Philmont’s ROCS program offers hands-on conservation experience

Twenty-one days in the beautiful Philmont backcountry? That’s the kind of vacation that us working folk daydream about.

You’ll have to forgive me for being jealous of the lucky 16- to 20-year-olds who will spend three weeks this summer at ROCS, Philmont’s Roving Outdoor Conservation School.

I did two 10-day Philmont treks during my time in Scouting. And by the 10th day on each trek, I had just one thought: “It’s over already?”

For participants of ROCS, the fun isn’t even halfway done by the 10th day.

Designed for Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers with an interest in natural resource management, ROCS is a combination high-adventure trek and conservation course.

Participants spend six of their 21 days building new trails and rebuilding existing trails in the 137,493-acre ranch.

Check out the YouTube video above to hear a first-hand telling of the ROCS experience.

Here are some other details you’ll need:

  • The program is open to registered BSA members who are at least 16 by the time their session begins but haven’t turned 21 by the time it ends.
  • The cost for the 2011 program is $465. That increases by $10 in 2012.
  • The three-week sessions run concurrently with new sessions starting every week from June 16 to July 14.
  • The June 30 to July 21 session is for females only.
  • As of this writing, 47 spaces remain for the 2011 ROCS sessions.
  • Find more information by clicking here.

Read about other Philmont individual treks here. They’re a great way for Scouts to experience Philmont outside of the normal crew made up of members of their troop.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.