Girl Scouts Take a Hike to Save Beloved Camp

When Girls Scouts get mad, they get hiking.

The  — a group comprised mostly of former and current Girl Scouts — is inviting the public to participate in their first major fundraiser, “Take a Hike for Eagle Island,” from June 4-11, in three New Jersey locations.

The first hike is right here in our neck of the woods — South Mountain Reservation — and it takes place tomorrow, June 4 at 10:30 a.m. at Locust Grove across from the Millburn train station.

The Friends are hoping to raise enough money to acquire the Girl Scout camp on Upper Saranac Lake, N.Y., that for 70 years welcomed several generations of New Jersey girls. More than a dozen hikes will take place throughout the U.S. and abroad during the week of June 4-12, said organizer Chris Hildebrand.

Designed by noted Adirondack Great Camp architect William L. Coulter, Eagle Island was a summer retreat for  U.S. Vice President Levi Morton. In 1937, Henry Graves, of Orange, NJ, gifted the camp to the Girl Scouts of South Orange and Maplewood. The camp, which opened in 1938 and closed in 2009, provided top-notch sailing and boating instruction and wilderness camping experiences for several generations of New Jersey girls.

Representatives of the Girl Scouts have said that the camp became too expensive to maintain and was too distant from the troops it served.

With the Girl Scouts poised to sell the historic property in the Adirondacks, former campers have banded together as the Friends of Eagle Island, Inc., to acquire the historic property, designated a National Historic Landmark in 2004, and perpetuate the Graves family mandate that it always be a place for children to enjoy the outdoors, make friendships and learn leadership skills.

The three hikes include:

• The South Mountain Reservation hike, meeting Saturday, June 4, 10:30 a.m. at Locust Grove in Millburn, across the street from the train station. Contact: Michelle Racioppi at:takeahikeathereservation@friendsofeagleisland.org. 

•  A Hunterdon County taking place Sunday, June 5, 12 p.m. in Voorhees State Park. Meet at the Hoppock Grove Parking area just past the post office. Contact: Adriane Collett attakeahikeathereservation@friendsofeagleisland.org.

• Asbury Park Boardwalk hike, Saturday, June 11, 10:30 am. Meet on the boardwalk at 7th Street. Contact: Marilyn Graber at takeahikeathereservation@friendsofeagleisland.org. 

To participate, visit: http://www.friendsofeagleisland.org, click on Take a Hike for FEI. Donate securely online via PayPal or credit card, or send checks to: Friends of Eagle Island, Inc., P.O. Box 245, Livingston, NJ 07039. Or, leave VM at: 973-996-8306.