Black Hills Area Council is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America and serves less than 1,000 youth members in west river South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, and is headquartered in Rapid City SD. See also Scouting in South Dakota.
History[]
The Black Hills Area Council was granted a charter by the National Council, Boy Scouts of America in 1930, charged with the responsibility of organizing and supporting successful Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, Varsity Scout Teams, Venturing Crews, Explorer Posts and Learning for Life Groups within its 30,000-square-mile (78,000 km2) geographical boundaries. It serves less than 1,000 youth members (as of 2023) in Western South Dakota and Eastern Wyoming and are one of the largest youth serving organizations in our community.
Districts[]
Each District coordinates scout leader training, activities, and other resources for community based scouting programs. BHAC currently (as of 2018) consists of one district. The Rushmore District serves the entire council.
In the past, this council was divided into 3 Districts:
- Bear Butte District serves the Northern Hills Area of South Dakota and Sundance and Moorcroft, Wyoming.
- Penjahame District serves the South Dakota Counties of Pennington, Jackson, Haakon and Southern Meade (hence the name Pennington, Jackson, Haakon, Meade).
- Pine Tree District serves the Southern Hills area of South Dakota and Newcastle, Wyoming.
Council Camp[]
Medicine Mountain Scout Ranch is the year-round camping facility which hosts both unit and family groups. MMSR is located just inside Pennington County close to Custer, SD.
Medicine Mountain features:
- Patrol-style cooking (in other words, there is not a dining hall at Medicine Mountain)
- Expeditions are featured. Basically a unit can use MMSR as a base-camp, tour the Black Hills during the day and camp at MMSR.
- Lake Alexander features kayaking, canoeing, swimming, and small-boat sailing
- Larry Cozine Family Camp which features RV plug-ins as well as tent camping
Council Special Events[]
- Wood Badge
- Scouting U (University of Scouting)
- Leadership Breakfast
- Annual Mt. Rushmore Pilgrimage
Order of the Arrow[]
Order of the Arrow is the National Honor Society of Scouting and recognized those who uphold the scouting ideals of camping, service and citizenship.
- Crazy Horse Lodge is the OA Lodge for this council.
Eagles Nest[]
Noteworthy scouts and service projects of the council:
External Links[]
- blackhillsbsa.org - Official Website of Black Hills Area Council