Allamuchy Climbing Trip

When and Where

When: May 22-24, 2026 , 7:00 pm — 1:00 pm
Nights: 2

Location: Mount Allamuchy Scout Reservation — Camp Somers

Troop 23 is heading back to Mount Allamuchy Scout Reservation in the New Jersey highlands — and this time we're going vertical. The reservation is home to a 50-foot climbing tower, natural rock climbing, and one of the most extensive COPE courses in the region, and we're booking the weekend to make the most of all of it.

We camped at Allamuchy earlier last year for the Jockey Hollow historic trip and liked the place enough to come back. This time the focus shifts from hiking to climbing — a weekend built around ropes, harnesses, and pushing past your comfort zone.

Climbing at Allamuchy

Mount Allamuchy is one of the few BSA camps on the East Coast that offers both a built climbing tower and natural rock climbing on the same property. The camp provides all equipment — ropes, harnesses, helmets — and trained instructors hold at minimum a Level II Climbing Instructor certification, qualified to run top-roped rock climbing and rappelling programs.

The climbing area sits right off the camp entrance road, easily accessible from the campsites. Whether you've never touched a climbing wall or you've been scaling boulders for years, the setup offers routes at every difficulty level.

Here's what scouts can expect:

• 50-foot climbing tower — multiple routes with varying difficulty, from beginner-friendly to legitimately challenging
• Natural rock face — real outdoor rock climbing on the camp's own rock formations
• Rappelling — learn to descend safely on rope, a skill that builds confidence fast
• COPE course — Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience: a series of high and low elements that build teamwork, trust, communication, and problem-solving. Think ropes courses, traverses, and team challenges that get progressively harder

What the Weekend Looks Like

This follows the format scouts and families know well:

Friday evening (May 22) — Depart OLA at 7:00 pm. The drive to Stanhope, NJ takes about 2 hours. Set up camp, settle in.

Saturday (May 23) — Full day of climbing programs. The tower, rock face, rappelling, and COPE course are all on site — no driving between activities. Scouts rotate through elements with camp instructors. Evening campfire at the Council Point amphitheater.

Sunday (May 24) — Break camp after breakfast, head home. Back in Brooklyn by early afternoon.

Detailed schedule will be posted closer to the date, but the Saturday program runs most of the day — this is a trip where the main activity is the point, not a side event.

Mount Allamuchy Scout Reservation

Mount Allamuchy Scout Reservation covers nearly 1,000 acres in the highlands of northwestern New Jersey, about 2 hours from Brooklyn. The reservation is operated by Patriots' Path Council and encompasses two main camp areas — Camp Somers and Camp Wheeler — with over 30 designated campsites ranging from developed sites with lean-tos to remote wilderness locations.

Facilities include a dining hall that seats 400, shooting sports ranges (archery, rifle, shotgun), canoe rentals on the lake, and — the reason we're going this time — the climbing tower and COPE course. It's a full-service scout camp with year-round programming.

Our troop stayed at Site 02 during the Jockey Hollow trip — four connected lean-to shelters with wheelchair-accessible ramps, on-site latrine, and access to hot showers at the camp office. We'll confirm the exact site for this trip once the reservation is booked.

What to Bring

The camp provides all climbing equipment (harnesses, helmets, ropes). You bring the camping gear and the nerve.

• ⧠ Ten Essentials as always
• ⧠ Tent and sleeping gear (sleeping bag, pad, pillow)
• ⧠ Class B uniform
• ⧠ Closed-toe shoes with good grip — required for climbing (no sandals, no Crocs)
• ⧠ Comfortable clothes you can move in — nothing too loose or baggy near the ropes
• ⧠ Rain jacket — May weather in the NJ highlands can turn quickly
• ⧠ Warm layer for evenings
• ⧠ Water bottle
• ⧠ Packed meals or patrol cooking gear (confirm meal plan closer to date)
• ⧠ Headlamp with fresh batteries
• ⧠ Sunscreen
• ⧠ Executed Troop permission from ScoutBook

Advancement Opportunities

A weekend at Allamuchy's climbing facilities can contribute to several advancement areas:

• Climbing Merit Badge — tower climbing, rappelling, and belay techniques directly apply
• Physical Fitness — climbing is a full-body workout that builds strength and endurance
• Personal challenges — COPE elements build leadership, trust, and teamwork skills that map to Tenderfoot through First Class requirements

Specific requirements and sign-offs will be coordinated with the climbing instructors on site.