New Families
Broken Arrow is a YMCA Adventure Guides expedition — around 150 dads and sons who camp together ten times a year. If you are new, here is what to expect.
What is Adventure Guides?
Adventure Guides is a YMCA program built around one idea: a dad and his kid, doing things together, on purpose, on a schedule. No coaching, no tryouts, no bench.
Every family belongs to a circle of six to ten pairs. Your circle is who you camp next to, cook with, and sit around the fire with all season.
What is a campout actually like?
You arrive Friday afternoon, set up your tent next to your circle, and cook dinner together. Saturday is the big day — whatever the location is known for, whether that is an inflatable water park, a hike, or a boat. Saturday night is the campfire, with skits and songs from every circle. Sunday morning you pack up and are usually home by noon.
You do not need to be an experienced camper. Someone in your circle will have a spare lantern, a spare chair, and strong opinions about how to start a fire.
What do we need to buy?
A tent, two sleeping bags, two camp chairs, and headlamps will get you through your first campout. Borrow before you buy — ask your circle first.
The full list lives on the packing page, and it is worth reading the night before, not the morning of.
How do we sign up?
Registration for each campout is run by the YMCA. Every event page on this site has a registration link when it opens.