We are Camp Skimino, the Mighty, Mighty Camp Skimino!

By Elizabeth Coyne, GSCCC Communications Intern and Camp Staff Member

GSCCC Outdoor Adventures Manager Tesi Strickland and
CEO Tracy Keller accepted the Bronze Award on behalf of the Council

Camp Skimino, a GSCCC camp located in Williamsburg, was recognized with a Bronze Award for Best Summer Camp by Coastal Virginia Magazine. The magazine held a reader’s choice contest from January 1 to the end of March. The camp will be featured along with other reader’s choice awards in their July/August issue. Yesterday, GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller and Outdoor Adventures Manager Tesi Strickland were on hand to receive the award certificate from Kathy Talmage, a representative from the magazine.

Elizabeth at camp last summer.

It was no surprise to me that votes from the public brought recognition to Camp Skimino. As someone who worked as a camp counselor there, I totally agree that Camp Skimino is awesome! Camp Skimino has everything a camper could dream of, from belaying 25 feet off the ground on the wobbly bridge of our high-ropes course to water fights from canoes on Skimino’s man-made lake, Lake Adahi. Camp also has a nice, big swimming pool to cool off in after playing capture the flag on the field on a hot, sunny day. And, you can’t forget about the Camp Skimino amphitheater that sits right on the lake that we use for our opening and closing campfires, which are filled with friends, camp songs and of course s’mores! Camp Skimino is the perfect place for girls and their families to experience the outdoors.

Camp Skimino is full of tradition and history that we share with campers each summer. The local Girl Scout council purchased the 98 acres that is now Camp Skimino in 1955, and it officially opened for camping in 1956. Skimino, a Native American word meaning “smooth creek” was used to name the Girl Scout campsite after the first human inhabitants of the area.

This summer, Camp Skimino is hosting a week of resident camp for registered Girl Scouts and their families for only 25 dollars per person, per night and children under five stay for free. Families may stay for one to five nights and choose their daily camp activities, including archery and arts and crafts, or pick to go explore Williamsburg. Located only 10 minutes away from historic Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and all that the area has to offer, Camp Skimino is the perfect family holiday trip. Your family will be staying in platform tents, which is a large canvased wall tent with a wooden floor, complete with cots, mattresses and bug nets. Modern shower houses, complete with flush toilets and hot water for showers, are located near the tents. Meals are not provided. Families plan and cook their own meals or eat at one of the many family and fast food restaurants in the area. For more information, or to book your family for camp, contact customercare@gsccc.org. Come enjoy this beautiful camp that is full of history.

Camp Skimino provides year-round activities for Council girls and adults. It also provides lodging to Girl Scouts from all over the country as they visit the historical Williamsburg area. Other youth groups, businesses, and organizations utilize the site as well for retreats, employee events, and weddings.