Winter Camping: Cabin Weekends in the Adirondacks and the Catskills

Troop 23 does not stop camping when the weather turns cold. Winter has its own trips: a cabin weekend at Ten Mile River in the Catskills every February, and in January 2026, for the first time, a winter skills weekend at Massawepie Scout Camps in the Adirondacks.

The troop sleeps in a warm cabin on both. A Scout who wants to sleep outside in a tent may do so once the adults have checked his gear and agree he is ready. The days are spent outdoors: building snow shelters, lighting fires in the snow, hiking, sledding and tubing.

Below: the two weekends, how Scouts get ready for the cold, the winters so far, and what families ask.

January: Winter Skills in the Adirondacks

The January weekend is a winter skills program with a cabin behind it. Its base is Keymel Lodge at Massawepie Scout Camps, near Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks, where real snow is close to certain in January. The lodge is heated by a wood-burning stove and has a kitchen, and it is there for warming up, eating and sleeping. Everything else happens outside.

The first one, in January 2026, was led by Mr. Steven Magnus, a Troop 23 alumnus and a longtime outdoor mentor. It started on the drive north, with a stop at Fort William Henry on Lake George and an evening at The Wild Center's winter light walk. Over the weekend the Scouts piled and dug out a quinzee snow shelter, and on Saturday they split wood and lit fires in the snow. Each patrol planned and bought its own meals, and cooking moved outdoors too, onto camp stoves set up in the snow, with a Dutch oven dessert to finish. On Sunday morning, before the drive home, Scouts rode dog sleds across a frozen lake.

Fire in the snow is where the troop's Firem'n Chit and Totin' Chip skills meet real conditions: dry wood has to be found or made, and the fire has to be built on top of the snow.

February: The Fun Trip at Ten Mile River

The February weekend is the troop's winter fun trip. The troop leaves Our Lady of Angels on Friday evening, drives about two and a half hours to Ten Mile River Scout Camps and moves into a cabin, usually the Hearst Cabin, by late evening. Ten Mile River keeps winterized cabins with electricity, bathrooms and kitchens for troop weekends from September to June. The troop is home on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday is for the snow. Most years it has meant a few hours of snow tubing at a nearby hill, and in 2026 skiing as well. There have been winter hikes and sledding near the cabin, and in the evening a campfire, with skits. On Sunday the troop has often visited the Scout museum at Ten Mile River. One year a Sunday went to a horse ranch, where Scouts worked on the Horsemanship merit badge, cleaning stalls, grooming horses and learning to ride.

The Scouts plan this weekend themselves: in 2026 their agenda had skiing and tubing, building snowmen, and a campfire program.

On this trip the adults have traditionally done the cooking, for years with Mr. George Wong at the stove, and in 2025 and 2026 there was pizza, made in cast-iron pans.

A Warm Cabin, and a Tent for Those Who Are Ready

Both winter weekends are cabin trips, so a Scout does not need a winter tent to come. The cabin is where everyone eats, warms up and dries out, and where most of the troop sleeps.

Sleeping outside is a challenge a Scout chooses. He brings a tent and a sleep system that can handle the cold, the adults check his gear before the night, and only then does he move outside. The adults camp out too: the tents at the top of this page belong to three of the troop's adult leaders, photographed on the Saturday morning of the February 2024 weekend, with the snow still falling.

Getting Ready for the Cold

Winter camping is safe when the gear is right, and most of the work is done at home. The packing list on each year's trip page is the one to follow. The basics do not change:

• Layers, not one big coat. A base layer that wicks sweat away, warm middle layers, and an outer shell that blocks the wind. Ski pants are ideal.
• A warm sleeping bag. For the January weekend, and for any night outside, one rated to zero degrees or better; for the February cabin a regular bag is enough.
• Spare shoes and socks. Feet get wet in the snow, and dry ones at night matter more than anything else.
• A hat, gloves, winter boots, and a mug for the hot chocolate.

Before the first January weekend, in 2026, Mr. Magnus spent several Monday meetings with the troop on what it takes to stay comfortable, safe and active in the cold: winter gear, keeping body heat, the sleep system, snow shelters and winter weather. The Monday before departure, an online call went over packing.

And as on every trip, phones stay put away: the weekend is for doing things together.

Winters So Far

From 2022 each winter weekend has its own page with the plan, and some with notes on how it went.

• February 2022: Ten Mile River, the Hearst Cabin.
• February 2023: Ten Mile River: snow tubing, eagles on the drive, and a Sunday at a horse ranch for the Horsemanship merit badge.
• February 2024: Ten Mile River: a two-mile hike in falling snow, sledding, snow tubing and the Scout museum.
• February 2025: Ten Mile River: snow tubing and pizza.
• January 2026: Massawepie Scout Camps, the first winter skills weekend in the Adirondacks: a quinzee, fire in the snow and dog sleds.
• February 2026: Ten Mile River: skiing, the Scout museum and pizza.

Questions Families Ask

Is it really safe to camp in winter?

Yes, with the right gear and the right plan, and both weekends are built around that. There is a heated cabin to come back to, adult leaders are with the troop the whole time, and the days are planned around the weather. Sleeping outside is a choice, and the adults check a Scout's gear before he makes it.

Does my Scout need special gear?

Mostly warm clothes he may already have, layered well, plus a warm sleeping bag. The packing list is on each year's trip page. A tent is needed only by a Scout who plans to sleep outside.

What does it cost?

About what any weekend campout costs; the current range is in the Parent Guide under Costs.

Can parents come?

Adult leaders camp with the troop every weekend. A parent who wants to come along needs to be a registered adult with current Safeguarding Youth Training, and registration takes weeks, so start early.

Where can I see more photos?

The winter trip pages linked above have photos from each year, and the full albums are in the troop's members-only photo archive.