Horseshoe Scout Reservation--More information

Information for Horseshoe Scout Reservation (Scout-owned)

Camp address	Contact Information
1286 Ridge Road Rising Sun, MD 21911 Forecast for this area (at weather.com)	Chester County Council Council contact information Website

Map using camp address (sometimes accurate)	Map using coordinates: (always accurate)
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Comments for Horseshoe Scout Reservation

Horseshoe Reservation contains two camps--Camp Horseshoe and Camp Ware. The property covers two states, three counties and five townships.

Both camps offer summer programs for Boy Scouts, and Camp Ware offers short and long-term summer programs for Cub Scouts.

(posted on Dec 12,2000)

There's always something going on at Horseshoe. No matter what your interest is, Horseshoe has an activity that is just right for your troop or pack. Horseshoe Scout reservation, consisting of Camp Horseshoe and Camp John H. Ware III, is open year round. Although it is well known as one the finest council camps in the nation, Horseshoe is much more than just a nice place to spend a week in mid-summer. 1000 acres.

(posted on Sep 20,2001)

We went to Horseshoe Scout Reservation. New guys went to Trail Blazers, others took Merit Badges, and a few older guys took C.O.P.E. Everybody was busy all day long, and they seemed to enjoy themselves. At the end of the week we did your "Thorns and Roses" of the week. Then I explained to them that tomorrow I had the option to sign the "Stake a Claim" for next year or not. I told them it was entirely up to them. If you want to come back next year, same week, same campsite, I'd sign the papers. If you want to try something different, we could explore that, too. I promised them that either way, they would go to summer camp next year. The vote was unanimous to go back next year. That says a lot about the camp.

That's enough for now. Looking forward to hearing from the list.

Allen Maddox, SM T9
Honey Brook, PA
Chester County Council, Horseshoe Trail District
used to be a Wild and Crazy Fox

(posted on Oct 15,2001)

We just returned from Horseshoe.

ROSES:
Location: It is located in a beautiful area on a river that curves in a horseshoe-shaped loop.
In northern MD, it is convenient to DC, Baltimore and southeast PA.
Staff: Esp. Trailblazer, Health center and aquatics.
Program: We earned a lot of merit badges and rank advancements. We also learned a lot about scout skills.
Shelters: We stayed in pavillion-type shelters that had open sides and room for 8 scouts.
They were cool, allowed air flow and let the scouts get together when it rained,
but did not let the rain in or blow in. They are excellent and we wish that more camps used them.
There are no pictures of them on their website, but trust me, they are great.

THORNS:
Food: We were given a fruit or vegetable at only about 4 meals during the entire week -
mostly at the end of the week. The portions were small and much of the food had a poorly
prepared industrial quality about it. Some of the staff at the dining hall were a bit gruff and there were
many, many rules about how to clean off the tables (sort the silverware before
you return it to be washed, etc.)that delayed the boys who cleaned up after each meal for up
to 20 minutes after the meal was over. It is ironic that the scouts in cooking merit badge must prepare menus
that contain fruits and vegetables at the meals, but that the camp does not provide them
to those same campers. Many scouts did not like the food and an alternative, such as PB&J was
not offered and our requests were denied. A very large thorn.
Trails: Countless exposed roots and many poorly maintained foot bridges with loose boards and rotten supports.
We often saw tools (e.g. axes) laying in the trail.
Quartermaster: We had dificulty getting tools to do the service projects we were assigned. We
resorted to taking a rake that we found in the trail and using it.
Marching: Yes, marching. Every evening before dinner, the troops march in a parade and are
judged on their ability to march together. Some troops actually set aside time in their troop
meetings to practice this instead of learning scout skills.
Leader Info: The info for leaders has little detailed info about the various events and how
the troop's participation in them will count toward the awards that are given at the end of
camp. The info seems more like it is meant to remind leaders who already know the stuff and
have been to the camp before and less like something this is written to inform the leaders
who have never attend Horseshoe.
Length: The camp goes from Sunday before dinner to Sunday after lunch - 7 full days.
That is a long time for 11 year-old scouts. (And scoutmasters.)

OVERALL:
I don't expect our troop to vote to return to Horseshoe.
While the camp has a lot to offer, the food and other problems are just too much to compete with
other camps in the Mid-Atlantic region.
If you are interested in going to Horseshoe, I recommend getting as much information
from a troop that goes every year as you can. You will get into the flow faster and better than we did.
And bring some fruit.

an anonymous ASM

(posted on Jul 30,2006)

I feel it is my responsibility to rebut the previous negative comments made about the camp. I am a 7 year alumni of the summer program at Camp Horseshoe and have never experienced any of the problems that the previous ASM pointed out. Nor did I see any of them this year, as I went down with my troop just 1 week after the anonymous ASM.

Without knowing the ASM, his comments would leave me to believe that he has very little experience at BSA camps. The food quality, for the number of people served is high. And they offer a fruit after both breakfast and lunch and a vegetable at every dinner. They offer alternative foods for those with medical problems, feeding a group of that size doesn't allow much time for catering to picky eaters. I would like to back up the camp, and assert they do a good job with what they are given, and apologize if they are not La Bec-Fin. Also as far as the clean up procedures go, it would take hours for the staff to clean up your tables, and they give you ample time to clean up your own tables and continue with normal activities.

As far as his complaint about tools, there is a special building in the camp to which you report and may sign out tools for your troop. You are required to look no further than the leader guide you are handed 2 weeks before reporting to camp for this information. And during my years at the camp I have never once seen a tool laying loose on the trails.

As far as trail quality goes, you have to watch your step. We have not had any issues in my years with injuries due to trails.

MARCHING - Marching is a awesome Camp Horseshoe tradition! And yes many troop do use some time to practice marching during the year. It is a show of respect to the United States and to the heritage of the camp. And is a very rewarding part of camp for many people.

They hand out a leader packet 2 weeks prior to camp, there has never been any issue with it.

And length, it is only a week. And during the week there are many rank advancements, merit badges, and other accomplishments. IT is considered the mainstay of many troops scouting programs.

I feel that the previous post has been extremely unfair to Camp Horseshoe. He may have had his issues with the camp, which is no Hilton Head Resort. But it is widely considered one of the Premiere Scout Camps in the nation.

(posted on Nov 11,2006)

This Camp was first one as a Boy Scout (11), I am now 70 years old and would like to visit there on more time. I remember nothing but a good time. I came from a troop in Parkerford PA. My father was a soldier at Valley Forge Army Hosp.

(posted on Feb 14,2009)

I am a Cubmaster, I'm almost 60 years old and I've been in scouting almost continuously for the past 52 years. I grew up in upstate New York, but was in the Air Force 22 years and lived from Alaska to Germany. I've taken troops as scoutmaster and packs to probably close to 25 summer camps between boy scouts and cub scouts. I took both my adult son and his son to Camp Ware last summer. It was the perfect location to have 3 generations of scouts attend their first camp together. I cannot imagine a more awesome camp. Gabe, my grandson was just finishing his Lion Cub year in scouting, so this camp is now his benchmark. It'll be tough to beat it anywhere in the world. I've been to camps from England to Switzerland, Germany, and all over the United States. Nice job, Camp Ware. We'll be there again next summer!

(posted on Jun 14,2019)

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