Tom Hale Scout Reservation--More information

Information for Tom Hale Scout Reservation (Scout-owned)

Camp address	Contact Information
1 Camp Tom Hale Road P.O. Box 427 Talihina, OK 74571 Forecast for this area (at weather.com)	Indian Nations Council Council contact information Contact email Website

Map using camp address (sometimes accurate)	Map using coordinates: (always accurate) Lat: 34.7363, Lon: -94.8875
Mapquest™ Road map Suremaps™ Topo map	Scoutlas Road & Water maps Microsoft™ Terraserver Topo & photo maps Suremaps™ Topo map Topozone™ Topo map

Comments for Tom Hale Scout Reservation

Indian Nations premier scout camp. Located at the base of the Ouchita Mountains near Talimena Drive bordering on a small lake. This camp offers aquatics, shooting ranges, awesome hikes, and real plumbing in the campsites!

(posted on Mar 23,2000)

Went there with the troop this summer, best camp I've been to in years.

(posted on Aug 15,2000)

We went there Summer 2000 and really enjoyed it. Good staff, nice facility. Unusual Merit Badge opportunities (Plumbing, Snow Sports, Archaeology). Very well run.

(posted on Dec 8,2000)

Just got back from Camp Tom Hale. Loved it!! The boys all had a great time, and the instructors were wonderful. The flushable toilets are the best!!! The merit badges offered are super, lots of unusual ones. Us leaders loved the little boats we could take out on the lake for our pleasure.
Hope to go back soon.

(posted on Jul 24,2001)

Yes, it is a great camp, the only draw back is no matter where you are, it is uphill to the dining hall, and the first thing a person sees when comming in to the camp are the two Waste Water treatment ponds, kinda nasty if you ask me.

(posted on Jan 22,2002)

The flush toilets and individual shower stalls are great. The air conditioned dining hall is impressive and well run. The staff is very friendly and well organized. Our troop went 2 years in a row and had a great experience both times.

(posted on Feb 13,2002)

Directions to Camp Tom Hale: Take Highway 63 East @ 8 miles. Turn left on County Road 6010 (there is also a Tom Hale sign on the right side of the road). You can obtain a map of the camp by going to www.maptech.com just enter in "Camp Tom Hale" and pick Oklahoma. This is a wonderful camp. Benn there twice for camp. Going again in June. Bill Steuernagel, Troop 637, Wagoner, Oklahoma

(posted on Apr 9,2002)

Took a group for the first time the summer of 2001. We are planning to back with a contingent doubled in size for 2002.

Fantastic staff, MB counselors, facilities.

(posted on Apr 9,2002)

The evaluations and comments were combined and averaged by 5 of our adults that attended camp.

In this evaluation, we used these ratings:
A = Excellent
B = Above Average
C = Average
D = Below Average
F = Unsatisfactory

Pre-camp information
Grade = B
The packets and continued information were a great help planning. Some of the items listed as needed were not needed at all. Some of items not listed, should have been mentioned. Paige at the council office was OUTSTANDING to work with in helping us prepare our trip.

Check in/out process
Grade = B
Very smooth but rather lengthy. Guides are assigned at arrival and took the troop on a tour and swim checks. We took 4 boys - 2 adults and two trailers' worth of equipment up one day earlier. The camp let us go to our campsite (had to promise to stay in our site - as camp was closed). This was a big help in getting our week off to a smooth start.

Our Campsite
Grade = C
Hale has grown in the last few years - they desperately need to expand the campsites. We were 45 people and had to share our site with another troop. All of the sites are right on top of each other. Makes it hard to run your troop activities without offending or disturbing other troop (and vice verse)

Latrine and Shower Facilities
Grade = A
Flush toilets and hot showers were nice!

Water
Grade = B
We brought several 5-gallon jugs of filtered water and kept them iced all week and maintained one full of Gatorade all week. The taste / temperature of the camp water was not very good. They did have water at all stations / classes.

Camp Administration
Grade = A
Great group to work with - extremely flexible and accommodating.

Camp Staff
Grade = A
All college age or older - many returning for past several years. Most counselors were teaching a badge in their field of study!

Merit Badge Program
Grade = B
Well run, rather "easy" on the requirements. Not sure if each boy really earned each badge on their own.

New Scout Program
Grade = B
Each Scout worked on rank advancement and still earned three merit badges (mostly the craft related ones). We usually avoid the new Scout programs - this one came highly recommended and worked very well.

Trading Post
Grade = C
Lots of candy and sodas. Prices were as expected at a camp trading post.

Food and Dining Hall
Grade = C
See comments below.

There were too many boys for the space available. The food was very geared for the boys. The camp only heated precooked items. most of which would not be approved for our troop campouts. They almost always had seconds to fill up the boys. They had few deserts to ingress the trading post revenue. The staff worked very hard to please, almost top hard, as there did not appear to be much of a bar to achieving merit badges. Almost no one did not finish badges started. The staff was older but not as high number of Boy Scouts as I have experienced in the past. This lead to a miss on the total Scout program; however, the quality of the staff was very high. The lake was an ideal size for the boating programs for the boys. The white water program got high marks from the boys. Blue cards were printed and handed out at check out which was very good with only a few errors. Over all a very good camping experience and the boys enjoyed some variety in merit badges not seen at other camps.

Pretty location, but camp overcrowded. Flush toilets nice, but high maintenance. Hot showers were wonderful. Nice dining hall with sub-mediocre food. Staff was good, but merit badge program quality very inconsistent.

Campsite was small for our group. We were somewhat cramped.

Camp Administration was very responsive and accommodating. Our troop's goal is to have 1st year Scouts complete the swimming merit badge which is different from Camp Hale's plan. They adjusted for us. This involved completely reworking the schedule for several Scouts. We also had several OA candidates participate in the Call Out ceremony and the Indian Nation Council accommodated our request. We appreciated this level of flexibility

Merit badge program offered some really cool stuff like snow sports and white water boating, and sailing. This kept our older Scouts interested. Overall Comments: I was very impressed. I appreciated the fact that, although the Ranch claimed to have copperheads, rattlers, bear, and mountain lions, we never saw one!

One suggestion is for them to promote interaction between the staff and the campers (apart from classes), and overall camp spirit. Something to make campers feel that they are a "well-cared for" part of the Ranch, rather than "well-cared for" guests at the Ranch.

Another suggestion is to NOT have coke machines.

Troop 226 ~ The Colony, TX

(posted on Aug 8,2002)

We are an out-of-state troop that drove a long distance to get to Hale for two summers. Excellent camp with college-age and adult staff providing a fantastic program. If you are interested in providing a quality summer camp experience to you Scouts then you need to take a look at this little-known camp.

(posted on May 5,2003)

Our troop just returned from Tom Hale. This wa second year in row to attend HSR. Great facilities. Great staff of college age Scouts. Good food in air conditioned dining hall. All older Scouts should not miss Whitewater MB and whitewater trip. Flush toilets and hot showers with individual showers were a hit with youth. Better start walking before you go to get in shape to walk the hills. We will be back

(posted on Jul 11,2003)

My son is a 1st year scouter and his troop went to Hale for thier 1st camp out this year.All the boys loved it despite twisted ankles.They are already pumped up about raising money for next year.My thanks for all the staff there and others that have help in this camp and the scouting program that make these camps and program so fun and rewarding for the boys.

(posted on Oct 8,2003)

I went and loved it. The dining hall was the most impressive one I've ever seen.

(posted on Aug 13,2004)

Our troop attended Camp Hale in July of 2004 and found the camp to be one of the best in Oklahoma that we know of. The food was great in the air-conditioned dining hall. Merit badges were fun and the water front was great with the water slide, iceberg and blob.
The camp staff was good and the officals have a great plan for the future. The only knock I have was that you had better be prepared to walk the hills of the Kiamichi Mountains. It will give your legs a workout and you will sleep at night.
The individual showers were a great hit with the boys along with flushing toilets.

(posted on Mar 5,2005)

Of my 21 years of scouting, this is without a doubt the best camp I ever been to without a a close second. 600 scouts a week can not lie to you and even with that many everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Only complants from my boys is the hilly , rocky terrain. I tell them this is not a factor for they are getting the best for their money. Scoutmaster Troop 254

(posted on Dec 8,2005)

Hello this Walt Sporisky from Abilene Texas and Troop 217. We were at this camp last year in July, the 3 week of it, and we had a good time. The troop will go back in 2007. The boy's love it and they like dinner hall that has the cloble walls in it and the and the lake and other things there. We recall Greg Thomes went down to river on Friday moring to see the troop go down the river. Thanks from Abilene TX Troop 217

(posted on Feb 19,2006)

Troop 44 - Van Alstyne, TX just returned from Camp Hale (Week 0/2006). Great camp. Merit badge counselors are college students and they did a terrific job. Our boys were excited to see a varied selection of merit badges available to them. The hi-light of the camp is the closing ceremony with troop skits and a fire work show! If you plan to attend Camp Hale - start walking now!!! Oh, and watch out for cardiac hill.

(posted on Jul 30,2006)

Tom Hale has a great program for Merit Badges & activities but they cram too many people into camp and the Dining Hall food was inadequate & unappealing.

(posted on Apr 7,2007)

This was our troop's first time at HSR, as well as mine. The staff was the best I've come across at any camp. The food for most was excellent and plenty. Camp director couldn't do enough for the scouts or staff. Fisrt year program great, merit badges, over 50+ to choose from. The only downside, which no one can control was the first couple days, raining, rest of the week summer cycle. We have already reserved a spot to go back next year, our scouts voted to return. Check out their website. Phil Aleshire, Troop #94, Mandeville, Louisiana "A Rockin' Owl"

(posted on Jul 15,2007)

This was our first time at Hale. We were very impressed with the MB staff... we had at least one special needs scouter and the staff was very understanding. Our scouters loved the "kid oriented" food... there was a salad bar for the adults. Be prepared to do some moderate to difficult walking and heat/hydration discipline. We are returning in 2011 and looking forward to our next experience... it was a hoot participating in the "snow sports" MB... (Oklahoma at 100F+)... check it out, very creative...

Troop 420/320 Springfield, Missouri

(posted on Jul 31,2010)

We visited Camp Hale for the first time this summer and had a great time! The staff was very good. The air conditioned dining hall came in handy as everyday was over 100 degrees. The food was plentiful and kid oriented. The camp provided ice for the water coolers which helped the kids stay hydrated all week. Our older boys really enjoyed the outback program and our younger boys got a lot of merit badges complete. Heated showers helped encourage the kids to keep clean. The only negative thing I would say is that this camp is so popular that there are a lot of kids (over 900) which makes some activities difficult for kids to participate much. We will definitely attend this camp again in the future.

Mike
Troop 219
Benton, KS

(posted on Jul 29,2011)

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