This BSA camp was one that was recommended to us by our readers. Scouts will thrive in the beautiful outdoor playground of Huntington Lake, California. Scouts spend quality time outside learning new skills and enjoying engaging outdoor adventures with new and old friends. Camp Kern is a place where Scouts experience a traditional summer camp life as Scouts have since 1939. Huntington Lake (elevation 7,000 feet) is nestled in a remote part of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. It’s so remote, in fact, that no roads lead to the camp. Instead, troops travel aboard one of several daily barges across the lake.
The camp’s website is https://sscbsa.org/campkern/. Camp Kern is located at 61953 Huntington Lake Road, Lakeshore, CA 93634. Lakeshore, California can be located by getting to Fresno, California and following highway 168 NE out of town towards the Sierra National Forest area. The camp’s GPS coordinates are 37.23833333N, -119.1869444W.
Summertime temperatures make it into the mid-70s by day and fall into the upper 40s at night. The phones are shut off at the end of the summer and any mail sent to this address in the offseason will be returned to the sender. Scouts are housed in two-man canvas tents on wooden platforms. Each campsite is equipped with a latrine, washbasin, and running water. Most meals will be prepared by the food service staff in the dining hall.
Merit Badges Offered at Camp Kern 2020: Archery, Canoeing, Cycling, Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, First Aid, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Horsemanship, Kayaking, Lifesaving, Motorboating, Orienteering, Personal Fitness, Pioneering, Rifle Shooting (Option A – Modern Cartridge), Rowing, Shotgun Shooting, Small-Boat Sailing, Sports, Sustainability, Swimming, TTFC – 1st Class, TTFC – 2nd Class, TTFC – Tenderfoot, Welding, and Wilderness Survival.
The cost of the camp is $435 for the session. Some of our reader’s favorite activities, while their son was at camp, were: Sailing, Nature, star barge @ night, backpacking opportunities, bikes, horsemanship.
If you have any registration questions you can call the council office 661-325-9036 or register online at https://scoutingevent.com/030-2020CampKern?. If you’ve ever been to Camp Kernl, please share your experience with us in the comment section below.