Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America's largest national high-adventure base. It covers 137,000 acres - about 214 square miles - of rugged mountain 
wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) range of the Rocky Mountains in northern New Mexico.
Thirty-four staffed camps and 55 trail camps are operated by the ranch. Philmont has high mountains dominating rough terrain with elevations ranging from 6,500 to 12,441 feet.
History
Philmont has a unique history of ancient Native Americans who chipped petroglyphs into canyon walls, Spanish conquistadors who explored the Southwest long before the first colonists arrived on the Atlantic coast, the rugged breed of mountain man like Kit Carson who blazed trails across this land, the great land barons like Lucien Maxwell who built ranchos along the Santa Fe Trail, and miners, loggers, and cowboys. All these people left their mark on Philmont.
Wildlife
Wildlife is abundant at Philmont. Deer, elk, coyote, antelope, mountain lion, buffalo, beaver, wild turkey, bear, and others all live here. Philmont's hills and canyons teem with birds, and its streams abound with fish. Its cool mountains harbor a wilderness of bounty - trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses.
Beauty
Philmont is rich in natural beauty, including the soaring Tooth of Time, sunrise from lofty Mount Waite Phillips, the blue water of Cimarroncito Reservoir, the panoramic sweep of the plains from Urraca Mesa, and sunlight filtering through the aspens along the rippling Rayado.
Program
Philmont Scout Ranch provides an unforgettable adventure in sky-high backpacking country along hundreds of miles of rugged, rocky trails. Program features combine the best of the Old West - horseback riding, burro packing, gold panning, chuckwagon dinners, and interpretive history - with exciting challenges for today, such as rock climbing, burro racing, mountain biking, and .30-06 rifle shooting. It's an unbeatable recipe for fast-moving fun and the outdoors.
Fellowship
Philmont means camping with your own unit as well as meeting and sharing experiences with other crews from all over America and from other countries. This is an opportunity for fellowship and understanding unequaled anywhere in America.
Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base
Your scout crew will enter the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base through the portal of the fur trading post stockade. This historic canoe base is located 22 miles
east of Ely on beautiful Moose Lake, the premier entry point into the Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area. The base features 28 sleeping cabins, a trading post, rustic dining hall, voyageur encampment area, Bay Post outfitters and an authentic post and beam style Commissary. Enjoy a voyageur rendezvous in the Lodge and a well-deserved sauna your last evening at the base. The Charles L. Sommers programs are ideally suited for novice canoeists, but offer challenging routes for experienced travelers as well.
You may choose to visit beautiful waterfalls, travel into remote country, find the best fishing locations, visit ancient pictographs, or experience a combination of all of these.
Northern Tier National High Adventure Program operates within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and is a Cooperator with the USDA Forest Service under the Superior National Forest. We issue permits into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), part of the National Wilderness Reservation System. To preserve the wilderness, visitors to the BWCAW must follow certain regulations.
Click on this link to learn the details: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/bwcaw.
