On My Own Activities
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On My Own is information dedicated to you, for those fun activities that girls and troops can do at camp.
Girls can earn badges or patches for some activities. Check to see what activities have an application form to fill out for your badge or patch.
Enjoy exploring GSNEO Camps!
Fishing 
You could try fishing for Bluegill, Large Mouth Bass, or Catfish in any of the waters of our three camps. You will need to bring your own fishing supplies (fishing pole, hooks, bait, etc.). Please abide by the following rules and be cognizant of whether others are utilizing the lakes for boating activities while you are there.
Fishing Rules
- All hooks must be barbless
- All fishing is catch and release unless otherwise authorized by the Camp Director or Camp Manager
- The person teaching fishing must have experience with fishing and be comfortable removing hooks from the fish’s mouth – campers are NOT to remove hook.
- Participants should use caution when fishing and they MUST be wary of those around them.
Geocaching
Cation! This is an “at your own risk” activity.
Whatever could happen while you’re out hiking could happen when you are geocaching. You could fall, get poison ivy, get stung, get cut, etc. Don’t do something dangerous just to get a cache. If you think it is dangerous, step back and go for another. Be aware of your surroundings. Some caches are simply not appropriate for all cachers. Caches near a busy street or a high bluff might not be the best choice if you are easily distracted or lose your balance. Some caches are camouflaged to look like electrical equipment. Never touch anything like that without an adult’s permission. You should not have to dig to find a cache, and you should respect the environment, whether man-made or natural. All caches are supposed to have permission of the landowner before being placed, but you will find caches occasionally that slipped by the reviewers and were allowed in the database without land-owner approval. If you have any doubt about your ability to get the cache safely, skip it and choose another cache to seek.
What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is an activity that involves hunting for hidden things using GPS coordinates. You can use a dedicated GPS or a smartphone. Each physical cache has a paper log to sign. Geocachers use a website (there are others, but the most popular and extensive is www.geocaching.com) to look up information about a cache before searching for it. Besides signing the physical log, they also log their finds online.
What is the History of Geocaching?
Geocaching has roots in letterboxing. In 1854, a man hid a jar with stamped postcards in Dartmoor, England and asked whoever found it to mail the card to him. That was the beginning of “letterboxing,” which involves hunting for hidden boxes that contain logbooks and rubberstamps. There are over 20,000 letterboxes in the United States. Geocaching is much younger, but more widespread. It began in May 2000, when the government removed “selective availability” from the GPS system. GPS stands for Global Positioning System and uses satellites. It was made available for civilian use on May 2. The first cache was hidden the next day, and by May 6, it had been found twice. There are now millions of geocaches placed worldwide. The basis of the word is from the French “cache,” which basically means storing things. You might have seen the word in connection with computer storage or heard about it when studying the fur-traders and explorers in early American history. It is pronounced “cash”.
Who hides them?
Other, more experienced cachers. Anyone with free membership on geocaching.com can place and list a cache, although this should really be done only by those with several finds under their belt, and who plan to stick around and maintain their caches.
Geocaches on GSNEO camp properties are placed by Council Staff.
How do you Geocache?
You will need to supply your own “tech” and at least one adult member of your group needs to sign up for a free account at www.geocaching.com. When you create an account, you choose a nickname to sign on the cache logs. You are free to create a “team” name, so you could create one for your troop.
To geocaches on GSNEO camp properties, an account is not required. You will still need your own technology, which is as simple as your smartphone. Using a map application, you will enter the coordinates for a cache and then walk towards it, be sure to follow trails when searching. Typically, the coordinates will get you to the general area within a couple feet, then the search is on for the cache.
What are “GPS coordinates”?
The Earth is divided into sections using lines that are called latitude and longitude. The ones that go around the Earth parallel to the equator are called latitude, and the ones that circle the Earth through the poles are called longitude. Any point on earth can be pinpointed by its latitude and longitude. As you go further away from the equator, the degrees of latitude increase. One degree of latitude covers approximately 69 miles. That’s a pretty big area. So, the numbers to pinpoint an exact location have additional digits. There is a cache placed on the grounds of the state capitol in Jefferson City. The coordinates for it are N 38° 34.793 W 092° 10.324. The additional numbers are referred to as hours and minutes. In this example, the cache is 38 degrees, 34 minutes and 793 seconds north of the equator. There are other formats for coordinates such as Degrees Decimal Minutes and Decimal Degrees.
GSENO caches use a simplified Decimal Degrees method. These coordinate sets are easier to type into a phone application.
Geocaching at GSNEO Camps
On GSNEO Camps, there are ten (10) standard geocaches that contain a log book to sign. In addition, there are two (2) Treasure Caches where you will be allowed to leave swaps. Please only take a swap if you leave a swap. These geocaches are private caches so they will not be found on public websites. The documents below contain the coordinates for all active geocaches as well as a simple clue to help you narrow your search.
>>Camp Ledgewood Geocache 2026
>>Camp Sugarbush Geocache 2026
>>Camp Timberlane Geocache 2026
Interested in helping with the Geocaches at camp?
Council Staff check geocaches twice a year. Sometimes they need serviced more than this, that’s where you can help. If you are going on a Geocaching adventure and want to provide service to camp, contact Beth Stokley at bstokley@gsneo.org to receive supplies to service and replace caches that are not in good shape or missing.
Be sure to check out the Girl Scout Junior Geocacher badge!
Geocaching Dictionary
FTF- First to find
Latitude- horizontal lines on the globe that run parallel to the Equator
Longitude- vertical lines on the globe that converge at the North and South Poles
Coordinates- A pair of numbers that pinpoint an exact position on the Earth
LNT- Leave No Trace
GPS- Global Positioning System- a system of satellites working with a GPS receiver to determine a person’s location on Earth
Geocache- A hidden container that usually includes a logbook for geocachers to sign
Letterbox- another form of treasure hunting using clues instead of coordinates
Bug- a trackable tag with a unique code that can be attached to an item
DNF- Did not find
Find count- number of geocaches a geocacher finds
Geocacher- one who is participating in geocaching
Ground Zero- The point where the GPS device shows that you have reached the geocache location, you are withing feet away from your destination
Muggle- a non-geocacher
Swap- trade items left in treasure caches
Log- The physical record of everyone who has signed/interacted with a cache
Letterboxing
Caution! This is an “at your own risk” activity.
Whatever can happen while you’re out hiking could happen when you are Letterboxing. You could fall, get poison ivy, get stung, get cut, etc. Don’t do something dangerous just to get a box. If you think it is dangerous, step back and go for another. Be aware of your surroundings. Some letterboxes are camouflaged. Never touch anything like that without an adult’s permission. You should not have to dig to find a box, and you should respect the environment, whether man-made or natural. If you have any doubt about your ability to get the box safely, skip it and choose another letterbox to seek.
What is Letterboxing?
Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art, and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes.
At GSNEO Camps, these boxes are wooden and contain a logbook and a rubbing plate. The clues for each camp’s letterboxes can be found below. Each camp has a different theme of rubbing plates and no two are the same. Letterboxers should bring their own personal notebook to record the rubbing plates in as well as a pencil or crayon and their stamp or something to sign the logbook.
What is the History of Letterboxing?
The origin of letterboxing can be traced to England in 1854. A well-known Dartmoor guide, James Perrott, placed a bottle for visiting cards at Cranmere Pool. From this, hikers on the moors began to leave a letter or postcard inside a box along the trail (sometimes addressed to themselves, sometimes a friend or relative)—hence the name “letterboxing”. The next person to discover the site would collect the postcards and post them. Interest in letterboxing in the US is generally considered to have started with a feature article in the Smithsonian magazine in April 1998.
Who Hides Them?
Other letterboxers hide boxes and post their clues online. When placing a letterbox, be sure to always have the landowner’s permission and be prepared to maintain the box.
At GSNEO, all boxes are placed by Council Staff who also service the boxes. These letterboxes are private so they will not be found on a public website.
Letterboxing at GSNEO Camps
On GSNEO Camps, there are eight (8) Traditional Letterboxes that contain a log book to sign and a unique rubbing plate. These letterboxes are private boxes so they will not be found on public websites. The documents below contain the clues for all active letterboxes.
>>Camp Ledgewood Letterboxing 2026
>>Camp Sugarbush Letterboxing 2026
>>Camp Timberlane Letterboxing 2026
Interested in helping with the Letterboxes at camp?
Council Staff check letterboxes twice a year. Sometimes they need serviced more than this, that’s where you can help. If you are going on a letterboxing adventure and want to provide service to camp, contact Beth Stokley at bstokley@gsneo.org to receive supplies to service and replace boxes that are not in good shape or missing.
Be sure to check out the Girl Scout Brownie Letterboxer badge!
Letterboxing Dictionary
Traditional Box- A normal letterbox, hidden and uses clue to find it.
Mystery box- These are usually traditional boxes, but these “mystery” boxes have vague starting areas, no starting areas, no descriptions, no clue—any number of things to make the box extremely hard to find.
Bonus Box- The clues for these are usually found in a traditional box as an extra one to find. Usually planted in the same area as the traditional that hosts its clue. Clues can be distributed in any way.
Word of Mouth Box (WOM)- The clue is given by word of mouth, or typed up, but a Letterboxer can only receive the clue from the planter.
Cuckoo clue- A clue without a home. The clue is hidden in another letterbox (similar to clues for a bonus boxes), but the Letterboxer that finds the clue is expected to move the clue to another nearby letterbox. The cuckoo clue typically contains directions to limit how far the clue should travel to find a new home.
Hitchhiker- A traveling letterbox, it is placed in a traditional letterbox for another Letterboxer to find. When found, it is stamped just like a traditional letterbox, but is then carried by the Letterboxer to the next letterbox they find and then left in that letterbox for the next finder. The hitchhiker's stamp should also be recorded in the host letterbox’s logbook, and vice versa.
Flea- Like a combination of a hitchhiker and a cootie. Either put in a traditional letterbox, like a hitchhiker, or put it on a person, like a cootie.
Limited time Box- letterbox that has only been planted for a short amount of time. (A few days or a week, any time length the planter wants.)
Circle poem- A circle poem is a kind of ‘art’ letterbox developed in Britain. There are one hundred planned boxes, each of which contains a rubber stamp circle poem by the Scottish poet and artist, Alec Finlay. These are sited at locations around the world, and each has its own nominated keeper.
Letterbox- A hidden stash whose location is found only by following clues. A traditional letterbox contains, at minimum, a rubber stamp and logbook. A letterbox’s contents are usually packed in two sturdy zip lock plastic bags and then placed in a waterproof container to protect from the elements.
Clue- The key to finding a letterbox. A clue can be created in many different formats: in rhyme, as a riddle, as a story, with pictures or cartoons, or as directions with paces or compass headings. The only limit is your imagination!
Clue sheet- A printed copy of clues to one or more letterboxes.
Letterbox series- Two or more letterboxes planted as a group.
Hitchhiker- A letterbox with no permanent home. A hitchhiker is carried by a Letterboxer from one box to another, where it is left for the next visitor to find.
Cootie- A small letterbox that is passed surreptitiously from Letterboxer to Letterboxer. Cooties originally began as an activity for kids at Letterboxing gatherings, in which kids recorded their thumbprints in a cootie and secretly passed it along to another child or adult. Cooties have evolved into a very small letterbox that can be hidden in a pocket or backpack of another Letterboxer, and thus travel from individual to individual.
Microbox- A very small letterbox, sometimes in a container as small as a film canister.
Litterbox- A letterbox that has been abandoned by its owner.
Spoiler- Any information posted to a Letterboxing discussion group (or any other public location) that interprets clues, provides extra hints or otherwise helps give away the location of a letterbox, thereby spoiling the enjoyment of the search for others.
Trail name- Most Letterboxers adopt a “trail name” which they use to sign letterbox logs. These sobriquets reflect some aspect of the Letterboxer’s personality, and can be humorous, light-hearted or straightforward. Personal stamps usually reflect this name, as well.
Rubber stamp- Rubber stamps are used in Letterboxing in two ways. Letterboxers have their own personal stamps, usually hand carved or custom created for that particular Letterboxer. Each letterbox also has its own stamp, which Letterboxers record in their personal journals.
Personal journal- A Letterboxer's private book used to record the rubber stamp impressions of letterboxes she has found. A Letterboxer's journal might also include personal stamps exchanged with other Letterboxers, as well as event stamps.
Logbook- Also known simply as a “log.” A book included in a letterbox to record visitors to that box.
Box in, bag out- A principle of Letterboxing aimed at helping to maintain the natural environment in which Letterboxing takes place. It’s a good habit to carry a trash bag with you as you letterbox, in order to pick up any trash you find along the way. If all letterboxes would practice “Box in, bag out,” it would have a significant impact on the outdoors.
Rainy Day Activities
Troop Totes
Looking to be a rainy weekend at camp? Borrow one (or multiple!) of these totes, each of which contain unique resources for all age ranges that are easy to use! Totes can be found at all three camps: Camp Ledgewood (Chickadee Program Center), Camp Timberlane (Welcome Center), and Camp Sugarbush (Lodge). Please only sign-out one tote at a time for your troop.
Available Totes:
- World Friendship
- Inside Games
- Birds
- Trees
- Women of Significance
- Lummi Sticks
Spice Up Your Hikes!
Taking a hike around camp is a great way to get your girls active at camp, explore the great outdoors, and perhaps work on some badgework. Below are some easy ways to spice up your hikes with girls and really get them involved in the experience.
**Always watch out for poison ivy at camp whenever you are hiking along the trails!
Themed Hikes
Color Hike: Bring with you a selection of crayons or paint chip samples. Have each girl select one or several (avoid greens and browns for more of a challenge!). For the duration of the hike, girls should be on the lookout for items that match the color(s) in their hand as closely as possible.
Scavenger Hunt Hike: Keep it as simple as playing an outdoor game of “I Spy”. Create your own list of things to find (four shades of green, something man-made, heart-shaped rock, etc.), or print off a scavenger hunt bingo (don’t forget pencils!) for girls to use on their hike.
ABC Hike: Pair up girls. Each team must look for items (or sounds!) that begin with each letter of the alphabet, starting with A. Each team is competing against each other to get as far through the alphabet as possible, so they don’t want to shout out what they find! You cannot move to the next letter until an object is found with the letter before it.
Macro Hike: Have an adult with a camera or smartphone walk ahead on the trail and take a macro (super close-up photo) of something along the trail: a mushroom, knot in a tree, crack in a rock, etc. The close-up should focus on part of the object rather than the whole thing (can’t make it too easy!). When the group arrives in the vicinity, give the girls a boundary (maybe 10-by-10 ft.), show them the picture, and then it’s a race to see who finds the object first! Could be played with teams of two for large groups.
Bugs Hike: How many different bugs can you find on your hike? Looking high and low (even under logs – just make sure to put the log back in its place), explore the nooks and crannies of the woods. Adults – even if this makes you squeamish, let the girls have fun exploring. It’s always amazing what they’ll unearth. And we promise most of the bugs at camp are harmless!
Sound Hike: Hear and identify all sounds heard along the way.
Homes Hike: Look for nature’s homes, like nests, holes, spider webs (but make sure not to disturb them!).
Shadow Walk: Walk only in the shadows. This may require some jumping!
Hiking Games/Activities
Fit on a Penny: Bring a penny for each girl. During the hike, find a spot to stop and give each girl a penny. Give them 5-10 minutes to find as many things as possible that will fit on the penny. Have each girl share what she finds.
Sketching or Drawing: Bring notebooks or paper and pencils/crayons. Have each girl find a comfortable spot along or just off the trail and draw what she sees – close up and scenery can be equally beautiful, so let each girl choose what she wants to draw!
Phenology: Phenology is the study of plant and animal cycles throughout the seasons. If you come to camp multiple times per year (although you can still do this just once!), find a special place at camp, and have each girl choose her own special spot within that space. This could be the base of a tree, next to a big rock, on a log, etc. Bring notebooks or paper and pencils/crayons. Have each girl spend several minutes observing and writing down (or draw if she would prefer!) what she sees/hears/smells/feels from the nature around her. If you come back multiple times per year, return to the same special place and do the observations again. Compare observations each time.
Sports and Recreation
Do you girls always have a ton of energy? Get them involved in some awesome sports and games while they’re at camp - from Gaga Ball to volleyball and ice skating, there's lots to do at camp for active girls!
Camp Ledgewood
*Balls and other equipment are available on the back porch of the Health Hut. Please return all items to where you found them.
- Gaga Ball - located in the field before you get to the Pool
- Volleyball court - located in the field before you get to the Pool
- Snowshoes - Seasonally Available when 2" of snow or more. Check with Camp Coach upon arrival for availability.
Camp Timberlane
*Balls and other equipment are available in the shed between the Edgewater Program Building and the Low Ropes course. Please return all items to where you found them.
- Gaga Ball - located in front of Edgewater
- Ice Skating rink - seasonally available next to the barns seen from the Welcome Center (must bring your own ice skates)
- Snowshoes - Seasonally Available when 2" of snow or more. Check with the Camp Manager or Camp Coach upon arrival for availability.
Camp Sugarbush
*Ask the Camp Coach for balls and other equipment
- Gaga Ball - located next to the pool
- Volleyball court - located behind the pool
- Snowshoes - Seasonally Available when 2" of snow or more. Check with the Camp Manager or Camp Coach upon arrival for availability.
Theater and Drama
Do your girls enjoy making up their own stories and acting them out? Make use of one of the many amphitheater spaces at any of our camps. Please note that these spaces are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and we ask that you share the space with everyone at camp!
Camp Ledgewood
Amphitheater - from Low Lodge, walk past Chickadee Program Center down the road towards Brownie Holiday House, and you will find the amphitheater on your left.
Lakefront fire circle - this is also a wonderful place to get your creative juices flowing!
Camp Timberlane
Windy Hill Amphitheater - walk behind the Welcome Center on the north side of the lake and follow the lake’s edge until you find the amphitheater which is built into the hill.
Camp Sugarbush
Green Cathedral - follow the main path past the Lodge and as you get closer to the Rockledge unit. Look to the right for a path down toward the water.
Wanderer Patch
Are you interested in hiking? All year long, explore the backwoods of GSNEO camp properties and work towards earning the “Wanderer” Patch! The GSNEO Wanderer Patch Program was created to encourage progression using our trails, keeping our trails viable, and promote a healthy and active lifestyle for our Girl Scouts! Come get a day pass and wander with us!
For more information, download either Camp Timberlane or Ledgewood’s Wanderer Forms, located below:
>>Ledgewood Wanderer Form
>>Timberlane Wanderer Form
Note: We are currently working on establishing more trails at Camp Sugarbush. In the near future, we will be offering the Sugarbush Wanderer.
Younger Girl Fun!
Visit Brownie Land at Camp Ledgewood
What is Brownie Land? Brownie Land is where the Brownie Elves go to play in the woods of camp! This special spot is nestled in the pine trees near the entrance of camp. You can find Brownie Land by walking toward Brownie Holiday House from the main camp and finding the path into the woods at the far end of the building. Alternately you can walk to the main gate and turn left to follow the fence until you arrive at the sign indicating you have arrived. Girls love to explore the branch huts and play with the many "creatures" that call Brownie Land home.
Visit Gnome Village at Camp Timberlane
Take your troop on a hike to visit Gnome Village where the gnomes and Oogly Moo, the Camp Timberlane spirit, live among the trees and on the forest floor! As you hike towards this charming destination, look up to the tree trunks where you might just find some tiny gnome friends pointing the way. Located on Woodhaven Trail, a stop to Gnome Village will thrill and delight. Don’t forget to bring your camera and perhaps a fairytale to share!
