakfast and Blue Cards.” You will not need dishes or silverware to eat breakfast in your campsite. They will also bring a bag with your troop’s finished blue cards, awards, certifications, and patches. Please check to make sure all the blue cards/awards are accurate and you have enough patches; it is far easier to cure any defects at camp than after camp.
At 7:30am, the camp’s commissioners will begin making rounds of camp to check your troop out of your campsite. Each commissioner will have three-four campsites assigned to them, so if you’re not ready when they arrive they will likely move on and continue making rounds until all troops have been checked out.
When checking out a campsite, the commissioners will walk around your campsite with your SPL(s) to make sure:
At 8am:
At 9am, the whole camp will gather for a final closing flag ceremony. At the end of flags, the Program Director will dismiss the entire camp to hike back to the main parking lot to depart. If your troop is leaving by bus, you can stay at the dining hall where your bus will meet you.
At 10am, we hope to have the whole camp departed, or about to do so. Our staff will begin a final end-of-week cleaning before being dismissed for a precious day off. Obviously, there are extenuating circumstances, but your timely departure helps the staff to have some precious time to unwind after a hard week of work.
If your troops need to leave camp early, please let the Program Director know ASAP when you need to leave by. (We will ask for this information during our Thursday and Friday Daily Leadership Meetings.) We are happy to make accommodations to early-departure units to help them load their gear, either by allowing one troop vehicle into camp or using our camp vehicles.
As long as you let us know of your departure with twenty-four hours notice, we can usually get your blue cards/awards/certifications to you with enough time to review them and cure any defects.
If you have a Scout that needs to leave before normal departure time on Saturday, the Scout needs to check-out at the office. To sign out the Scout, at least one troop leader needs to be present in addition to the adult who is taking the Scout, and the Scout themselves. We will ask a few simple questions before the Scout can leave. If the Scout is leaving with someone who is not their legal guardian, that person's name needs to be on the Scout’s medical form. That person must also follow the Youth Protection Guidelines and not travel with the Scout alone (this includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins).
If an adult leader needs to leave camp early, they just need to sign out at the camp office.
Please see the Visitors Page for details.