A Fun-Filled Day With Your Troop

Hike
Hiking our 2 1/2-mile wood-chip nature trail, filled with the wonderful sights, sounds and smells today's kids experience all too rarely, is a great experience. A map can be found inside the Visitors Guide.

Pick up a copy of our Hiking Trail-Tree Identification Guide at the Visitors Center kiosk desk to use along the trail. Completion of the Guide meets some of the requirements for the Webelos Forester Activity Badge, Boy Scout Forester Merit Badge. and Junior Girl Scout Outdoor Connections badge.(This guide is recommended for summer and fall, when the trees have leaves.)

Fish
Scout groups can fish  at Shaffner Pond, in the northeast corner of the park. Fishing is allowed Saturday and Sunday mornings from sunrise to 8:30am and Mondays between 9 a.m. and 5 pm. Please call Security at 630.260.8207 to arrange a fishing outing. The pond is home to bluegill, bass, carp, and catfish and is strictly catch and release. Please bring your own fishing poles, bait, and gear. People over age 16 who are fishing must have a valid fishing permit.

Learn
Cantigny has partnered with the DuPage Rivers Fly-tyers (DRiFT) to offer Boy Scouts an introduction to fly fishing. Boy Scouts can try their hand at different styles of casting, be introduced to fly-tying, and spend time fishing. For more information or to schedule an outing, please contact Glenn Hazen, DRiFT Merit Badge Coordinator, at 630 682 4984.

Our campsites may be reserved during daylight hours Monday-Thursday for Scout activities. Practice pitching tents, learn to build a fire, cook a meal, or review safe camping procedures.

Explore
Scout groups are invited to visit the McCormick Museum (guided tours only) and the First Division Museum (self-guided tours only). Please indicate if your group plans to visit either museum when you make your reservation. We require a minimum of one chaperone for every10 Scouts entering the museum.

Cantigny’s gardens are open for self-guided exploration. Stroll through the Formal Gardens, stop and smell the roses in the Rose Garden, and marvel at the creative displays in the Idea Garden.

End your visit with a stop in our Prairie Garden. Spend a quiet moment studying Spirit of Commitment, a statue at Reflection Point. In this work, artist Jeff Adams links four figures physically and allegorically to reflect interrelationships philosophically and across time. These people show sacrifice, strength, courage, love, resolve, and hope. In their commitment we find the potential for good, for freedom, for a better world. As Boy and Girl Scouts share the same ideals of citizenship and service, Reflection Point is a place to stop and reflect on what it means to be a Scout.

Visit Basics
Scout groups are welcome and encouraged to visit the park at any time during our normal hours of operation. Please make your group reservation at least two weeks in advance by calling 630 260 8162.

There is no charge for scouts and their leaders to visit Cantigny as a scout outing. Tiger Cubs and Daisies may follow the same reservation procedure, but are required to bring one parent per child. We strongly encourage Scouts to be in uniform.

Any scout group that would like to organize a family outing for their pack/troop is asked to call 630 260 8162 for reservations. Vehicles arriving with scout passengers are free. Additional vehicles that do not have scout passengers will be charged the parking fee.

Earning Badges
A self-directed visit to Cantigny can easily meet some of the requirements for a variety of badges and awards. Please email Scouts@Cantigny.org for a list of such badges/awards. The awards and badges on the list are not formalized staff-led programs, but rather awards and badges that could have some of their requirements met through a visit to Cantigny. Scoutmasters and adult leaders will need to plan the activities.

Four badges can currently be earned through the use of our new Scout Discovery Backpacks.

Scout leaders can reserve one of our Discovery Backpacks for use during a troop visit. Backpacks can accommodate up to 20 youth with at least 2 adult chaperones. These backpacks contain all the materials, maps and directions needed to complete required badge activities during a self-guided visit. Backpacks may be used outdoors April-October and can be completed in approximately 1.5- 2 hours. Backpacks may be kept for up to three hours.

Brownies Ready, Set, Go Camping “Try It” Backpack:
This backpack encourages Brownies to test out beginning camping skills. They will try a bedroll relay, make a “storm”, find uses for a bandana, and follow their noses during a hike. Brownies can complete their Ready, Set, Go Camping “Try It” badge if all activities are done during a visit. Badges not included.

Junior Girl Scouts Earth Connections Backpack:
This backpack contains materials, picture cards, and teaching activities that focus on the natural world. Junior Girl Scouts will explore the variety of plant life in our prairie, identify trees along our hiking trail and act out various animal adaptations, among other activities. At the end of their exploration, they will have completed the Earth Connections badge requirements. Badge not included.

Wolf Birds Backpack:
This backpack includes instructions and activities within the Bird Elective (#13). Scouts will enjoy getting to know more about our feathered friends through hands-on activities, beginning a bird log and taking a bird identification walk. This elective is part of the World Conservation Award. Arrow patches not included.

Webelos Forester Backpack:
Webelos will explore the various aspects of forests and trees through the activities included in this backpack. Be prepared for a walk through our forest areas and hands-on exploration including reading tree rings and discussing forest layers. This backpack includes the instructions and supplies needed to complete five of the Forester requirements. Forester pin not included.

Fees and reservations:
Scout Discovery Backpacks are available at no charge. A valid driver’s license is required as a deposit at check-out time and a usage agreement must be signed. Leaders are asked to reserve backpacks at least one week in advance. A reservation confirmation and facilitator information will be sent. Click here for the backpack request form.

Discovery Backpacks are available for pickup at the Visitors Center Information Desk at 9:00 am. Discovery Backpacks must be returned in their original condition after the three hour ‘rental’ period. Discovery Backpacks loaned out after 2:00 pm may only have 1-2 hours of usage depending on when the Backpack was checked out. (All Backpacks must be returned by 5:00 pm).