Camping Merit Badge
The ten requirements, with the four dependencies the requirements state and the two places where you choose.
11 steps (36 parts inside them). 9 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 10 August 2026 · About Camping Merit Badge
No questions answered
This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 2 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.
Which of this applies to you
You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 2 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.
Your progress
40 steps can be started now; 5 are waiting on something else.
Clear ticksYour ticks are kept in this browser, so they will still be here next time. They are in the address as well, so a link to this page carries them to another device.
The steps
Stage 1 of 5
7 steps,
1 ticked
-
1. Know the risks before you go Requirement
Three conversations with your counselor about what can go wrong outdoors and what to do about it.
-
2. Leave No Trace and the Outdoor Code, in writing Requirement
Learn the seven principles and the Outdoor Code, explain what they mean, and write a personal and a group plan for using them on your next outing.
-
3. Plan an overnight trek and navigate to the spot Requirement
A written plan, a topographical map, and one navigation method of the three below.
3 parts, 1 ticked
-
4. Organise a patrol for a campout Requirement
Two parts, both about other people rather than your own kit.
-
5. Clothing, footwear and the essentials Requirement
Five parts, ending with your Scoutmaster looking through your pack.
-
6. Know your gear and your campsite Requirement
Five conversations about tents, sanitation, siting, packs and sleeping bags.
-
8. Stoves, fuel and cooking Requirement
Four parts, and the last one depends on the third.
7 parts
-
8(c). Prepare a camp menu Often forgotten
-
8(d). Cook three meals from the menu you planned Usually comes after 8(c). Prepare a camp menu.
Stage 2 of 5
1 step
-
7. Prepare for an overnight campout with your patrol Requirement
The two practical steps that turn the knowledge above into a packed rucksack.
Stage 3 of 5
1 step
-
9. Show experience in camping Requirement
The long one. Everything under it happens on the same camping experiences.
9 parts
-
9(a). Camp at least 20 nights Often forgotten Twenty nights is the requirement that decides how long this badge takes, and it is the one most often started too late. Everything else here can be done in a few weeks.
-
9(b). Do two of the six activities Usually comes after 9(a). Camp at least 20 nights.
-
9(c). Carry out a conservation project Often forgotten Usually comes after 9(a). Camp at least 20 nights.
-
Stage 4 of 5
1 step
-
10. Discuss what earning the badge taught you Task
Personal health and safety, survival, public health, conservation and good citizenship, which is a question you can only answer at the end.
Usually comes after 9. Show experience in camping.
Stage 5 of 5
1 step
-
Counselor signs it off Milestone
The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.
Usually comes after 10. Discuss what earning the badge taught you.
Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.
This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.