Family Adventure Camp: Philmont
Philmont is 140,000 acres in New Mexico, making it the largest youth camp in the country. There are over 315 miles of trails and 770 campsites. Philmont is a high adventure base for Boy Scouts of America (one of the 3 locations in the US). We had a blast last summer at Family Adventure Camp at Bechtel Summit Reserve in West Virginia. We were excited to try this location this summer! Philmont is a new location for me and our daughters, but my husband, Mark, has been here for Scouts growing up.
Family Adventure Camp at Philmont includes lots of fun activities (hikes, climbing, outdoor adventures and camping). It is family-friendly for all ages and you don’t have to be in Scouts to attend. It is open to anyone (all ages and all skill levels). You choose your own adventure and pick an itinerary that works for your family. There is a half week or full week option. You can choose to do the scheduled activities or just rest and take in the scenery too. Each day, our family chose our own adventure. There are different tracks or schedules that you can choose from. Because of our kids’ younger ages (ages 7, 5, 3 and 8 months old), we chose the “Mini Bear,” where our experiences were targeted to younger children.
We were partnered with other young families in the same track we chose, which was just so fun to get to meet other adventure families!
Each event and hike is guided by a great and supportive staff. Philmont hires over 1,000 summer staff to run programs, treks and Family Adventure Camp.
Lodging
We stayed at one of the glamping tents for the week. There is a queen-sized bed and a separate room with 2 bunk beds (4 twin beds). The beds were super comfy, there was electricity, a ceiling fan and all linens were provided (pillows, sheets and blankets). The main room was spacious enough where we could put a pack n’ play next to our bed (for our 8 month old to sleep in). There were groups of 4 glamping tents facing each other with a gas campfire in the middle. It was really nice to start up quickly for s’mores!
The bathrooms are in a building next to the glamping tents and are all family style, where the toilet and shower are in one room. The restrooms were so clean and also enclosed (not open to the air). Towels are included, but bring your own shampoo and body soap.
Food
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included with Family Adventure Camp Philmont. The food is great and they offer kids’ meal options for some days too. For example, there were corn dogs offered one night when there was a more spicy meal offered. There is a large outdoor covered patio or also a larger room indoors to eat. A highlight for my kids were the plethora of drink options from milk to Gatorade to lemonade! High chairs were available as well.
Included Child Care
Small Fry Center is included with Family Adventure Camp (no additional charges). There is a building on the property with amazing staff members to watch children from baby to 6 years old. If your kid is above age 6, they have a separate kids’ program called “Trappers.”
Small Fry has their own weekly schedule with fun events going on too. Our kids were mostly with us, but it was really nice to have this option. You can drop off your kids for as little or up to the full days. While we were here, it was our 8th wedding anniversary. On our anniversary, Mark and I dropped our girls off while we went for a walk and grabbed milk shakes! It was so nice to have the time as just the two of us.
Some parents were here for a conference, so their kids were at Small Fry the whole day and there was a weekly schedule for them (and they took them to lunch). Some of the high adventure activities offered are for a certain age, so it is nice to have the option to drop off younger kids if needed too.
Evening Family Events
In addition to the fun daily activities, there are free events to choose from in the evenings. One night we had Junior Wrangler night. We fed the ponies, goats and other animals! Another night was Western Night, where we dressed in our Western attire, ate buffalo burgers (from buffalo raised on Philmont’s land) and tried line dancing! I think my favorite evening event was Happy Trails night with lawn games, branding, dinner & ice cream and face painting.
Activity Choices:
High Ropes Course & Climbing Tower
Our 3 older kids tried the climbing tower (auto belay). There was one section with a slight incline, which was perfect for new climbers. The high ropes course is for ages 11 and up, so my husband and I adventured up there. This was something out of my comfort zone (my legs were shaking, ha!), but I loved showing my kids that I can try new things too! Our girls also tried crate stacking while here. You stand on a crate and are handed a second crate. You have to balance and climb onto the new crate without falling! Our 7yo made it to 9 crates (she was attached to a harness to catch her when she fell). I believe the current record is 23 crates!
Craft Center
Imagine pretty much any art you can create in one place…and this is it. It is open every day (can visit more than once). From painting pottery to mosaics to tie dye to leather stamping to resin, there is so much to create here. There is even a maker’s space with a sewing machine, sand art and lots to paint. The staff helped encourage our family to try new crafts. My 7yo made her own pottery cup while taking a pottery spinning class for the first time!
Lover's Leap Hike
This was our favorite hike! A guide led us on this family-friendly 3 mile hike. It was 1.5 miles to an incredible overlook. The trail goes into a canyon with epic views along the trail. We initially had to delay our hike because of thunder, but we were still able to complete it.
Hunting Lodge Campout
We were driven to a one night tent campout next to the historic hunting lodge of Waite Phillips. Phillips gave 127,000 acres of his favorite ranch in New Mexico to Boy Scouts of America. The iconic Cathedral Rock just above the Cimarroncito Reservoir was beautiful. We received a tour of Phillips’ historic hunting cabin, had a chuckwagon campfire meal (yummy biscuits over chili) and storytime around the campfire. The wonderful staff set up our tent, gave us sleeping pads and pillows/linens. This was a fun one night trip before returning back to our glamping tent! In the morning, we hiked 1 mile down to the reservoir with our 2 guides. Staff picked up our gear and then picked us up from the reservoir to drive back. The wildflowers here were incredible.
Abreu Homestead Camp
We were led by staff to a beautiful Mexican homestead camp. We learned about the homestead here in the wilderness and what life was like in the early 1900s. The staff was dressed in character (the backcountry staff lives here all summer). We saw how they lived and even helped to make Adobe bricks. My girls were living their best life by packing mud into the brick molds! There was also the BEST root beer in the trading post here, which tasted even more amazing after the hike here.
Dino Hike
Philmont is home to one of the only two confirmed Tyrannosaurus Rex footprints in the world! This is a 2.25 mile round trip hike. Super kid-friendly! The trail winded through a beautiful valley. In 1963, geologist Charles Pillmore discovered a 96cm long fossil footprint. It is a fossilized track of the hind foot of a T-Rex from 65-70 million years ago. A little further up the trail, we saw the fossil of a Hydrosaur claw.
Archery & Shooting Range
From shotguns to archery to BB guns to sling shots to ax throwing, there was so much to explore here. It was my 5yo’s first time with a bow and arrow. She loved it. Staff gave us dog food for the slingshots, which attracted “Chunk” the squirrel who kept a close eye on the dog food!
Pony Rides
Riding Mickey the unicorn was a huge highlight for my girls! Our girls loved brushing the ponies and learning more about their care. We also held chickens, fed goats and donkeys! This was such a peaceful and fun experience.
There is so much history at Philmont and we enjoyed learning more about the area and people. We learned about the Santa Fe trail at the Kit Carson Museum and also learned about the origins of Scouting at the national Scouting Museum.
Our week at Philmont’s Family Adventure Camp was such a positive experience. I just can’t say enough about this beautiful place. We made many happy family memories here and look forward to more future adventures here!
To reserve your Family Adventure Camp adventure, head here to find out more!
