Camp Keowa

Camp Keowa is the largest camp, in size and in program, at Ten Mile River Scout Camps, the Greater New York Councils reservation in the Sullivan County Catskills. It sits on the shore of Crystal Lake, the reservation's largest lake, and has a long list of merit badges, several target sports ranges, a waterfront and a 34-foot climbing and rappelling tower on the lake shore. In summer it is a dining-hall camp: Scouts eat together in the Keowa dining hall, while at Camp Aquehonga, the other troop camp, patrols can cook at their campsites.

Troop 23 comes to Keowa for the council's shooting sports weekend: a Saturday on the ranges, a banquet in the dining hall in the evening, and two nights at a lean-to campsite on Crystal Lake. The troop's summer camp weeks are on the Summer Camp page.

The Shooting Sports Weekend

The weekend is run by the Greater New York Councils' Shooting Sports Committee, whose members are certified range safety officers and firearms instructors. The day starts with a required half-hour safety briefing, and the ranges are spread over two camps. The 2026 schedule put rifle, shotgun, archery and tomahawk throwing at both Keowa and Aquehonga, BB guns at the Keowa specialty pavilion and the Aquehonga sports field, and cowboy action shooting at Aquehonga; each unit shot at one camp in the morning and at the other after lunch. Rifle is open from age 12, shotgun from 13 and cowboy action from 14, and every Scout brings a signed shooting sports waiver along with the troop permission slip.

Lunch is back at each unit's campsite. In the evening everyone comes to the Keowa dining hall for the banquet, and then for the pumpkin carving contest, the awards and the raffle. In October 2025 the dinner was clams, steak and chicken, and the troop's pumpkin took second place.

The Lakeside Lean-Tos

The troop camps at site B of the Lakeside lean-tos, on the shore of Crystal Lake about half a mile from the Keowa dining hall; the Blue Dot Trail leads there from Keowa. Ten Mile River lists these lean-tos under historic Camp Lakeside. They are a different place from Lakeside at Family Camp, which is on Lake Nianque.

The site has three wooden lean-tos at the water's edge, tall enough for an adult to stand up inside, with a fire ring and picnic tables. Some of the troop sleep in the lean-tos and the rest in tents pitched beside them. There is no water at the site: the troop brings its own and drives to Keowa to refill. Patrols cook their breakfasts and lunches here on camp stoves, the mornings start with sunrise over the lake, and the rocky shore below the lean-tos is good for fishing.

Arriving at Camp

From Bay Ridge the drive takes two and a half to three hours. For a GPS, the council gives Camp Keowa's address as 131 Keowa Road, Bethel, NY, and the reservation headquarters as 1481 Crystal Lake Road, Narrowsburg, NY 12764. The first map on this page marks the parking lot next to the Keowa camp office.

The 2026 Leader's Guide describes the summer arrival on Sunday: troops come between 10 am and 3 pm, and a site guide meets each one at the carport by the parking lot and takes it to its campsite. A leader goes to the office for the financial check-in, then come the medical recheck, the dining hall orientation and the swim tests, and the week opens with a campfire that evening. One car at a time may carry gear to a campsite; after that, cars go back to the lots by the main office or at Rondack.

Writing to a Scout at Camp

Mail goes to Ten Mile River headquarters, is sorted there, and reaches the camp once a day. It can take several days to arrive, so mail early: packages sent late often reach camp after the Scout has gone home. The 2026 Leader's Guide asks for this format:

Scout's name
Troop number, Campsite (number), Week (number)
Camp Keowa
Ten Mile River Scout Camps
1481 Crystal Lake Road
Narrowsburg, NY 12764-4414

Scouts at camp are hard to reach by phone; messages are passed on at meals. The Keowa camp office is (845) 252-2027, and for emergencies the Ten Mile River main number, (845) 252-2000, answers at all times.

Troop 23 at Keowa

The troop's pages record the shooting sports weekend every year since 2022. The spring weekends of 2022 and 2023 were spent camping at Keowa itself, and in 2023 the Scouts came home with four range awards. In April 2024 the troop moved to the Lakeside lean-tos and has camped there since, through the Halloween weekends of October 2024, 2025 and 2026. In 2026 ten Scouts and six adults made the trip.