Next Event: May 17 - Forgath Manor - Iron Chef
This is the Pikes Peak Council's camp. We, as troop 214, have never been there for resident camp but some of the boys have been there for other reasons - OA, Cub Scout or Webelos weekends etc. They have a good selection of merit badges and other activities. Camp Alexander is at about 8,500 feet in elevation.
https://www.pikespeakbsa.org/campalexander
This is the Long's Peak Council (Ft. Collins) Scout camp. The number of merit badges they offer is quite a bit smaller than Camp Cris Dobbins but they have a good climbing progam. We could still leave Sunday morning and get there in time for check-in Sunday afternoon. The camp is at about 6,800 ft. in elevation.
http://camps.longspeakbsa.org/bdsr/#overview
This is the resident camp we have used for several years. I think most of our scouts have only been to Camp Cris Dobbins. It is a good camp and they do have a large selection of merit badges. One additional advantage to Camp Cris Dobbins is adult training. We weren't really in a position to take advantage of it this year but if we had enough adult leadership along some adults could take classes like Wilderness First Aid or the BSA water safety certification etc.
http://www.denverboyscouts.org/camping/boy-scouts/peaceful-valley/camp-cris-dobbins/46004
This is the patrol cooking camp on the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch. At Dietler the Scouts do their own cooking in patrols and can even bring and camp in their own tents, if they want to. Dietler has merit badges but it sounds like it is harder to complete merit badges at Camp Dietler so the boys would be coming home with more partials and less completed badges. Dietler has some other fun activities that Cris Dobbins doesn't and Dietler has a different feel. Joshua, Luke and Jacob all spent a week as a CIT at Dietler this summer. I think Luke liked Dietler and Joshua and Jacob prefer Cris Dobbins. The cost for Dietler would be the same as Cris Dobbins unless we brought our own tents and then it would be slightly less.
http://www.denverboyscouts.org/camping/boy-scouts/peaceful-valley/camp-cortlandt-dietler/11110
This is the Rocky Mountain Councl's Scout camp (Pueblo). It is located near Lake San Isabel. We could leave Sunday morning and get there in time for check-in Sunday afternoon. This is a smaller camp but they have climbing, shooting, a lake, merit badges etc. One of Joshua's friends goes to this camp every year with his troop and really likes it. If the fire danger is low enough they can have wood fires. The camp is at a little over 8,500 ft. in elevation.
http://www.rmcbsa.org/SanIsabel/
This is the camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is the camp we attended in 2017. It is quite a bit further away but the distance is manageable. There will be travel costs in addition to camp fees but the travel costs will be manageable. You have to do patrol cooking but that can be done with proper planning. If we were to do this one again there wouldn't be time to stand around and argue about who's turn it is to cook or clean up. Everyone would need to pitch in to cook and clean-up quickly and efficiently. We would probably want to dedicate some of our spring meetings to planning and preping for the trip. This camp is probably our easiest chance to do something out of Colorado.