This year’s Washington Crossing Council Cub Scout Camp featured a plethora of activities at the picturesque Core Creek Park.
From July 14 through July 18 at Core Creek Park, about 60 campers from first - fifth grade learned important life lessons while having fun and enjoying the outdoors together at Washington Crossing Council’s annual Core Creek Cub Scout Day Camp. A dozen den chiefs, who were former Cub Scouts, and 20 volunteers, who were parents or grandparents of campers, led campers on their Pathway to Adventure–the theme of this year’s camp.
Kevin Ott, district executive for Washington Crossing Council, Scouting America, oversees all the council’s Cub Scout Day Camp program in PA and NJ. Ott noted that in 2018 Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts became open to both boys and girls. That year, the Boy Scout program changed its name to Scouts BSA. In 2025, Boy Scouts of America adopted the name moniker Scouting America.
Ott said the program dates back at least a couple decades, as he recalled his own scout day camp experience in the early 1990s. Since then, Ott said, the Cub Scout Day Camp has added new features and activities. At Core Creek, the camp featured a slingshot range, a BB gun range, and a portable gaga pit which was funded through a private foundation grant.
“I would say that the quality of the program has just evolved a lot since I came here 30 years ago. We used to be very basic, pen and paper, traditional, simple craft, and simple nature,” Ott said. “As we've grown and have recruited more volunteers, we've been able to evolve by adding things like fishing and archery.”
The scouting program, as a whole, promotes qualities such as kindness, trustworthiness, and reverence. Throughout the year, Cub Scout groups usually meet once or twice a month in a location such as a school cafeteria or fire hall. At Cub Scout Camp, many packs come together to spend a week outside.
Activities at Cub Scout Camp include outdoor cooking, hiking, archery, STEM experiments, arts and crafts, slingshotting, and shooting BB guns. All scouts also subscribe to the Scout Oath and Scout Law. This year, a sensei from a karate school provided a half-hour session on basic martial arts exercises and wrapped it up with an anti-bullying message.
“The overall goals that we're trying to build are citizenship, character, leadership, and physical fitness. With summer camp, a lot of the emphasis is on physical fitness,” Ott said.
Building responsible citizens is a core aim of scouting. In the Cub Scout Program, scouts learn skills such as raising the flag, taking it down, and folding it.
“There's a lot of emphasis on not only just being a U.S. citizen, but what it means to be an impactful member of your own community, all the way up to being an impactful member of the entire world,” Ott said.
Cub Scout Camp at Core Creek is entirely outdoors and takes place by a lake, which Ott said is what may set it apart from other camps in the surrounding area. As a benefit of this, the camp is able to offer fishing and extensive nature studies.
“From a parent perspective, if they're looking for a less plugged in, more natural ‘run around and get a little bit dirty’ camp experience, then this may appeal more so than some other camps might,” Ott said. “Also, the vastness of this location is what allows us to do a lot more here than we do at some of our other spaces.”
The camp also teaches scouts individualism. As the scouts accomplish certain things, sometimes they make a mark on the back of their shirts denoting they caught a fish or went on a hike.
“You'll hear them as they go throughout the day, ‘I caught a fish,’ ‘I caught 10 fish,’ or ‘I caught three fish,’” Ott said.
At the fishing station, scouts used bamboo fishing rods and hot dogs as bait to catch and release fish. Sean Lee, who is a Tiger Scout and whose favorite activity is fishing, learned how to fish at Cub Scout Camp.
Megan Wallace Grace, a rising fourth-grader, likewise said her favorite activity was fishing. “I get more and more fish in my backpack, and once I catch 20, I’ll be done,” Grace said.
With bows in hands, scouts at the archery station aimed at targets and shot their arrows. Elsa Mattson, a rising second-grader, likes archery because it reminds her of the movie “Brave”.
Caitlin Wallace, whose favorite activity at camp is archery, thinks it’s fun to shoot arrows at targets, adding, “[My favorite part about Cub Scout camp is] I get to make new friends. They may help you if you don't know stuff and they're also always there for you.”
Scouts at the cooking station, dubbed “cub grub” held sticks adorned with crescent rolls over a charcoal grill. Mateo Barrera, a den chief and rising ninth-grader who had previously been a camper, gave his highlights of Cub Scout Camp.
“[What I like about Cub Scout camp is] the people, and just getting to talk to everyone and learn about them. It's just a fun way to meet people and learn about their interests and get to know their unique personalities,” Barrera said.
At the arts and crafts station, scouts concocted stress balls out of balloons and water beads. James Hoelsworth, a rising fourth-grader, said he likes fishing and making friends. Hoelsworth added that making friends is important so you won’t be lonely.
Isaac Gruber, also a rising fourth-grader, said his favorite parts of camp are fishing, making and seeing friends, and playing gaga. “[Cub Scout camp] taught me how to do fun things. It taught me how to do a bunch of stuff that I never learned to do, and it taught me stuff in Cub Scouts that I really like to do now,” Gruber said.
While stretching out before playing kickball, scouts at the fitness station recited the Scout Law and Oath, while learning about sportsmanship.
Benjamin Leahy, a rising third-grader, said at the fitness station, he likes to play soccer, kickball, and compete in relay races.
His twin brother Connor Leahy said his favorite parts of camp are gaga and making quesadillas at the cub grub station.
Cub Scout Camp at Core Creek Park was a fun and diverse experience for campers this year, while it also developed them as good citizens entering into the world.
