Memorial Day Family Camp - Cascade Pacific Council, BSA

Does your family like to go camping over Memorial Day Weekend? Leave all those noisy, unpredictable public campgrounds behind and head for the seclusion of Boy Scout beach-front property!

Cascade Pacific Council is offering FAMILY CAMP at Camp Clark over Memorial Day Weekend!

SECLUSION & FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS: As a members-only activity, your family is assured of a more peaceful and pleasant experience than you might have at a public campground, not to mention more elbow-room and friendly faces throughout the property.

ACTIVITIES: Families will enjoy a variety of activities such as sand-castle building, beach walks to the tide-pools, sack-races, field games, and more. The weekend will be very loosely scheduled with an ‘open campus,' so your family can pick and choose from family camp activities, head into town to visit local attractions, or just enjoy the quiet coastline for the holiday weekend. Download the Memorial Weekend Cub Family Camp Guide for a list of in-camp activities and lists of local community attractions.

This is a family event. This is not a Scout event where advancement and other Scout activities are part of the program. This is a family-camping-at-the-beach weekend.

WHERE: Camp Clark is just south of Cape Lookout State Park (west of Tillamook), a short two-hour drive from Portland. It is part of the Meriwether/Clark Scout Reservation. (Map to Camp Clark) (Map of Camp Clark)

WHO CAN ATTEND: Families of Scouts. To participate, at least one member of the family must be a registered Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Venturer, Explorer or adult leader. Families attend together (parents and children); this is not a unit-organized event. Families register as a family, arrive as a family, and enjoy the weekend together as a family. If several families from a unit want to attend together, that's great...just have each family register themselves as a family, then meet at the beach!

WHEN: Friday evening (5pm earliest), May 23 through Monday afternoon (3pm), May 26, 2008.

BRING: Parents and kids; sleeping bags (tents are provided, but you can bring yours if you like), games, activities...whatever you might bring on your annual Memorial Day camping trip (with exceptions, see below). If you're bringing your own food, plan for no-cook meals or bring your camp cooking gear.

WHAT TO LEAVE HOME: Because this is a Boy Scout property, alcohol is not permitted. Pets are not permitted. Tobacco use must only occur in your car in the parking lot. Noisy devices (stereos, etc) are discouraged. Fireworks and firearms are strictly prohibited. RVs cannot be accommodated. ATVs are not permitted.

COST:
You can choose to bring your own food and eat in your campsite, or eat meals provided by the camp in the dining hall:

Food Provided: $70 per person for the weekend
Bring-Your-Own-Food: $30 per person for the weekend (age 6 and under free)

Pro-rating of meals or fees is not available. Full fee due at time of registration; 75% refund for cancellations before May 9, 2008. See the Memorial Weekend Cub Family Camp Guide for details on refund and payment policies.

REQUIREMENTS:
Participating families must have at least one child in Cub Scouting. Families register as families (parents and children), not as a pack or den. Children must be accompanied by at least one of their own legal parents or guardians. Boys of Scouting age must be registered; families must provide personal insurance.

HOW TO REGISTER: Register by clicking 'REGISTER ONLINE' below. There is a capacity of 225 persons, so register early to be assured of space. If the event fills, a wait-list will be maintained in case of cancellations.

MORE INFORMATION: Download the Memorial Weekend Cub Family Camp Guide. If the guide does not answer your question, specific questions may be directed to info@cpcbsa.org.

FAMILY EVALUATIONS : At the close of this event we asked each family to evaluate the camp.

We asked families to rate five areas on a scale of 1 to 5 (1-very negative; 2-slightly negative; 3-neutral; 4-somewhat positive; 5-very positive). These areaa were:

Rate the camp program. 32 responses averaged 4.9 on scale of 1-5. Sample comments in this area were:

Great crafts, tidepool hike cool! Campfire fun! Nature & scavenger hunt fun!
Liked the hike to the tidepools. It was fun finding all the ocean creatures.
Friendly atmosphere, wonderful activities with options to do what you wanted.
Excellent organization & leadership. Great activities.
Wide open to choose you own activities from those posted, or do your own thing.
Everything was great. We had lots of fun and relaxing time.
Great family experience.
Safe environment.
Fun experience for the whole family.

Rate foodservice. (for those who purchased food). 16 responses averaged 4.7 on scale of 1-5. Sample comments in this area were:

Kid friendly! Variety!
Awesome taste. Good choice of meals for kids.
Its so nice to have someone else cooking for you at camp. The food was excellent.
Excellent food. Great to have it done for us. Nice atmosphere and opportunity to meet people.
Good selection & variety.

Rate the camp facilities. 33 responses averaged 4.6 on scale of 1-5. Sample comments in this area were:

Lots of space, great showers...very clean.
The bathroom/showerhouse is a wonderful facility.
Clean showerhouse and bathrooms.
The tent platforms were in good shape, and the showerhouse was especially nice.
Warm water, electricity - very comfortable (clean bathrooms, too! Very nice.)
Impeccible sites, no litter, INCREDIBLE view.
Love the new showerhouse.

Rate the value of your experience in relation to the camp fee. 33 responses averaged 4.8 on scale of 1-5. Sample comments in this area were:

Family oriented, no alcohol or smoking [made it a value]
Very reasonable - you can't get all this at [other places] at the beach.
Holiday weekend - are you kidding? A family...camping in quiet seclusion [makes this] a bargain!
Its a great deal.
Site, view couldn't be better! Clean, wide trails, hot water in the showers.
Had a great time and lots of things to do.
Felt it was a very fair price.
Being with other Cub Scout families in an alcohol & smoke free family-friendly environment; and the beach location!

Rate the camp staff. 33 responses averaged 4.9 on scale of 1-5. Sample comments in this area were:

Friendly, funny, helpful, eager, took time with the kids.
Always happy to answer questions, very patient with the kids. Made everyone feel welcome.
They were really willing to help us out.
Friendly, helpful, excellent attitude.
The staff were terrific, fun, and showed effective leadership skills.
Very friendly and eager to make our camping experience positive.

We asked families if they left camp to do other activities in town. Here are a few things that families did off-campus:

Munson falls hike
Seal beach
Tillamook cheese factory
Shopping in town
Cape Mears lighthouse tour
Fish hatchery tour
Mt. Hebo; fishing at Hebo Lake
Dinner in Netarts
Scenic Drive Loop
Cape Lookout hike
Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport
(took naps instead!)
Blue Heron factory in Tillamook
Air museum in Tillamook
Lunch at diner in Sand Lake
Factory outlet stores in Lincoln City

We asked if the free-flexing schedule worked out for families. The response was entirely positive for an open-campus, free schedule:

Fantastic. We were able to enjoy some camp activities and explore the surrounding area each day.
Great; we could spend time on things we wanted to do.
It was wonderful! We loved having pre-planned activites and the ability to attend or not to attend.
Yes, the flex-schedule was a perfect fit. We participated in the events we were interested in, and skipped others.
We loved doing our own thing while haveing some activities when we wanted.
Yes! It was relaxing not to have to look at our watches all of the time!
We appreciated it very much, it worked great, we could relax and enjoy.
Yes, its more relaxing this way with children of different age groups.
Yes! We could choose to go to activities, and if we liked what we were doing, we could just not go to the planned event. Guilt-free, pressure-free time to enjoy my boys.
Yes, we liked the idea of being free to not participate and not feeling guilty about it.

Finally, the evaluation form asked for general comments. Here is a sampling of responses:

It was great! Do not change it; we love the staff
Will definately come again. Would love to see family camps at other camps as well.
Great job! If it happens again next year you should see [our family] there!
This was a wonderful experience - planning to come back in August.
Please do it again next year! We had a fantastic time & want to come back.
Thank you for providing this beautiful opportunity - we'll be back with [other families].
We had not been camping in a long time. We liked that there were some activities but were glad that they were flexible and not an over-filled schedule.
We enjoyed the family camping experience and flexible schedule.
The Sunday tour of Meriwether was a highlight of our trip. Now my Webelos-age son in super excited about his future in Scouting. Thanks!
This was an awesome alternative to the typical 3-day holiday weekend we typically avoid! A stress-free weekend & great environment.

Overall we had a great weekend. This being the first time this family camp was offered, the staff did learn a few things that we'll use to improve future camps.

If your family would like to participate, be sure to visit the Family Camping page for upcoming family camping opportunities similar to this one.