More Boy Scout camps will be open to girls this year

The Boy Scouts of America are putting out the welcome mat for girls, too, at more of the group's summer camps this year.

The changes follow a decision by the Scouts last fall to admit girls into more programs. For some camps, like Cub Scout Camps, this will be the first summer girls can participate as full members, not just as tag-along sisters. Other BSA programs with summer camp options, such as Venturing, have been coed for years.

Girls who have experienced the programs say they can be empowering.

"When I joined Venturing, I was a shy and afraid little 14-year-old," said Maddy Agers of St. Louis, now a high school senior and Venturing president for her area. "Since then, I've learned to repel off a cliff backward, go on overnight trips in the wilderness, go mountain climbing and mountain biking, lead overnight canoe trips and brave zip lines. But learning leadership skills has been my favorite part of Venturing."

Agers first experienced Cub Scout summer camps when she would visit her brother at one. She's now working on a Summit Award, the Venturing equivalent of Eagle Scout, and has earned a college scholarship for community leadership thanks to her role in Venturing.

Cub Scouts, geared to first- through fifth-graders, just started opening up to girls this year through an "early adopter program" slated to roll out nationwide on June 1. Girls who take part in the early adopter program and who sign up for summer camp will learn the same outdoor skills, go on the same adventures and, for the first time, get the same rank advancements as boys. Girls' and boys' programs will be separate.

Boy Scouts, which is for sixth- through 12th-graders, will not be available to girls until next year. But girls ages 14 to 20 are welcome in Venturing and other BSA-run programs, such as Exploring, Sea Scouts and STEM Scouts.

In another step forward for girls interested in learning outdoor skills through Boy Scouts of America summer camps, this year one of the organization's four "high adventure bases" -- Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico -- will begin hosting family scouting for families with girls or boys. Similar family programs are under development at the Summit Bechtel Family Reserve in West Virginia, says Al Lambert, an assistant chief scout executive for BSA, who leads outdoor programming efforts.

"It's an exciting time for us and our efforts in supporting girls and families, as well as boys," said Lambert. "We're adapting to changing times."

Lambert said many young families want to experience camping and have their children learn outdoor skills, but would like to do so as a family, with a few more creature comforts than Boy Scouts are traditionally used to.

In some parts of the country, Boy Scouts of America-run programs open to both genders include those involving local schools or community organizations.

"Around 50,000 boys and girls have visited our camps through school groups, and 85 percent are not registered with the Scouts," says John Andrews, scout executive of the Northern Star Council of Minnesota. "It's a great way of showing the community what we do."