We are excited that you and your troop want to go camping! Here are your next steps for having an amazing outdoor experience.
Jump to:
For a quick reference PDF check out our Troop Camping Starter Guide!
Ensure that your Girl Scouts are ready to go camping
There are a lot of factors to consider when determining if your Girl Scouts are ready to go camping. You can complete the camping readiness survey below which can help you determine what level of camping opportunity your troop is ready to try.
Check out our Camp Readiness PDF
Ensure that you have the appropriate trained adults
For your troop to be ready to go on a camping trip you’ll need to have a few adults trained! You will need a Cookout/Campout Certified adult and a different adult needs to be First Aide Certified.
Check out Volunteer Essentials for more specifics on requirements for your camping trip!
Ready to take a training to get your troop outdoors?
Reserve your campsite
Your Girl Scouts are ready to go camping, you have adults with all of the required training, now it's time to book a campsite for your trip.
Find our in depth PDF for reserving a campsite.
1. Decide what kind of site your troop wants
There are a variety of camp site options to consider! We recommend you choose a site based on your troop’s age, readiness, and preference. Learn a little more about our site types here:
Types of campsites 
2. Pick a Camp
We have 8 camp properties across Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each is unique and full of awesome camping opportunities!
Picking a Camp involves a number of factors:
Does it have the Site type my Troop wants?
Does it have the activities my Troop wants?
How far is it from home?
Is it available for the dates we have in mind?
To learn more about our camp properties, check out their pages here
Maryland Camps
Virginia Camps
West Virginia Camps
3. Review Availability
We have a variety of weekend activities that take place on our Camp Properties! Some of these your troop can get involved with and others might block the camp for reservations.
To see what weekend’s camps might not be available check out our calendar: https://bit.ly/GSCampAvailabilityCalendar
The first tab of this page is an overview with helpful links and long term closures. Scroll through the tabs to find the month you are considering going to see if it is available.
Campsites open for reservations 3 month prior to the start of the reservation. Sites can be reserved fairly quickly. For quick reference check out our reservations calendar here: gscnc.doubleknot.com/app/calendar/reservationlist/3056
4. Use doubleknot to reserve a site
Doubleknot is the location for reserving our campsites. Campsites will open for reservations 3 months prior to the start of the reservation. For example, Reservations for June 1 will open March 1
Quick Reference Doubleknot Reservation Steps:
Select the camp you will be reserving through “reserve a camp”
Select the kind of reservation you would like
Overnight
Day Use
High Adventure
Select the Site or Activity you would like to reserve.
Select the date you would like to reserve.
IMPORTANT: You must select both the start and end of your reservation. (e.i. For Overnight Clicking April 19 to begin and April 21 to end; For Day Use or High Adventure Selecting 10am to begin and 12pm to end.)
- Click Check out and complete your information and payment.
Check out this resource for a more in depth overview of how to make a reservation: How to make a reservation at a GSCNC property
We have a quick reference guide in our Camping FAQs
Can’t find a GSCNC site that fits your dates, location, and other needs? Check out this resource we’ve pulled together with the help of other Girl Scout troops and service units of other places they’ve had successful camping trips! https://bit.ly/campsitesuggestions
Plan your activities
Make your Outdoor adventure complete by planning out your activities! Building a campfire for s’mores, doing a High Adventure activity, going for a hike, and learning about nature are all great ways to spend your time outside!
When making your plan you’ll need to:
Ask your Girl Scouts what they want to do
Make a plan for what activities you’ll have and about how long they’ll take
Prepare for things to not go according to the plan
Find examples of activities by program level on our Troop Camping page
Ready to go camping but not ready to plan the activities? Try out a Core Camp or our Weekend Facilitator Led Programming!
Core Camps
Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital holds Core Camps each spring and fall at our camp properties. Core Camps are fun weekends at a camp designed and organized by volunteers and teen Girl Scouts. Core Camps give troops the opportunity to go camping and not worry about what activities to do when they get there!
Core camp signup happens by lottery, about 6 months prior to the event. Troops register for the lottery together. Core camp offerings and the link to the lottery are posted in our Outdoor and High Adventure Rallyhood.
Weekend Facilitator Led Programming : https://bit.ly/weekendcampgscnc
Girl Scouts Nation's Capital Camping Team is excited to host Weekend programming on 6 of our properties throughout the year!
Our weekend facilitators will lead your youth and/or troop through a series of wonderful activities such as high adventure, STEM programs, team building, arts & crafts and more! The choice is yours. There are programs for audiences of all ages from daisy to ambassador. Bring your brothers or your cousins too! Families are invited and encouraged to attend as long as one person is an active member of Girl Scouts.
Available at Brighton Woods, Coles Trip, Crowell, Potomac Woods, White Rock and Winona.
Go Camping!
You’ve planned your trip, reserved your campsite, and are ready to go camping. Have fun!
Still have questions? Check out our FAQ Document: https://bit.ly/GSCNCCampFAQ
