Camping is at the heart of Scouting, and this badge celebrates all the nights you spend outdoors. You'll learn to plan, pack, cook, and camp safely while leaving the land as you found it. Most of the work happens naturally on troop campouts, so keep track of your nights from the start.
Why it's worth it
Camping is where Scouting stops being something you read about and becomes something you can do. Every night outside teaches you to plan ahead, stay calm when the weather turns, and look after the people in your tent. The confidence carries home: a Scout who can keep a patrol fed and dry in the rain can handle a lot of other hard things too.
Start this week
- Start a camping log today. Write down every night you've already camped with your troop: the date, the place, and one thing you did.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Camping counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Look at the troop calendar and circle the next three campouts. Each one is a chance to work on a different requirement.
- Lay out your gear at home and check it against the Scout Basic Essentials. Make a list of what's missing or worn out.
Plan ahead: Requirement 9 takes 20 nights of camping, so it usually takes the longest. Count nights from your first troop campout and work on the other requirements along the way.
Stay safe
- Use stoves and fires only with adult supervision, and follow your troop's and the campsite's fire rules.
- Check the forecast before you go and know what your patrol will do if a storm comes in.
Requirements · 10
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
- Requirement 1
Safety, weather, and first aid
Tips for this section: Learn first aid for common camping problems like blisters, insect stings, and heat or cold injuries. Check the forecast before every trip.
- Requirement 1a
Explain to your counselor the hazards you're most likely to meet while camping and how to anticipate, prevent, reduce, and respond to them
- Requirement 1b
Discuss with your counselor why you should watch the weather before and during campouts, and tell how you'd be ready if it turns bad
- Requirement 1c
Show you know how to prevent and give first aid for camping injuries and illnesses: blisters, dehydration, hypothermia, frostbite, heat reactions, altitude sickness, hyperventilation, insect stings, tick bites, and snakebite
- Requirement 2
Learn what Leave No Trace's Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code mean and explain them, then write a plan for how you and your group will follow them on your next outing
Tip: Use the Leave No Trace principles on every campout. Write your plan with a specific upcoming trip in mind.
For example: Pick your patrol's next trip and write a Leave No Trace plan just for it. For example: "We'll repackage food into reusable bags at home so there's less trash, camp on the gravel pads, and do a litter sweep of the site before we leave."
- Requirement 3
Write a plan for an overnight trek, then show you can reach the campsite using a topographic map plus one of these tools. Choose 1 of 3
Tip: Practice navigation in a local park before your trek. Share your plan with your patrol and leaders.
For example: Plan a two-day hike on a state park trail. Mark the route on a paper map, note water sources and a bail-out point, and practice taking compass bearings between two landmarks in a local park first.
- Requirement 3a
A compass
- Requirement 3b
A GPS receiver
- Requirement 3c
A smartphone with a GPS app
- Requirement 4
Duty rosters and helping others camp
Tips for this section: Make a duty roster that shares jobs fairly. Help a younger patrol or unit get ready for their trip.
Example for this section: On a sheet, list each patrol member and the jobs for each meal: cook, assistant cook, water and fire, cleanup. Rotate jobs so no one scrubs pots twice in a row, then post it at camp.
- Requirement 4a
Make a duty roster for a real overnight campout that shows how your patrol is organized and what each member does
- Requirement 4b
Help a Scout patrol or Webelos unit near you get ready for a real campout: duty roster, menus, gear, overall planning, and setting up camp
- Requirement 5
Clothing, footwear, and essentials
Tips for this section: Build your gear list from what worked, and didn't, on past campouts. Keep your Scout Basic Essentials in your pack.
- Requirement 5a
List the clothes you'd need for overnight campouts in warm weather and in cold weather, and explain what layering means
- Requirement 5b
Discuss footwear for different weather and why the right footwear protects your feet
- Requirement 5c
Explain how to care for and store camping gear, including clothing, footwear, and bedding
- Requirement 5d
List the Scout Basic Essentials for any campout and explain why you need each one
- Requirement 5e
Show your pack to your Scoutmaster for inspection, dressed and equipped correctly for an overnight campout
- Requirement 6
Tents, sanitation, packs, and sleeping bags
Tips for this section: Compare different tents your troop uses. Pick campsites on durable ground away from water and hazards.
- Requirement 6a
Describe 4 kinds of tents, when and where to use each, and how to care for tents; then pitch a tent with another Scout
- Requirement 6b
Discuss why camp sanitation matters and why water must be treated, then show 2 ways to treat water
- Requirement 6c
Describe what to think about when choosing where to set up your tent
- Requirement 6d
Explain how internal- and external-frame packs differ and discuss the pros and cons of each
- Requirement 6e
Discuss kinds of sleeping bags and which suit different conditions, explain how to care for yours and keep it dry, and make a comfortable bed on the ground
- Requirement 7
Get ready for a patrol overnight
Tips for this section: Pack the night before and check your list twice. Pack so you can reach rain gear quickly.
- Requirement 7a
Make a checklist of the personal and patrol gear you'll need
- Requirement 7b
Pack your gear plus your share of patrol equipment and food; show you can reach first-needed items quickly and that the pack is comfortable, balanced, neat, and not too heavy or bulky
- Requirement 8
Stoves, menus, and camp cooking
Tips for this section: Plan a menu your patrol will enjoy. Use stoves only with adult supervision, following safety rules.
Example for this section: Plan a weekend menu for your patrol with recipes and a food list: two breakfasts, three lunches, and two suppers, like oatmeal with fruit, wraps, and a one-pot chili. On a campout, cook one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner from it, with at least one as a trail meal on a lightweight stove, and note what you'd change next time.
- Requirement 8a
Stove and fuel safety
- Requirement 8a1
Explain safety steps for using a propane or butane/propane stove
- Requirement 8a2
Explain safety steps for using a liquid fuel stove
- Requirement 8a3
Explain how to store extra fuel safely
- Requirement 8b
Discuss the pros and cons of different kinds of lightweight cooking stoves
- Requirement 8c
Plan a camp menu with recipes and a food list for your patrol (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 suppers); explain how it would differ for a backpacking or float trip and how to protect food from weather, animals, and contamination
- Requirement 8d
While camping outdoors, cook at least 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, and 1 dinner for your patrol from your 8c menu; at least one must be a trail meal cooked on a lightweight stove
- Requirement 9
Camping experience
Tips for this section: Keep a camping log with dates, places, and what you did. Ask your leaders which experiences count.
- Requirement 9a
Camp 20+ nights at designated Scouting events; one long-term camp counts up to 6 nights, and each added long-term camp counts 2. Sleep under the sky, in a tent you pitched (unless set up for you), a safe outdoor hammock, or an open-front shelter; cabins, hotels, and lock-ins don't count
- Requirement 9b
Outdoor adventures on your campouts. Choose 2 of 6
- Requirement 9b1
With proper preparation and qualified supervision, hike up a mountain, climbing at least 1,000 vertical feet
- Requirement 9b2
With proper preparation and qualified supervision, backpack, snowshoe, or cross-country ski at least 4 miles
- Requirement 9b3
With proper preparation and qualified supervision, bike at least 15 miles or for at least 4 hours
- Requirement 9b4
With proper preparation and qualified supervision, take a nonmotorized water trip of at least 4 hours or 5 miles
- Requirement 9b5
With proper preparation and qualified supervision, plan and do an overnight snow campout
- Requirement 9b6
With proper preparation and qualified supervision, rappel down a route of 30 feet or more
- Requirement 9c
On one of these campouts, carry out a conservation project that the landowner or land management agency has approved, alone or with others
- Requirement 10
Discuss what this badge taught you about survival, conservation, citizenship, public health, and your own health and safety, and how Scout spirit, the Scout Oath, and the Scout Law fit with camping and outdoor ethics
Tip: Think about what you've learned from your camping nights and share a few real examples with your counselor.
For example: Bring two or three real stories to your counselor: the night it rained and how your patrol kept gear dry, or the trail you helped repair. Talk about what each one taught you.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A state park or national forest campground
Rangers can explain campsite rules, fire restrictions, and how they protect the land from overuse.
How: Have an adult call the park office or visitor center and ask if a ranger can meet your patrol for 15 minutes during your trip.
An outdoor gear shop or a gear swap
You can try on packs, compare tents, and learn how to fit gear without buying anything.
How: Go with a parent on a weekday when staff have time to answer questions. Many shops will fit a pack for free.
Where it can lead
- Park rangerProtects parks, teaches visitors, and helps keep campers safe.
- Outdoor guide or camp directorLeads trips and runs camps; starts with summer camp staff jobs many Scouts take at 15 or 16.
- Wildland firefighterWorks in forests and grasslands; outdoor skills and fitness are part of the job.
- Natural resource technicianMaintains trails and campsites and monitors land for state and federal agencies.
Ask yourself
- What was the hardest moment on a campout so far, and what got you through it?
- What do you pack every time now that you used to forget?
- When your patrol is tired, cold, or hungry, how do you help keep spirits up?
- How did the place you camped look when you left compared with when you arrived?
- What would you need to learn to plan a whole trip on your own?
Good questions to ask your counselor or an experienced camper
- What's the most useful thing you've learned from a trip that went wrong?
- How do you decide where to pitch a tent when you get to a new site?
- What gear is worth spending money on, and what can I borrow or skip?
- How do you plan meals that are easy to cook and still taste good?
- Which camping experiences in requirement 9 do Scouts usually finish last?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Help scouts keep an accurate camping log from their first campout.
- Let scouts take turns planning menus, rosters, and gear checks for troop trips.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Scoutmaster and troop's older Scouts — Great for camping tips, gear advice, and planning help.
- Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (opens in a new tab) — Principles for camping responsibly.
- National Weather Service (opens in a new tab) — Forecasts and weather safety information.
- Recreation.gov (opens in a new tab) — Find federal campgrounds and read each site's rules before your trip.
- USDA Forest Service (opens in a new tab) — National forests and grasslands near you, with camping and fire information.
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.