Welcome to the Twin Rivers Council Member Events Page.
We work as a council and with community partners to offer fun family-friendly events to the scouts of Twin Rivers. Looking to work with us?Inquiries can be submitted to erin.mcgovern@scouting.org.
Scout Snow Days at Lapland Lake
Being a scout means enjoying the great outdoors and what better way than to do it together? Lapland Lake is a full-service Cross Country ski center in Benson NY (approximately 10 miles from Northville, 60 miles from Albany area). They offer groomed XC ski trails, XC ski equipment rental and sales, and XC ski lessons. Their trails include a good mix of easy, intermediate, and difficult trails so they are welcoming to beginners and still fun for more experienced skiers. They also offer a separate network of snowshoe trails, and a small junior snow tubing hill (slide down, walk tube back to the top).
On weekends and holidays, trails are open 9:00AM – 4:30PM.
For lunch, on winter weekend and holiday days they have either an outdoor food truck, indoor café, or both. They also permit brown-bagging. They have outdoor picnic table seating, and usually have a warming fire on weekends and holidays. They have limited indoor seating space.
Example Group Visit Schedule:
9:00 – 9:30 am Arrive and get rental XC ski equipment
10:00 – 11:00 am Group XC ski lesson
11:00 – 12:30 pm Ski time
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 pm Ski time or Snowshoe
3:00 – 4:00 pm Tubing
4:00 pm Depart
The day could be shortened for younger scouts.
Potential Dates and Group Sizes
Lapland Lake suggests reserving a date as soon as possible. They can reserve a date with an estimated group size while units get sign-ups for the trip. In the event of unfavorable weather (poor snow conditions, extreme cold, rain, or hazardous travel conditions) on a planned date, you can cancel without penalty as long as they are notified the day before. For the most reliable snow conditions we would recommend Saturday January 7 through Sunday March 5.
The following dates are currently unavailable:
January 21
February 11, 18, 19
As other groups book their days, additional dates will become unavailable so please reserve a date at the start of your planning process.
In general Sundays are less busy than Saturdays, so if a Sunday works for your group they would recommend that. The weekdays during President’s Week when school is off (February 20 – 24) are also an option
The maximum group size they can take is approximately 50. For a group of around 50, they have enough XC ski rental equipment so everyone could have skis at the same time. Their youth snowshoe inventory is more limited, and they may be only able to equip half your group at a time with snowshoes. For lessons they would provide multiple instructors but still would need to limit it to around 20 people at a time. For larger groups the lesson times can be staggered, with early arrivals in a first group and later arrivals in a later group.
Please call to have a phone conversation and talk over options for scheduling the day so things flow smoothly, and everyone gets to do the activities they want.
Pricing
A trail pass is required to use the outdoor facilities (same pass allows use of XC ski trails, snowshoe trails, and junior tubing hill). Equipment rentals are available for people who do not own XC ski equipment, and lessons are available and strongly recommended for individuals who do not know how to XC ski.
As a non-profit group, scouts are eligible for 50% off standard day rates for trail passes, equipment rentals, and lessons. The discount requires advance reservation, and payment made as a group rather than each individual paying directly. The discount rate applies to the entire group; scouts, leaders, adults, and other family members attending that day. There is a 15-person minimum for the group rate, however they want this to work for as many units as possible so they can be a bit flexible if it is an organized Scout group with advance reservations.
Units will need to provide their tax-exempt certificate, otherwise sales tax will be added to equipment rental charges. With the 50% discount applied, rates for winter 2022-23 are:
Trail pass:
Junior (6 – 11): $5.00
Youth (12 – 17): $10.00
Adults: $12.50
Equipment rental:
Junior (6 – 11): $9.00
Youth (12 – 17): $10.00
Adults: $12.50
These equipment rental rates are for classic XC skis (full set skis with bindings, boots, and poles), and include the option to swap them out for snowshoes or a snow tube at no extra charge.
One hour classic XC lessons would be $12.50 per person (group with minimum of five participants).
The total discounted price for people doing a trail pass, equipment rental, and lesson would be $26.50 for juniors, $32.50 for youth, and $37.50 for adults. Total discounted price for trail pass and equipment rental without a lesson would be $14.00 for juniors, $20.00 for youth, and $25.00 for adults.
Call to make your unit’s reservation today – (518) 863-4974
Adventure On! with WildPlay
Find your unit’s next adventure with our newest partner, WildPlay at Thacher State Park. WildPlay opens for their 2023 season the weekend of May 13 and 14.
Every participant will receive a limited-edition patch. Reservations can be made by contacting the Park Manager, Jen Dobies – (518)768-4054 or jdobies@wildplay.com
CLASSIC COURSE – $29.99 per person
Their Classic Course has 3 levels which increase in height and difficulty and climb 40-60 feet off the ground. Each level is completed once for the listed price. There is an Extreme 4th level which can be added on for an additional $9.99 per person. Access requirements below.
KIDS COURSE – $22.99 per person
Their Kid Course is 15 – 20 feet off the ground with a lower lifeline and bumble zips. The course is not a ‘kiddy’ or ‘beginner’ course; it features the same games as our Classic Course, access requirements below.