We are currently updating our Where to go Camping Guide and are looking for your input. Please use this form to submit you favorite camping locations for review.

The first Where-to-Go Camping booklet was published around 1960. Members of the Lodge Camping Committee compiled about thirty campsites located throughout the council and printed descriptions of them. The booklet was then distributed to all Scoutmasters in the council. The cover was designed by Don Reeve and Holland St. John, both of Richland. Additional campsites were added over the next twelve years and two revisions were printed during this time.

The Ben Franklin Chapter members, under the direction of Chapter Chief David Compton of Kennewick, prepared a Where-to-Go Camping manual around 1965. This booklet included about forty campsites and gave a brief history of the Order of the Arrow, election information, and other information about the lodge.

In the mid-1970s the lodge published a completely revised form of the camping booklet. Mark Painter of Kennewick was editor of this edition and it featured maps in addition to camp information. One dollar was charged to help pay for the printing.

It was not until June of 1985 that the booklet was completely revised again. A new format was also used. Multi-color inks were used, plastic spiral bands were used to bind the manual, and official Boy Scout camps located throughout the Pacific Northwest were detailed. Other information that was found in the guide included survival skills, national camp information, the 50-Miler program, the Historic Trails program, backpacking skills, and helpful hints when going camping. The guide was prepared by Lodge Chief Tony Finfrock, Lodge Lay Adviser Bill Buchmiller and Lodge Publication Chairman Barron Black.

Several revisions have been made using the 1985 format. Information was updated and corrected in several cases, current costs to attend various council summer camps were added, and some of the pages omitted. The format was changed again to fit unit leaders' Woods Wisdom manual, which meant that the booklet was in three hole-loose leaf binder format with plastic tab identifying it. It has been distributed free to all Scoutmasters in the council since 1990. Where To Go Camping Guide