Woodlands Trail
Build the fire.
He learns to lay a fire, tie a knot, read the woods and look after the boy next to him.
Build the fire.Read the map.Lead the campout.
Trail Life Troop CA-4620 meets at New Hope in Clovis, on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month, 6:30 to 8 PM. Boys from kindergarten through twelfth grade, outdoors, with Christian men walking beside them.
- Who
- Boys, K through 12
- When
- 1st & 3rd Tuesdays · 6:30 to 8 PM
- How long
- 90 minutes, twice a month
- Where
- New Hope, Clovis
Find his age. That's where he starts.
Trail Life sorts boys into three levels and each one has its own badge. He earns his way from the first to the last, outdoors, over the years he's with the troop.
Navigators
Read the map.
He takes the compass, plans part of the trip and earns Trail Badges toward advancement.
Adventurers
Lead the campout.
He plans and runs the weekend, with Christian men walking beside him rather than ahead of him.
What he actually does
Trail Life builds its method around four things a boy needs. Here's what each one looks like at Troop CA-4620.
Count the men in this picture.
A boy needs more good men in his life than one house can supply. That's most of what a troop is.
- More than one man, every time. He gets a handful of adults who keep showing up, not a single leader he either clicks with or doesn't.
- Older boys run the younger ones. High schoolers lead patrols and teach knots and fire craft. Leadership gets practised, not preached.
- You're welcome to stay. Plenty of dads and moms stay for the meeting. Some end up leading, most don't.
Want to know who'd be standing with your son before you bring him? Ask us. We'd rather tell you than have you guess.
The things parents ask us first
Do we have to attend New Hope?
No. The troop is chartered by New Hope and meets on our campus, and plenty of families come from other churches or from no church at all.
What does it cost?
Trail Life USA charges a national membership fee and each troop sets its own dues on top of it, so the figure moves year to year. There's a uniform too. Ask the troop what a new boy actually needs to start and they'll give you this year's numbers rather than a guess.
Does he need a uniform to visit?
No. Come in what he's already wearing. The uniform matters once he joins, not the first time he walks in.
What if we can only make some of the meetings?
The troop meets twice a month, so the calendar is lighter than most weeknight programs. Boys miss meetings for sport and family and pick the trail back up.
We have a daughter too. Is there anything for her?
Yes. American Heritage Girls Troop CA-4620 meets the same evening on the same campus in a separate room, so it's one trip for the whole family. See the AHG page.
"Trail Life USA is the perfect bookend to the AHG ministry. Raising boys to become men that walk worthy of God's calling gives hope to our nation."
Jim Daly · President, Focus on the Family
"Trail Life USA is a great outdoor adventure program for boys and young men."
Franklin Graham · CEO, Samaritan's Purse
Endorsements published by Trail Life USA national, not by New Hope. traillifeusa.com (opens in a new tab)
When the troop meets.
The troop meets twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday evenings, plus whatever else it has on the books for the next few weeks.
Same evening as American Heritage Girls
Trail Life Troop CA-4620 and AHG Troop CA-4620 are two separate troops. Each has its own leadership, charter, advancement system and room. They meet the same evening on the same campus, so a family with both boys and girls makes one trip. Visit the AHG page.
Bring him on a Tuesday
Come and look before you decide anything. The leaders will walk you through exactly what happens on a first night.
New Hope Community Church
4620 E. Nees Ave, Clovis, CA 93611
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