Your First Outdoor Experience
You don't need to camp on day one. Start by stepping outside.
You don't need to camp on day one. Start by stepping outside.
Outdoor experiences in Girl Scouts are progressive — they’re designed to build comfort and competence one step at a time. You don’t jump from meeting rooms to overnight camping. You start with stepping outside, and you build up gradually over months and years.
Your first outdoor experience can be as simple as holding part of a regular meeting outside: a nature walk around the school campus, a bird-watching activity in a nearby park, or a picnic snack in the schoolyard. That’s a legitimate outdoor experience, and for girls who’ve never spent unstructured time in nature, it can be genuinely exciting.
The goal for your first year isn’t to camp. It’s to get comfortable being outside as a group, and to start building the skills and confidence that will eventually lead to camping when the troop is ready.
GSUSA’s outdoor progression is an eight-step ladder. This page covers the first five steps — everything up to and including cooking outdoors. These are all daytime activities where the troop goes out and comes home the same day.
Look Out — Share past experiences in the outdoors. Talk about favorite outdoor places. This can happen during a regular meeting as a discussion activity. No leaving the building required.
Meet Out — Step outside to observe. Look, listen, feel, and smell. Share what you noticed. This is your first literal step outside and can be as short as 15 minutes at the end of a regular meeting.
Move Out — Plan and take a short walk outside. Talk about being prepared for the weather. Do activities to explore nature. Plan an indoor sleepover. This is where outdoor experiences start becoming intentional activities rather than just stepping out the door.
Explore Out — Plan and take a short, easy hike. Discuss what to bring in a day pack. Dress for the weather. Plan a healthy snack or lunch. Learn outdoor safety. This is your first real “field trip outdoors.”
Cook Out — Plan and cook a simple meal outdoors. Make a supply list. Learn cooking skills and review outdoor cooking safety. Practice sanitation. Create a Kaper Chart (a job chart for who does what). This step requires fire/cooking training for the Happy Camper.
TIP: Most troops in their first year will be somewhere in the Look Out through Explore Out range. That's perfect. Don't rush it. The girls who spend a year becoming comfortable on nature walks and day hikes are the ones who are genuinely excited (rather than anxious) when camping eventually comes.
Your Happy Camper is the person who’ll be leading the troop’s outdoor progression. Before the troop can go beyond basic nature walks, the Happy Camper needs training. Here’s what's needed:
For Look Out, Meet Out, and Move Out (nature discussions, stepping outside at meetings, short walks): No special outdoor training is required beyond normal meeting supervision. These activities happen at or very near your regular meeting location.
For Explore Out (day hikes, park visits, trail outings): The Happy Camper needs your council’s travel/trip policies course and the day trip course. These are usually available online through gsLearn and can be completed in a few hours. Your council may call these “Let’s Go Policies” and “Out & About,” or something similar.
For Cook Out (cooking over a fire, campfire activities): An additional fire and cooking course is required. Many councils call this “Food, Fire & Fun” or “Let’s Go 2.” This is often offered in-person only, once or twice a year, so plan ahead and check your council’s event calendar for upcoming sessions.
The training is tiered on purpose — it matches the progression. The Happy Camper doesn’t need to complete all the training before the troop’s first outdoor activity. They just need the tier that matches the activity level.
First Aider required. Just like any field trip, a First Aider with current CPR/First Aid certification must accompany the troop on any outdoor activity away from the regular meeting place.
Check the Safety Activity Checkpoints. If you’re hiking, look up the hiking checkpoints. If you’re near a lake, look up the lake safety checkpoints. Each activity has specific requirements for adult-to-girl ratios, gear, and preparation. Your council’s Safety Activity Checkpoints document is the definitive reference.
Dress for the weather. And discuss dressing for the weather with the girls. This sounds obvious, but it’s the #1 thing that derails outdoor activities with kids. Send a reminder to parents the day before about layering, closed-toed shoes, sunscreen, hats, and rain gear. Girls who are cold, wet, or sunburned don’t have fun.
Leave No Trace. Start teaching Leave No Trace principles from the very first outdoor activity. The seven principles (plan ahead, travel on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts, respect wildlife, be considerate of others) are simple enough for Daisies to understand and important enough for adults to model.
Have a backup plan. Weather happens. If your planned hike gets rained out, have an indoor backup ready. It’s easier to cancel the outdoor portion and pivot to Plan B than to stand in a parking lot with 12 wet children trying to decide what to do.
There are outdoor-related badges at every Girl Scout level. Tying your outdoor activities to badge requirements means the girls are having fun AND making progress on their badges. Here are some examples of how outdoor activities can align with badge work:
Daisies: Outdoor Art Explorer (leaf rubbings, nature art), Trail Adventure (short hikes), Buddy Camper (first indoor sleepover)
Brownies: Hiker, Eco Friend, Bugs, Trail Adventure.
Juniors: Camper, Eco Camper, Animal Habitats, Gardener
Cadettes: Trailblazing, Night Owl, Primitive Camper
Check the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) or the badge booklets for the specific requirements. Your Events Manager can help identify field trips that overlap with badge work, and the Happy Camper can tie outdoor activities to outdoor badges.
TIP: You don't have to earn a badge every time you go outside. Sometimes a nature walk is just a nature walk, and that's enough. But when an outdoor activity naturally overlaps with a badge requirement, take advantage of it -- the girls get credit for something they were going to enjoy anyways.
This is a suggestion, not a requirement. Move at whatever pace works for your troop.
Fall: Hold one meeting partially outside (a nature walk, a scavenger hunt, or an outdoor art activity at or near your regular meeting spot). This is your Meet Out / Move Out step. No special training needed beyond normal meeting supervision.
Winter: The Happy Camper completes the travel policies and day trip training (if not already done). If weather permits, plan a short easy hike at a local park — your Explore Out step. If your area has harsh winters, this can wait until spring.
Spring: Plan a slightly more ambitious outdoor outing — a longer hike, a nature center visit, or a picnic at a park with some badge-related activities. If the Happy Camper has completed fire/cooking training, try a simple outdoor cooking activity for your Cook Out step.
Looking Ahead to Year 2: If the Happy Camper completes overnight training over the summer, the troop can aim for its first indoor overnight in fall of year two (see Your First Overnight) and eventually its first outdoor campout (see Your First Outdoor Campout).
The progression is meant to be paced over years, not months. There’s no rush.
Planning an indoor overnight? Visit Your First Overnight for museum sleepovers and lock-ins, and what to expect when the troop sleeps away from home for the first time.
Ready for camping? Visit Your First Campout for planning your troop's first time sleeping outside.
Planning a non-outdoor field trip? Visit Your First Field Trip for permission slips, safety requirements, and transportation guidance.
Want to understand the big picture? Visit Girl Progression for how outdoor progression fits into the overall shift from parent-led to girl-led activities.
Need the Happy Camper's training details? Visit the Happy Camper page under Find My Role.