Rafting the Colorado River.
The trips program
What makes us stand out as a troop (in addition to matriculating an unusually high percentage of Eagle Scouts) is our robust trips program. We generally take one weekend trip every month from September to June, plus a summer road trip in addition to the traditional Scout summer camp.
So far, the troop has visited all 50 US states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 14 countries.
Here's how our trips usually work.
Here is a sense of our Annual Calendar
What are YOUR plans for the weekend?
As a scout in Troop 116, you could be:
- Camping and hiking (from the Poconos to the Pine Barrens, summitting 5,000-foot-peaks in the Catskills or hiking the Appalachian Trail)
- White water rafting, canoeing, kayaking, or sailing
- Mountain climbing and learning high ropes skills
- Caving, bouldering, rock climbing, and snow camping
- Fishing, swimming, or spending time on the beach
- Exploring new cities on a scavenger hunt (Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Quebec City, and more)
- Engaging in epic contests of skill, strategy, and strength (The Rodney Games, The Quest for the Grail, The 116 Challenge)
- Biking 100 miles along the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in Lancaster County, down the New Jersey Shore, or in Virginia
- Hanging out with friends – Enjoying pizza, movies, Broadway shows, sports (Ultimate, broom-ball hockey, bowling, football)…
- Skiing and snowshoeing in upstate Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, or Colorado
- Making a difference though community service and Eagle Projects
- Improving yourself though the outdoors and leadership skills that will impress your friends, college admissions staff, and potential employers.
What are you doing this summer?
The troop attends a week of official Boy Scouts summer camp, where the boys have the opportunity to earn any of a number of merit badges. (Hint: Make sure you get the Swimming merit badge, since you need to have it to come on some of the cooler summer trips where we sail our own boats down the Florida Keys or raft the wild rivers of the American West.)
The Venture Crew girls and the older, more experienced Boy Scouts—age 13 and up with the rank of First Class—have the option to come on a "second week" road trip, which used to be a modest camping trip following summer camp but has long since grown into a beast all its own. In fact, it often lasts three to six weeks.
Recent summer trips have included:
- Québec Province (2022): After a few relaxing days of day hikes and water parks, and outdoor movies at a Scout family's gorgeous river-side vacation home in the Adirondacks, we headed into Canada for a week of exploring castles and walled cities, kayaking with whales on the St. Lawrence River and puzzling out of escape rooms in Mont Tremblant. We ziplined and hiked, biked our way around Île St-Louis (sampling chocolates and ice cream and pastries—and, for the adults, cider—along the way) and tackled a Via Ferrata (scaling steep cliffs with aid of metal ladder rungs).
- New England (2019): We started off by celebrating the Fourth of July by the banks of the Charles River in Boston, then catught the ferry to Peaks Island, Maine, for a few days of kayaking, exploring, and lobster-feasting. We cuddled baby goats and perused fine art and Polar history at Bowdoin College. We camped in Acadia to summit peaks, loll on the beach, eat hot popovers, and hike in the pre-dawn to the mountaintop to catch the first sunrise in America. We learned how hard doubleblack diamond mountain biking truly is, and finished it all off with a visit to the original Ben and Jerry's factory.
- The Great Lakes (2018): We made a grand tour of all five Great Lakes, visiting seven states and two countries, snorkeling shipwrecks in Lake Huron, helping just catfish races in Wisconsin, exploring Chicago, rocking out in Cleveland, kayaking Lake Superior's Picture Rocks National Lakeshore on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, hiking the Indiana Dunes, enjoying Amish food, and feeling the thunder of Niagara Falls on our shoulders.
- West Virginia (2017): Somehow we managed to squeeze backpacking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, dry caving, wet caving, day-hiking, bluegrass music, waterparking, a tour of Fallingwater, and untold games of Scrabble into just 10 amazing days.
- Atlantic Canada (2016): We went biking, sea kayaking, and clamming on Price Edward Island (and got out Anne of Green Gables on as well); wandered the floor of the Atlantic Ocean at low tide; danced the cieli to Celtic bands; and hiked the trails of Cape Breton National Park in Nova Scotia.
- Hawaii (2015): For our 100th anniversary, we finally conquered the 50th state, biking across Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, back-country hiking between beaches and jungle waterfalls on Kauai, kayaking in the Pacific Ocean, and volunteeering to help clean the Mighty Mo, the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor, before spending the night aboard the battleship.
- Canoe Tripping the Algonquin (2013): After seeing Niagara Falls, dancing the Zydeco during Toronto's Jazz Fest, and learning mad whitewater kayaking skills on the Minden River, we spent a week taking our canoes for a hike in the Algonquin Provincial Park of Ontario, Canada across 52 miles, 35 lakes, and a whopping 21 portages, many through mosquito-infested swamps—but also idyllic lakeside campsites with spectacular sunsets, cooing loons, and howling wolves.
- Go West, Young Men (2012): Three weeks in Utah and Colorado, including nine national parks (Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Rocky Mountain), a three-day rafting trip down the Colorado River, and a multi-day backcountry hike to cross the Continental Divide and summit a 14,067-foot mountain in Colorado's Collegiate Peaks Wilderness.
- The Endless Mountains (2011): A leisurely bike ride through the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, Pine Creek Gorge, followed by a six-day backcountry hike along the Black Forest Trail through the Endless Mountains, camping by swimming holes every night and avoiding rattlesnakes by day.
- Sailing the Keys (2010, 2003): The boys sail their own bareboat 39’ sloops down the Florida Keys (and sometimes to the Bahamas), with visits to Disney World, South Beach, Key West, Everglades National Park, and other Florida sights before and after.
- Maine and New Hampshire (2009): Ten days of rock climbing, backpacking in the White Mountains, overnight sea kayaking in Casco Bay, visiting historic sites and museums on the Maine Coast, drive-in movies, lobster feasts, and stopping in Boston for the 4th of July fireworks accompanied by a Charles-side concert by the Boston Pops and Neil Diamond.
- The Alaska Trip (2008): Five weeks of climbing glaciers, kayaking rivers, fishing Resurrection Bay, swimming in the Yukon River (cold!), and otherwise exploring Alaska—plus cruising the Inside Passage on a car ferry.
- SoCal (2007): Ten days in Southern California, from San Diego to Los Angeles, including sailing, deep sea fishing, visiting a naval base, exploring Balboa Park, and hiking in the Sierra Nevada Range.
- The Six-Week Cross-Continent Trip (2006): An epic journey through seventeen states and two Canadian provinces, including a ton of hiking, kayaking in British Columbia, horseback riding in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and white water river rafting in Montana.
- The Massachusetts Bike Tour (2004): We rode from Mt. Greylock in the Northwest to Providence Town out on the Cape – across the entire state in a week.
- The Europe Trip (2000): A month-long road trip through Italy, France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands—visiting museums, climbing Alps, exploring ancient ruins, sleeping in castles and chalets, touring cathedrals, attending World Cup parties, hiking the Cinque Terre, eating seven-course dinners, hanging out in medeival hilltowns, stumbling across village festivals... that sort of thing.
These trips are organized by the scouts themselves, working with adult leaders, troop alumni, and parents.
Where we go and what we do is up to our members – and that could be you!
And, believe it or not, each boy or girl manages to raise much of the cost of these trips (in some cases, the entire cost) entirely by him or herself, through troop/crew fund raisers and personal jobs (many adult leaders provide work opportunities for those without jobs).
To get a sense of what it is like to be on a troop or crew trip, check out the "Short Stories and Tall Tales" page.
