Northern New Jersey Council

Camp Alpine (New Jersey), located in Alpine, New Jersey, is a great place for weekend camping and hiking the Palisades Historic Trail. Primarily a low-impact camping experience, the camp has minimal facilities to allow units to use their camping skills to the fullest.

Activities:

• Weekend Camping
• District Events
• Palisades Historic Trail

Dow Drukker Scout Reservation is in Cuddebackville, New York and consists of Camp Turrell and Camp Kluge.

Floodwood Mountain Reservation is over forty years old. The Rollins Pond Canoe Base and the West Pine Pond Backpacking Center form the Reservation, both located in Altamont, NY between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, and near many lakes and the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. With rock climbing, waterskiing, archery, and many day hikes and paddles available, Floodwood offers a great program in camp as well as on trek.

Floodwood Mountain Reservation was acquired by Bergen Council, BSA on November 22, 1963. Over the next year plans were drawn up for a rather ambitious camping reservation with multiple camps on different parts of the property. As a first step, an outpost camp was established at Rollins Pond for the summer of 1965. Since the concept of wilderness camping offered by a local council camp was a new idea, attendance was by invitation and only units with the required depth of adult leadership were considered.

The initial experience was successful and for the next four summers the program was continued and expanded. Problems with water supply led the Council to explore other areas of the reservation for a permanent camp site.

The initial expansive plan for multiple camps was already being reconsidered, and in the end West Pine Pond was chosen for development. It is at this site that units have camped since the summer of 1970, while they have continued to use Rollins Pond as the launching point for canoe treks and for the water skiing program.

Camp Lewis is located in the Hibernia Section of Rockaway Township, Morris County. It is open for weekend camping throughout the year and is also a Cub Scout Resident Camp during the summer. It is also home to the council COPE course.

History:

Camp Lewis was originally donated to the Bayonne Council by the Rosenthal family when their son, Lewis Rosenthal, drown while swimming on vacation. It was donated under the agreement that:

1. The camp would be named Lewis to memorialize their son
2. The camp would teach young boys how to swim
3. The camp would serve kosher meals in the dining hall (which can still be requested to this day)

Program Areas:

• Cubskills
• BBs
• Archery
• STEM
• Nature
• WaterFront

After Program Activities:

• GaGa ball
• Field sports
• Open shoot
• Campfires
• Ice Cream social night
• Weblos overnight trip

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, also known as NoBe, is a Boy Scouts of America camp located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey, owned by the Northern New Jersey Council. It opened in 1927.

No-Be-Bo-Sco is in session from July–August each year to Scouts and includes dozens of merit badge classes and activities throughout its 6 weeks. The camp is currently run by Bob Johnson, Camp Director since 1988. Each year at camp has always included a new theme for each summer.

NoBe also operates a year-round program. Heated cabins are available for troops of all sizes to be rented for weekend use. The camp serves as a launching point for a hike along the Appalachian Trail, or exploring the Delaware Watergap Recreation Area.

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco lies on the shores of Sand Pond at the base of the Kittatinny Ridge, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of the Walpack Bend in Hardwick and Stillwater Townships. Originally, the surrounding Paulins Kill watershed region was inhabited by the Tohockonetcong Band of the Minisink Tribe. It is unlikely they had a permanent settlement in this valley at the headwaters of Jacksonburg Creek due to its inhospitable terrain and shortage of potable water.

A boat on Sand Pond

Over 500 Boy Scouts attended the first Summer Season in 1927. The first Camp Ranger, Elmer Baker of Maine, was hired in 1928. Lance M. Parsons of Englewood supervised Baker and a crew of men. They built the Camp's log cabins between 1928 and 1931, beginning with a building to house themselves where Price Lodge stands today.

In 1930, the Cable Line was built through the camp and over Sand Pond. In 1964, they were connected to a Cable Line in Yards Creek.

Unlike some camps, No-Be-Bo-Sco stayed open during World War II. The war effort made supplies scarce, so Scouts brought their rations to summer camp. The war arrived at camp in a much more tragic way on February 22, 1944, when a B-17F Flying Fortress crashed into the west face of the Kittatiny Ridge.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service collaborated during the 1960s on a project to build a proposed national recreation area along the Delaware River that would have been built in conjunction with the controversial Tocks Island Dam project. The Tocks Island dam was proposed to provide water to the region and improve recreation. Many camps along the river were purchased or condemned by the federal government, and in 1970 they bought the mountain from Bergen Council, reducing Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco to approximately 369 acres (1.49 km²). The sale agreement provided Camp access to the proposed lake, but the government abandoned the project due to a large change in public opinion. The resulting Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area provides Camp direct access to over 69,000 acres (280 km²) of federal parkland.

In 1979, the camp was forever immortalized as an important location in horror film history for being the filming location of the first Friday the 13th film released in 1980. The film was the beginning of what would become a multi-million dollar franchise with a very dedicated fan base so much so that the camp holds events and tours for fans of the film.

In 1988, Bergen Council hired Bob Johnson to direct Summer Camp. Though Bob had never been to No-Be-Bo-Sco, he had sixteen years of camp staff experience, and quickly revitalized the program. Among other things, Bob has since united the staff in the Camp’s first centralized staff area, supervised outfitting the Dining Hall with a world class kitchen, and crafted a signature summer camp program unique to No-Be-Bo-Sco. His non-stop, high energy program is renowned for its enthusiastic staff, excellent food, and original campfires. Bob Johnson still serves as Camp Director and 2007 is his twentieth summer at the post. He is the longest tenured Camp Director in No-Be-Bo-Sco history.

While Bob Johnson attracted new units, in 1990 a group of Overpeck District volunteers led by Jim Africano started the Weboree. The increased summer and winter attendance bolstered Camp’s finances, and the Weboree helped restore Scouter enthusiasm. Soon No-Be-Bo-Sco was bursting at the seams year-round, yet again.

Current ranger Tom Rich was permanently assigned to No-Be-Bo-Sco in 1995. The same year, volunteers led by a Scout, Steve Kallesser, undertook a major dining hall renovation. Two years later the same group converted the Protestant Chapel to an all-faiths facility and built an outdoor chapel; the first new camp structure in almost 30 years.

Shortly after, the Northern New Jersey Council began a camp improvement campaign between 2008-2010 that involved the renovation of a majority of camp cabins and facilities.

Each year, the camp has a theme for their summer camp program, involving a cast of theme-related characters and a story-arc that progresses week-to-week throughout the summer. Typically, NoBe also has the Scouts try to find an item that is hidden somewhere around camp, based on the theme using clues given at the meals. Recent themes have been:

• 1994- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Tom Sawyer), the year themes were introduced
• 1995- Mystery at Sand Pond (Sherlock Holmes)
• 1996- Wild Frontier (Frontier) [Program Director: Jason Sullivan]
• 1997- Back to the NoBe Future (Back to the Future) [Program Director: Jason Sullivan]
• 1998- Spy vs. Spy (Spies) [Program Director: Joe Berlinghieri]
• 1999- NoBe:Episode 73, The Force Within (Star Wars Episode I) [Program Director: Brian Herb]
• 2000- No-Be Treasure Island (Treasure Island) [Program Director: Tim Johnston]
• 2001- The NoBe Outback (Australia/The Outback)[Program Director: Andrew Kane]
• 2002- Indiana Jones and the Rattler's Eye (Indiana Jones) NoBe's 75th Anniversary
• 2003- Loki's Revenge (Vikings) [Program Director: Rich Bachmann]
• 2004- Castaway at Sand Cove (Polynesian Islands/Gilligan's Island)
• 2005- Campelot (Knights of the Round Table/Camelot)
• 2006- A No-Be-Bo-Sco Mystery (The Pink Panther/Clue)
• 2007- Secrets of the Sphinx (Egypt) NoBe's 80th Anniversary
• 2008- Clash of the Ancients (Greece/The Olympics)
• 2009- Summer of Independence (Sons of Liberty)
• 2010- Tall Tales of the Turn of the Century (Tall Tales/BSA 100th Anniversary)
• 2011- No-Be-Bo-Sco Special Edition (Comic books/superheroes) [Program Director: EJ Fagan]
• 2012- Nomanji (Jumanji at NoBe) NoBe's 85th Anniversary [Program Director: Ed Wrynn]
• 2013- City of Gold (Mayans) [Program Director: Chris Caulfield]
• 2014- The Tale of Robin Hood [Program Director: Mike Obsuthe]
• 2015- Camp NoBe Episode 88 - The Force Ignited (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
• 2016- Pirates of the Kittatinny (Pirates of the Caribbean)
• 2017- Sand Pond Travels (Time Bandits) NoBe's 90th Anniversary
• 2018- Impossible Mission (Mission: Impossible)
• 2019- One Sword for All (Excaliber, King Arthur’s sword)
• 2020- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (COVID—19 Camp Nobe Everywhere so scout from anywhere in the world could easily attend)

Sand Pond is a watershed that flows directly out of a Cedar Swamp. The No-Be-Bo-Sco waterfront offers small-boat sailing, rowboats, canoes, kayaking, and 3 swimming areas as according to ability:

• Non-Swimmer (0–4 ft.)
• Beginner (0–7 ft.)
• Swimmer (7–9 ft.) [Scouts must proficiently pass the BSA Swimmer Test in order to swim in this area]

The waterfront has had some updates, most recently a new dock and a new lifeguard tower. Also, a renovation to the Waterfront Cabin was completed by June 2011.

• Nature
• Handicraft
• Scoutcraft
• Aquatics (Waterfront)
• Field Sports
• Health Lodge
• Climbing Wall
• Office
• Quartermaster
• Outdoor Engineering

• "Trail to Eagle" Merit Badges

• Scheduled Individually with Staff

• Backpacking
• Bird Study
• Insect Study
• Astronomy
• Hiking

First Class Adventure

All first year Scouts, up to the rank of First Class, can join in the "FCA" program based on Scouting skills. The program reflect the current Tenderfoot through First Class requirements, and allows different programs for each rank. Additionally, the FCA program encourages Scouts to take at least one merit badge to start their trail to Eagle Scout.

Trail to Eagle

The Trail-To-Eagle Program is designed for Star and higher-rank Scouts to move closer to the Eagle Rank while at camp. Trail to Eagle holds half-hour sessions each day focusing on the non-merit badge requirements of Eagle Scouts. The program also offers four badges required for the rank.

The OcSoBeBon

The Ocsobebon program was started to give older, veteran Scouts an opportunity for high adventure. It is a week-long challenge that requires participants to complete a variety of tasks and challenges. Successful completion awards participants with a neckerchief given only to those who complete the challenge.

A wide variety of campwide activities are available for a troop at camp. While the specifics of many of the activities are designed through the creative energies of the Camp Staff and the Senior Patrol Leaders Council, each summer there is a “theme” that influences the daily activities.

Camp provides many activities beyond merit badges that a Scout or a Scout and his buddy can work on. Here are a few of them:

• Camp Field Sports Awards
• No-Be Achievement Awards
• Fishing
• Mile Swim
• BSA Lifeguard
• Paul Bunyan
• Totin’ Chip
• NoBe Adventurer Award
• Ocsobebon Veteran Scout Award

Camp Yaw Paw Camp Yaw-Paw is a 400-acre (1.6 km²) tract of land in the Ramapo Mountain Range. The camp offers a winter camping program from September till May. Camp Yaw-Paw is NNJ Council's Cub Day Camp during the summer months.

Activities:

• BB Gun Shooting
• Archery
• Swimming
• Boating - Row Boats & Paddle Boats
• Nature
• Cub Skills
• Fishing
• Sports
• Cub Adventures
• Weekly Campfires and Family Barbecues