Owasippe Scout Reservation

Location

Coordinates

43°23′50″N 86°16′45″W / 43.3972°N 86.2792°W

Founded

1911

Owasippe Scout Reservation (OSR), located in Twin Lake, Michigan is the resident camp operated by the Pathway to Adventure Council (formerly Chicago Area Council) of Boy Scouts of America. It began in 1911 as Camp White on 40 acres (16 ha) of land on Crystal Lake donated by the White Lake Chamber of Commerce. It is the United States' oldest and longest continuously operating Boy Scout camp. At its peak of use the reservation covered 11,000 acres (45 km²) and served over 10,000 Scouts per summer, but the overall decline in Scouting nationwide has seen yearly attendance fall to approximately 3,800 campers. Previous property consolidations has left the camp at 4,800 acres (19 km²) in size, and the council was attempting to sell the camp but met with stiff resistance from the local community, Scouts, leaders, families, and staff alumni. The deal with the developer was terminated on November 7, 2008. Owasippe is also the oldest Scout camp in America.

Owasippe Scout Reservation lies within the boundaries of Manistee National Forest in Blue Lake Township, Muskegon County, West-Central Michigan. The Northwest border of the camp is formed in part by the White River.

The watershed of Cleveland Creek, a tributary of the White River, is completely surrounded by the reservation's boundaries and is reported to be the only watershed in the Midwest where this occurs. The Gus Kopp Dam of Cleveland Creek creates Lake Wolverine which is surrounded by the camps of Owasippe.

Owasippe shares Big Blue Lake with YMCA Camp Pendalouan and camp Pioneer Trails. The reservation's eastern border is shared, in part, with Michigan Crossroads Council's Gerber Scout Reservation, and to the south is Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

Campers are able to go into the town of Whitehall to enjoy non-camp activities such as mini-golf, movie theaters, beaches, etc. Muskegon is close by and offers many stores and restaurants to enjoy. A theme park, Michigan's Adventure, is also nearby.

Administration Center

The Administration Center, or "Ad Center", houses the support services for the reservation's section camps. It includes the administration building itself, a softball field, the maintenance building, the grey staff village, the food preparation building, the main trading post, warehouse, E. Urner Goodman Scout Museum, and Health Lodge. The Ad Center campus went up in 1964. Original Ad Center plans called for a large parking lot and reservation staff living facility where a large wooded hill where High Adventure's "Tent City" currently resides. Tent City is a group of cabins added to the Ad Center campus where High Adventure staff lives. While summer camp is in session, all units staying at Owasippe arrive at the Ad Center first before proceeding to their respective camps for the week.

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Wikipedia