<aside> 💡 MERIT BADGES Aviation - Oceanography -
See the Merit Badge schedule for session times.
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The beach is a fun place to be in the afternoon and evenings with exciting activities that will take you speeding along the beach and more. Staff will be on hand to set up Scouts and leaders and get them off to a good start.
Troops and Scouts can always visit the beach; please check out at the office so that we know who is on the beach in case of emergency.
One day each week, we’ll host a Beach Party for the whole camp! During this time, we’ll encourage most of the camp and staff to head on down to the beach to celebrate. We’ll be offering Ocean Swim in addition to the normal beach activities, though many campers choose to make their own fun playing in the creek, building impressive sand sculptures and castles, and roasting smores while the sun goes down. A personal favorite of the Camp Director, you won’t want to miss it!
Ready to put your artistic talents to work on the world’s greatest canvas? Or just want to make something really cool? This year, we want to take this mainstay program to the next level. The contest starts early in the week with a lesson from our professionally-trained staff to refine your sand art techniques, and individuals or small teams can work on their projects all week until the judging on Thursday (our staff will do their best to keep projects intact and free from interference). What will you create?
Later at night, when it’s very dark, you can often see the faint glow of bio-luminescence along the wet sand close to the surf line. This is a neat experience for troops to partake in - just walk on down to the beach as a group and enjoy the nighttime ocean. Please stay safe and stay out of the water. Always have adults on this night hike.
Sail-powered recumbent carts skim riders across hard-packed beach sand and make for exciting races. Camp Meriwether is the only camp in the nation offering this fun and exciting new program.
Currently, sail carts are available on a first-come, first-served basis and scouts are limited to a certain number of runs before switching out.
We do not have a hard-and-fast age requirement, but we do need scouts to be big enough - normally at least 13 or 14 years old - to counterbalance the weight of the sail cart.
Scouts will have an opportunity for ocean wading during a set time (only). The waterfront staff will set up a safe-swim area. See the schedule for times and day. Thursday morning’s Polar Bear Swim. Open for all levels of wading in the ocean. Bring a towel and a buddy and be ready for fun, but fair warning: the waters of the Pacific are COLD!
Ocean wading is only allowed within the safe-swim area set up by staff. At no other time is anyone, adult or Scout, allowed to be in contact with ocean waters.
If there are adverse weather, ocean, or jelly-fish conditions, we may need to cancel the ocean wading activity.
Volleyball
Soccer
Frisbee
Sandcastle Building
Hike to the Tidepools
The beach is accessible to units and Scouts at any time.
Please sign-out and sign-in using the logbook in the camp outer office - this lets us know who is on the beach in case of emergency.
Stay Safe on the Beach:
Always remember the Buddy System; for beach visits it is best to have several Scouts along with adults.
Do not enter the water, even the surf-line.
Never turn your back to the ocean. At any time the ocean may deposit logs or other objects, or surge inland unexpectedly.
If you build a fire, be certain it is dead-out by using copious amounts of water. NEVER bury the fire with sand - this can insulate coals and cause serious burns if anyone later steps in that spot.