Camping


Resources
- Camping Merit Badge Pamphlet
- Camping Class Preparation Page
- Camping Workbook
- Scoutmaster Bucky's Merit Badge Advancement Quick Reference
- Scoutmaster Bucky's Acknowledgement Form
Related
Camping Requirements Current Scouts BSA requirements
as of September 30, 2025
as of September 30, 2025
1.
Do the following:
a.
Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter
while participating in camping activities and what you should do to
anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards.
Resources:
b.
Discuss with your counselor why it is important to be aware of weather
conditions before and during your camping activities. Tell how you can
prepare should the weather turn bad during your campouts.
Resources:
c.
Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or
illnesses that could occur while camping, including hypothermia,
frostbite, heat reactions, dehydration, altitude sickness, insect
stings, tick bites, snakebite, blisters, hyperventilation.
Resources:
2.
Learn the Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code, and explain
what they mean. Write a personal and group plan for implementing these
principles on your next outing.
Resources:
- Principles of LNT (video)
- The Outdoor Code (website)
- Meaning of the Outdoor Code (video)
3.
Make a written plan for an overnight trek and show how to get to your
camping spot by using a topographical map and one of the following:
Resources:
a.
Compass
Resource:
- How to Use a Compass (video)
b.
GPS receiver
Resource:
c.
Smartphone with a GPS app
Resource:
- How to Use a Smartphone as a GPS (website)
4.
Do the following:
a.
Make a duty roster showing how your patrol is organized for an actual
overnight campout. List assignments for each member.
Resource:
- Patrol Duty Roster (website)
b.
Help a Scout patrol or a Webelos Scout unit in your area prepare for an
actual campout, including creating the duty roster, menu planning,
equipment needs, general planning, and setting up camp.
Resource:
- Camping Trip Planning (website)
5.
Do the following:
a.
Prepare a list of clothing you would need for overnight campouts in
both warm and cold weather. Explain the term "layering."
Resources:
- Cold Weather Gear (website)
- Warm Weather Gear (website)
- Basics of Layering (video)
b.
Discuss footwear for different kinds of weather and how the right
footwear is important for protecting your feet.
Resource:
- Types of Footwear (website)
c.
Explain the proper care and storage of camping equipment (clothing,
footwear, bedding).
Resource:
- How to Clean and Store Camping Gear (website)
d.
List the outdoor essentials necessary for any campout, and explain why
each item is needed.
Resources:
- 10 Essentials: ScoutsBSA (video)
- 10 Essentials for Scout Camping (website)
- The 10 Scout Basic Outdoor Essentials (website)
- The Camping Packing List: A Scout's Trek Gear Checklist (website)
e.
Present yourself to your Scoutmaster with your pack for inspection. Be
correctly clothed and equipped for an overnight campout.
6.
Do the following:
a.
Describe the features of four types of tents, when and where they could
be used, and how to care for tents. Working with another Scout, pitch a
tent.
Resources:
- Types of Tents (video)
- Choosing a Tent (website)
b.
Discuss the importance of camp sanitation and tell why water treatment
is essential. Then demonstrate two ways to treat water.
Resources:
- Types of Water Purification (video)
- How to Wash Dishes at Camp (video)
c.
Describe the factors to be considered in deciding where to pitch your
tent.
Resources:
d.
Tell the difference between internal- and external-frame packs.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Resource:
- How to Choose a Backpack (video)
e.
Discuss the types of sleeping bags and what kind would be suitable for
different conditions. Explain the proper care of your sleeping bag and
how to keep it dry. Make a comfortable ground bed.
Resources:
- Choosing a Sleeping Bag (video)
- Backpacking Bags (video)
- Caring for a Sleeping Bag (video)
- Cleaning a Sleeping Bag (video)
7.
Prepare for an overnight campout with your patrol by doing the following:
a.
Make a checklist of personal and patrol gear that will be needed.
b.
Pack your own gear and your share of the patrol equipment and food for
proper carrying. Show that your pack is right for quickly getting what
is needed first, and that it has been assembled properly for comfort,
weight, balance, size, and neatness.
Resource:
8.
Do the following:
a.
Explain the safety procedures for:
1.
Using a propane or butane/propane stove
Resource:
- How to Use a Propane Stove (video)
2.
Using a liquid fuel stove
Resource:
- How to Use a Liquid Fuel Stove (video)
3.
Proper storage of extra fuel.
b.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of
lightweight cooking stoves.
Resource:
- Canister vs Liquid Fuel Stoves (video)
c.
Prepare a camp menu. Explain how the menu would differ from a menu for
a backpacking or float trip. Give recipes and make a food list for your
patrol. Plan two breakfasts, three lunches, and two suppers. Discuss
how to protect your food against bad weather, animals, and
contamination.
Resources:
d.
While camping in the outdoors, cook at least one breakfast, one lunch,
and one dinner for your patrol from the meals you have planned for
requirement 8(c). At least one of those meals must be a trail meal
requiring the use of a lightweight stove.
Resource:
- Camp Menu Ideas (website)
9.
Show experience in camping by doing the following:
a.
Camp for at least 20 nights at designated Scouting activities or
events. One long-term camping experience of up to six consecutive
nights may be applied toward this requirement. Two nights may be
counted toward the total for each additional long-term camping trip.
Each night must be spent either under the sky, in a tent you have
pitched yourself (if a tent is provided and already set up, you do not
need to pitch your own), in a hammock that is safely strung outdoors,
in a lean-to, or other three-sided shelter with an open front. Nights
spent in indoor lock-in events, cabin camping, hotel stays, or other
covered accommodations do not count toward the 20 nights.
b.
On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the following,
only with proper preparation and under qualified supervision.
1.
Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 1,000 vertical feet.
Resource:
- Training for Elevation Gain (video)
2.
Backpack, snowshoe, or cross-country ski for at least 4 miles.
Resource:
- Learn to Snowshoe (video)
3.
Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours.
Resource:
4.
Take a nonmotorized trip on the water of at least four hours or 5
miles.
Resource:
- Canoeing With LNT (video)
5.
Plan and carry out an overnight snow camping experience.
Resource:
- Winter Camping Tips (video)
6.
Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more.
Resource:
- How to Rapel (video)
c.
On any of these camping experiences, perform a conservation project
approved by the landowner or land managing agency. This can be done
alone or with others.
Resource:
10.
Discuss how the things you did to earn this badge have taught you about
personal health and safety, survival, public health, conservation, and good
citizenship. In your discussion, tell how Scout spirit and the Scout Oath
and Scout Law apply to camping and outdoor ethics.