Scouting in Colorado


Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day.

Early history (1910–1950)

Scouting got a brisk start in Colorado. The Denver Council was founded in 1915. In 1926 the name was changed to the Denver Area Council, and in 2022 the name was changed again to The Greater Colorado Council.
The Colorado Springs Council was founded in 1916, and in 1922 changed its name to the El Paso and Teller Counties Council. That council in 1925 changed its name to Pikes Peak Council, which it remains to this day. Pikes Peak Council is home to the oldest continually-chartered troop in the state of Colorado, Troop 2, originally chartered to Colorado Springs' First Presbyterian Church in October 1917.
The Greeley Council was founded in 1916, and in 1924 changed its name to the Weld and Morgan Counties Council. That council in 1928 changed its name to Longs Peak Council, which it remains to this day. The Fort Collins Council and Longmont Council, each founded in 1917, merged in 1919 into what is now the Longs Peak Council. The Boulder Council, also created in 1917, was merged into the Council in 1920. The Southeastern Wyoming Council of Cheyenne merged into Longs Peak Council in 1928.
The Trinidad-Las Animas County Council, founded in 1917, changed its name to the Las Animas County Council in 1924. This and the Arkansas Valley Council, founded in 1924, merged in 1927 to become the Spanish Peaks Council. The Pueblo Council was founded in 1920, and in 1928 changed its name to the Rocky Mountain Council, which it remains to this day. The Spanish Peaks Council merged into Rocky Mountain Council in 1932.
The Western Colorado Council was founded in 1942, and is one of the very few councils that did not undergo a name change or merger in its entire history until 2019. May 1, 2019 Western Area Council merged into the Denver Area Council. The new area council will now serve 24 counties, which includes more than 34,000 youth. The former council area is now the Majestic Mesas District of the Denver Area Council.
During World War II, Japanese Americans interned at the Granada War Relocation Center set up a separate Amache District for Scouts at the camp, after the camp's unofficial name Camp Amache.

Recent history (1950–2022)

In 1952, a Capital Fund Campaign was held to raise money for a new camp, Tomahawk Ranch.
In 1960 Pikes Peak Council served as host to the 1960 National Scout Jamboree, held north of Colorado Springs adjacent to the United States Air Force Academy, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America.
  • In 1927, the Arkansas Valley Council , merged with Las Animas County Council to form the Spanish Peaks Council.
  • The Boulder Council was formed in 1917.
  • The Colorado Springs Council was formed in 1916. The El Paso & Teller Counties Council was formed in 1922. In 1925 the two councils merged to become the Pikes Peak Council
  • The Denver Council was formed in 1915, and changed its name in 1926 to the Denver Area Council.
  • The Fort Collins Council was established in 1917.
  • The Greeley Council was established in 1916. It became the Weld & Morgan Counties Council in 1924.
  • The Longmont Council was formed in 1917.
  • The Longs Peak Council formed in 1925 from the merger of Longs Peak Council, Weld & Morgan Counties and Southeastern Wyoming Council.
  • The Pueblo Council was formed in 1920 and became the Rocky Mountain Council in 1928.
  • The Trinidad-Las Animas County Council was formed in 1917.
  • The Western Colorado Council was merged in the Greater Colorado Council.
  • The Denver Area Council was renamed to the Greater Colorado Council and the council patch was changed in 2022.
  • The Pikes Peak Council became the Pathway to the Rockies Council in 2022.

    Scouting in Colorado today

There are five Scouting America local councils and a single Girl Scouts of the USA council in Colorado, merged from an original five.
The first National Wider Opportunity for Senior Girl Scouts, "Recall the Riches restore the Ruins," was held in Central City in 1973. In 1979, "Sky Hi Ski," a National Wider Opportunity, was held at YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch near Granby and a Senior Girl Scout troop from Mile Hi Council participates in the opening ceremonies at the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid.
, all Girl Scouts from the state are joined as Girl Scouts of Colorado Council.

Greater Colorado Council

The Greater Colorado Council, previously named Denver Area Council, of Scouting America is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, and supports Scouting units and youth in an area of central Colorado from Arapahoe and Adams Counties east to the Continental Divide.

Organization

For traditional units, the council is split into districts related by school districts. These districts are:
  • Alpine - Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Jefferson County, Gilpin County, Clear Creek County, and Platte Canyon School District
  • Black Feather — Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Douglas County, Littleton, Sheridan, Englewood, and Elbert County
  • Centennial — Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Aurora Public School, Bennett School District, Byers School District, Cherry Creek School District, Deer Trail School District, and the Strasburg
  • Frontier — Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Denver Public Schools
  • Majestic Mesas - Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Delta County School District, Dolores County School District, Gunnison Watershed School District, Hinsdale County School District, Mesa County Valley School District, Montrose County School District, Norwood Public Schools, Ouray School District, Ridgway School District, Telluride School District, and the West End School District
  • Three Rivers - Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Aspen School District 1, DeBeque, Eagle County, East Grand, Garfield County School District 16, Garfield School District RE-2, Hayden, Lake County, Meeker, Moffat County, Park County, Plateau Valley, Rangely, Roaring Fork, South Routt, Steamboat Springs, and the Summit
  • Valley — Serving SCHOOL DISTRICTS Brighton, Adams 12 and Adams 14, Mapleton, Westminster 50, and the Boulder Valley
  • The new Majestic Mesas and Three Rivers district encompasses the former Western Colorado Council.
The council, also, has non-geographic districts to support non-traditional programs operated by the council. These districts are:
  • Venturing — Serving all young men and women ages 14–20
  • LeAP ;— In-school traditional Scouting in Denver County and our Soccer in Scouting program
  • Learning for Life — Serving youth in Denver
  • Special Needs — Serving youth with disabilities throughout the Metropolitan Area
  • Exploring — Serving ages 14–21 in career exploration in the Denver Metropolitan Area

    Programs and activities

is a week-long youth oriented leadership training experience held for three weeks during the summer. This camps aims to shape youth scouts into full trained scouts and was previously named Bighorn, now it is called NYLT at Bighorn, symbolizing the area that it takes place in.

Camps

The Denver Area Council operates camps in two locations in Colorado. The primary camp, Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, is located in Elbert, Colorado. The second, smaller camp, is Camp Tahosa, located near Nederland, Colorado.
Tahosa High Adventure Base
Camp Tahosa is a camp near Ward, Colorado, serving the Denver Area Council of Scouting America. It was the primary camp for the Denver area until the later 1970s, when it was shut down because of damage caused by environmental factors, where It was replaced by Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch. The camp now serves as a high adventure base. The High Adventure Treks from Camp Tahosa lead Scouts into the adjacent forest.
Tahosa is home to separate camping programs for both Summer and non summer usage: From September to Early May, TH offers OKPIK, Tahosa Challenge, and weekend camping. During the summer months, TH offers a variety of programs including National Youth Leadership Training, Mountain Men, Alpine Adventure, Tahosa Trek, and EaglePoint.
Alpine Adventure is a six night mountaineering adventure in the high country of Colorado, combining the training facilities of Tahosa High Adventure Base with the lakes and vistas of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. The Scout will be members of a 12-person team, learning and applying skills to conquer the strenuous challenges of the program in a dynamic mountain environment.
Tahosa Trek was started in 1995 to provide a basic knowledge of backpacking/low impact camping, the program now offers more advanced training and longer, customized treks for the units of Scouting America.
Okpik is a weekend extreme winter camping experience design to train Scouts in winter survival. The program starts with a classroom session on Friday night to prepare the scouts. On Saturday, the scouts will load equipment and supplies into sleds before snowshoeing around Tumblesome Lake. On the far shore of the lake, participants use the remainder of the day to construct quinzhees which they spend the night in.
Tahosa Challenge is part of the Project COPE program that encourages youth and adults to expand mental creativity, increase physical abilities, promote leadership skills and instill personal confidence.
EaglePoint is the newest addition to Tahosa. Founded in 2000 at Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, EaglePoint is a troop run camp with access to the Tahosa High Adventure Base facilities. With a small staff, troops can build their own schedule and do whatever they would like for their week at camp. This program had a predecessor that started as early as 1991 called Eagle Quest.
Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch
Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch is the main camping location of the Greater Colorado Council of Scouting America. The camp, built in the 1960s by the Army Corps of Engineers, was a replacement to the original camp, Camp Tahosa. The camp is located just outside Elbert, Colorado.
Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch is home to three separate camps: Camp Cris Dobbins; Camp Cortlandt Dietler; and Magness Adventure Camp. Like Tahosa, Peaceful Valley also hosted a troop-run camp also called EaglePoint; however, as of 2009, EaglePoint is defunct. Additionally, in 2005, Scouting America Denver Area Council acquired a large section of land adjacent to Peaceful Valley, and is the location of their Magness Adventure Camp for Cub Scouts.
Facilities include the Travis Shooting Sports Facility, which contains an Olympic shotgun shooting range, the Gates Aquatic Center, a horse corral, BB Gun range, two lakes, and the three above mentioned camps. The camp also has a bronze boot print casts of Robert Baden Powell located near the main camp office.
Camp Cris Dobbins is the flagship camp of Peaceful Valley. The camp is home to The Travis Shooting Facility, which includes an Olympic shotgun range, the million dollar Gates Aquatic Center, a dining hall which underwent a nearly twelve million dollar renovation and expansion in 2019, and over twenty campsites. The camp, with a capacity of around 700 campers, offers dozens of merit badges and programs for scouts of all ages.
Camp Dietler, founded in 1988 by William Eck, is a patrol style summer camp experience. While merit badges are offered, the main focus is on the patrol method. This is carried out through patrol cooking, events determined by the patrol leader's council, and a choice of two high adventure outposts. The camp is named for Cortlandt Dietler, who donated the money to build the camp commissary.
Magness Adventure Camp is the Denver Area Council's Cub Scout camp. The camp has three shelters, each with a campsite housing eighty tents. The program includes lake activities, a BB Gun range, an archery range, recently added a slingshot paint ball range and a firewatch tower that overlooks Elbert County. The camp is also available for rental by outside groups, and is often frequented by groups such as Denver's High School ROTC and girls groups from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.