A Springtime Campout at Pere Marquette

Now that the weather is getting better (slowly), the troop can start spending a little more time in the outdoors.

Springtime campouts are extra enjoyable… The cold and dreary days are less frequent, which means we can get back to doing more in the outdoors. While our troop typically camps year-round, the Scouts get to do so much more this time of the year compared to the Winter months.

We just had a campout last month. That event, however, was organized event by the Council and included numerous troops from the area. While the Scouts had a good time, they definitely enjoy troop outings because they are able to plan the activities and meals themselves.

Pere Marquette State Park

For this Springtime campout, we headed to Pere Marquette State Park for the weekend. There is a group camping area near the park that is specifically for groups such as ours. The area includes lots of open space, and is right next to the park, so it works out well.

The Scouts spent part of the time just hanging out at the camp. As school is winding down for the year, they really enjoyed just hanging out with one another. The campsite had a Gaga Ball pit that looked fairly new, so they definitely had to check that out!

We also spent time around the campfire, of course. Several of the Scouts also worked on some of their rank requirements.

Hiking Trails

While Pere Marquette has numerous amenities to offer, the one we typically utilize the most are the hiking trails. There are numerous trails throughout the park. We’ve hiked many of them in the past, but that doesn’t matter… It’s always fun to do them again.

We did one trail before lunch. Later that day, we returned to check out some other areas. We even chatted with the Park Ranger for a while. He was very helpful!

After our pre-lunch hike, the guys decided to chill out for a few minutes inside the Lodge.

Camp Meals

One focus of many of our campouts are the meals. The Scouts plan out their meals ahead of time, and they do all of the cooking. While the meals sometimes take a while, they usually do a really good job, and no one goes hungry!

Another successful Springtime Campout!