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.

Trail Life boys crouched around a campfire they are lighting, one in a Trail Life cap feeding paper into the flames
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.

Woodlands Trail program badge Ages 5 to 10

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.

Navigators program badge Ages 11 to 13

Navigators

Read the map.

He takes the compass, plans part of the trip and earns Trail Badges toward advancement.

Adventurers program badge Ages 14 to 17

Adventurers

Lead the campout.

He plans and runs the weekend, with Christian men walking beside him rather than ahead of him.

What he'll do at Trail Life

Trail Life builds its method around four things a boy needs. Here's what each one looks like at Troop CA-4620.

Trailmen cooking over an open fire at a troop campout
GuidedCooking over a fire he built
Two Trail Life leaders teaching older Trailmen to read a topographic map and compass
GroundedMap and compass, not a screen
A Trail Life leader and a young Trailman pitching tents at a troop campout
AppreciatedPitching camp with the troop
Trail Life Troop CA-4620 Trailmen receiving certificates on the New Hope stage
InspiredEarning it in front of everyone

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.

  • Older boys run the younger ones. High schoolers lead patrols and teach knots and fire craft.

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.

Trail Life Troop CA-4620 assembled outdoors behind the United States and troop flags

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 your family does not need to attend New Hope to join.

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 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.”

Patti Garibay · Founder and Executive Director, American Heritage Girls

“Trail Life USA is a great outdoor adventure program for boys and young men.”

Dr. James Dobson · Founder, Focus on the Family

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 on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. The calendar shows the next date and anything else coming up.

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 what happens on a first night.

New Hope Community Church

4620 E. Nees Ave, Clovis, CA 93611

Open in Google Maps

The map is served by Google and loads only when you ask. Loading it shares your IP address with Google.