How much of the day is left for other merit badges, and whether a badge is built into the first-year track.
Hale Soaring to Eagle
Orr Buffalo Trail
Rockefeller ROCKS
Kia Kima Trailblazers
Slots left
2 of 4
1 of 5
~1 of 5
3 of 6
MBs included
None
First Aid; some Cooking
First Aid + Swimming
None
Fees (estimates)
Camp
Scout
Adult
Notes
Hale
~$375
~$175
Horses / ATV extra ~$125 each
Orr
~$400
~$175
1 free adult per 10 Scouts
Rockefeller
~$400
~$175
Home-council ladder
Kia Kima Osage
~$350
~$175
2 free adults at 5–23 Scouts
Kia Kima Cherokee
~$350
~$175
Same fee. You cook. Not a discount.
All prices are estimates. Confirm before you lock a week.
Merit badge grid
2/5 = uses 2 of that camp’s daily class slots. Daily slots: Hale 4 · Orr 5 · Rockefeller 5 · Kia Kima 6. Rockefeller times are typical.
Eagle-required
Badge
Hale
Orr
Rockefeller
Kia Kima
Camping
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Citizenship in the Nation
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Citizenship in the World
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Communication
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6 combo
Cooking
—
2/5
1/5
1/6
Cycling
—
1/5
1/5
1/6
Emergency Preparedness
1/4
2/5
1/5
1/6
Environmental Science
1/4
2/5 combo
2/5
2/6
First Aid
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Lifesaving
1/4
2/5
2/5
2/6
Personal Fitness
1/4
—
—
1/6
Personal Management
—
—
—
1/6
Sustainability
1/4
—
—
—
Swimming
1/4 pool
1/5 river
1/5 pool
1/6 river/lake
Aquatics
Badge
Hale
Orr
Rockefeller
Kia Kima
Canoeing
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Kayaking
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Rowing
1/4
—
—
1/6 Cherokee
Small-Boat Sailing
1/4
—
1/5
1/6 Cherokee
Motorboating
1/4
—
—
1/6 Cherokee
Whitewater
—
—
—
2/6
Fishing
1/4
1/5
1/5
2/6 combo
Fly-Fishing
—
—
1/5
with Fishing
BSA Lifeguard
—
—
—
all day
Shooting & adventure
Badge / program
Hale
Orr
Rockefeller
Kia Kima
Archery
1/4
1/5
1/5
2/6
Rifle Shooting
1/4
2/5 air
2/5
2/6
Shotgun Shooting
1/4
2/5
2/5
2/6
Cowboy Action
—
—
1/5
—
Climbing
1/4
2/5 rock
2/5
3/6
COPE
1/4
—
2/5
3/6
ATV
2/4
—
—
2/6
Horsemanship
1/4
—
—
—
Welding / Metalwork
1/4
2/5
—
1/6 or 3/6 combo
Scoutcraft, nature, STEM, handicraft
Badge
Hale
Orr
Rockefeller
Kia Kima
Pioneering
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Wilderness Survival
1/4 +night
2/5 +night
2/5
1/6 +night
Orienteering / Geocaching
1/4 combo
2/5 combo
1/5
—
Astronomy / Space
after hrs / 1/4
2/5 combo + nights
1/5
1/6 combo
Nature / Forestry
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6 combo
Leatherwork
1/4 combo
1/5
1/5
1/6
Wood Carving
1/4
1/5
1/5
1/6
Basketry
1/4 combo
1/5
1/5
1/6
Art
after hrs
1/5
1/5
1/6 combo
Pottery
1/4
—
—
1/6 combo
Programming / Digital
1/4
Game Design 1/5
STEM 1/5
1/6
Robotics
1/4
—
1/5
1/6
Artificial Intelligence
1/4
—
—
—
Cybersecurity
1/4
—
—
—
Chess
1/4
after hrs
—
1/6
Fingerprinting / Collections
—
after hrs
—
after hrs
Full lists for each camp are in the camp popups.
Camp Orr
Jasper, AR · Buffalo National River · ~3 hr from Hot Springs
Only BSA camp wrapped on all sides by National Park Service land. Steep gravel road in. Platform tents, dining hall (~520), trading post. Isolation is the product: no cell-service summer-camp vibe, bluffs, real nature (including snakes and bugs — they say so in the guide).
Pool
No. Swim, canoe, kayak, and lifesaving are on the Buffalo River. Mile Swim at 6 a.m. High water can cancel floats. Dining hall is not air-conditioned (older reports mention a swamp cooler).
Weeks
Every week in June.
First-year — Buffalo Trail
Uses 4 of 5 daytime slots. 1 slot left. Includes First Aid and some Cooking. Also Totin’ Chip and Firem’n Chit. Teaches knots, tools, cooking, pioneering, orienteering, nature, first aid, Outdoor Code.
What else stands out
Climbing on natural sandstone/limestone plus a tower; several rappel sites
Cycling on about 15 miles of real mountain-bike trail
Welding (~$25 extra), 13+, First Aid first
Rifle is air rifle only (National River rule)
Shotgun 20-gauge, 13+
Merit badges
Archery · Art · Astronomy / Space Exploration · Basketry · Bird Study · Camping · Chemistry · Chess (evening) · Citizenship in the Nation · Citizenship in the World · Climbing · Collections (Fri) · Communication · Cooking · Cycling · Emergency Preparedness · Entrepreneurship · Environmental Science / Fish & Wildlife / Soil & Water (combo) · Fingerprinting (Fri) · First Aid · Fishing · Forestry / Nature · Game Design · Geology / Mining in Society · Kayaking · Leatherwork · Lifesaving · Mammal Study / Reptile & Amphibian · Oceanography · Orienteering / Geocaching · Photography · Pioneering · Rifle Shooting (air rifle) · Salesmanship · Shotgun Shooting · Signs, Signals, and Codes · Swimming · Textile / Pulp and Paper · Weather · Welding · Wilderness Survival · Wood Carving
Eagle-required you can work here: Camping (partial), Cit Nation (partial), Cit World, Communication (partial), Cooking (partial), Emergency Prep (partial), Environmental Science, First Aid, Lifesaving, Swimming. Cycling is the hike/bike/swim option.
What people say
Staff “wonderful,” would return; do swim tests before you arrive; some classes fill or get cancelled.
Heat can be brutal; dining-hall food has been uneven by year; first-year polish varies.
Adults rave about the place. Complaints cluster on food and heat, not the river or climbing.
Damascus, AR · Gus Blass Scout Reservation · ~2 hr from Hot Springs
Ouachita foothills. Canvas tents on platforms, flush toilets, individual shower stalls, climate-controlled dining hall. This is the camp that got modernized (old-timers remember dirt-floor tents). Walks are milder than Hale or Orr.
Pool
Yes — staff call it Olympic-sized, plus Lake Butler for canoe, kayak, and sail. Swim badges in a tank; boats on the lake. Hottest-week insurance policy.
Weeks
Every week in June.
First-year — ROCKS
Uses about 4 of 5 daytime slots. ~1 slot left. Includes First Aid and Swimming (how it has run). Thursday night outpost for camping nights.
What else stands out
STEM / robotics / coding / NOVA-style programs
COPE and climbing (waiver)
Cowboy Action Shooting (waiver)
Rifle, shotgun, archery
Scuba, snorkeling, and SUP have shown up in past catalogs — check the live matrix
Merit badges
Program areas: aquatics (pool + lake), shooting, handicraft, scoutcraft, ecology, STEM, COPE/climbing, first-year, cowboy action. Historically about 50 badges, including Swimming, Camping, Archery, Rifle, Cycling, Kayaking, Fly-Fishing, Graphic Arts, Inventing, Journalism, Music, and the STEM list. Download the current merit badge matrix before you pick classes.
What people say
“One of the best run merit badge summer camps we’ve ever done… food is good… climate controlled dining… shooting range well qualified.”
Multiple reviews on professional kitchen staff and organization.
Praise is facilities + food + organization. Nobody calls it the most adventurous camp. That’s the trade.
Talihina, OK · Winding Stair / Ouachita National Forest · ~3 hr from Hot Springs
~620 acres. “Oklahoma’s mountain experience.” Hilly — troops mention the walking. Canvas wall tents, platforms, cots, electricity at sites, modern single-stall showers. A/C dining hall with an indoor climbing wall (they race on it at meals). Planetarium in the nature center. Staff pitched as older / college-age.
Pool
Yes — Meinig Pool Complex, plus Lake Bohannon: blob, iceberg, Wet Willy slide, mile swim, canoe/kayak/row/sail/motorboat/fishing. Only camp of the four with pool and carnival waterfront.
Weeks
Can start in May, then every week in June. Often skips the July 4 holiday week and runs one more week after.
First-year — Soaring to Eagle
Uses 2 of 4 daytime slots. 2 slots left.No merit badges bundled. Evening Totin’ Chip / Firem’n Chit. Clearest published rank skill list of the four.
What else stands out
Horsemanship (~+$125), includes Friday trail ride; long pants
ATV (~+$125), 14+, half-day plus Friday forest ride
COPE high/low — “walk on top of trees”
Climbing tower + natural rock
Skeet/trap on the shotgun complex
Don’t drive to Oklahoma only for a pool Rockefeller already has
Merit badges
Archery · Artificial Intelligence · Aviation · Basketry · Camping · Canoeing · Citizenship in the Nation · Citizenship in the World · Climbing · Communication · COPE · Cybersecurity · Digital Technology · Electricity / Electronics · Emergency Preparedness · Engineering · Environmental Science · First Aid · Fish & Wildlife / Soil & Water · Fishing · Forestry · Game Design · Geocaching / Orienteering · Horsemanship · Kayaking · Leatherwork · Lifesaving · Mammal Study · Motorboating · Nature · Oceanography · Personal Fitness · Photography · Pioneering · Plumbing · Pottery · Programming · Rifle · Rowing · Shotgun · Small-Boat Sailing · Space Exploration · Sustainability · Swimming · Weather · Welding · Wilderness Survival · Wood Carving · plus ATV (not a badge)
~40+ badges. Strong Eagle-required set and STEM (AI, Cybersecurity, Programming, Engineering).
What people say
Troops cite climbing tower, lake toys, archery, horseback, long hikes.
Arkansas troops: “like our summer home and the food can’t be beat.”
Tradeoffs: horse/ATV cost and the hills. Bring a good cot setup.
Hardy, AR · South Fork River · ~4 hr from Hot Springs
Two camps on one reservation, same fee. Cherokee is not cheaper — you cook commissary food. Most classes stay on your camp. A few require biking or a ride to the other (sailing/motorboat at Cherokee; welding/whitewater at Osage).
Pool
No chlorinated pool. Osage swims the South Fork (banana slide into the river). Cherokee swims John A. Cooper Lake (blob + iceberg). Same natural-water reality as Orr, with more toys.
Weeks
Every week in June. Cherokee is usually only the first two June weeks; Osage runs the rest.
Osage vs Cherokee
Osage: ~550/week, A/C dining hall (indoor climbing wall), river + banana slide, full class matrix.
Cherokee: ~200/week, troop cooks from commissary, lake + blob + iceberg + sailing/motorboat, smaller class sizes. Bring cooking gear. Same ~$350 / ~$175.
Sports / Eagle desk: Chess · Cycling · Golf · Personal Fitness · Citizenship in the Nation · Citizenship in the World · Communication / Public Speaking · Personal Management
Shooting: Archery · Rifle · Shotgun
High adventure: Climbing · Metalwork / Woodwork
What people say
Staff “at 110%”; combo classes can mean extra badges from fewer periods.
“Best staff,” good food in the A/C dining hall, lots of water activities.
Heat is real. No pool is the usual wish-list item. Still make Scouts pick quality over badge-counting.
