While planning for the trip, I spent a fair amount of time looking online for information about the camp, which I had never been to. Unfortunately, there isn't much information about Camp Bomazeen on either the Pine Tree Council website or elsewhere online, so I thought I would share a bit of what I observed on our trip here.
Camp Bomazeen is on Horse Point Road in Belgrade. It's actually situated between privately owned houses which made for an interesting experience on this trip when one of our non-scouting neighbors had a rather large late-night housewarming party. The camp includes considerable waterfront with terrific views of Great Pond.
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| A view of the main waterfront at Camp Bomazeen, just out the front door of McCurdy Lodge. |
Facilities
McCurdy Lodge
We stayed the weekend in McCurdy Lodge which is one of two cabins on the site equipped with wood stoves for winter camping. I didn't count the bunks, but according to the Council's weekend rental form, this cabin sleeps 28. It includes a large wood stove that was plenty to heat the cabin on the very cold and windy weekend we were there. The cabin also has a fireplace-wood stove conversion that we didn't use.
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| This large woodstove is the primary hear source in McCurdy Lodge at camp Bomazeen. |
You do have to supply your own firewood. There is a latrine behind the cabin with electric lights an separate facilities for males and females. The cabin is also appointed with picnic tables, electric lights and enough outlets for adults to keep their phones charged.
We enjoyed our stay in McCurdy, my only cautions for groups staying here are:
- There is no outside fire ring and the fireplace is closed up, which posed some challenges for us doing Dutch Oven cooking and we had to improvise.
- There is only one room, which can be problematic if you're trying to adhere to the Guide to Safe Scouting's requirements for separate sleeping accommodations for males and females.
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| McCurdy Lodge from the North. The latrine is on the far left of the photo. |
As I mentioned, the fireplace has been filled up with a plate-style conversion stove (below). Given that the cabin's main stove was plenty to heat the place, I'd have preferred this left open for that open fire feel and a place to cook with the Dutch Ovens out of the wind.
One thing units should be sure to do is create a plaque commemorating their stay. I hadn't planned on this and ended up carving one into a piece of scrap lumber. (Another leader traced my carving with a black Sharpie - see the below photo at top right). It's really fun to see these plaques scattered around the cabin and look for units and scouts that you know.
Pavilion Cabin
Pavilion is the smaller of the two winter cabins. It sleeps 16 and features a walled-off second room to accommodate separate sleeping accommodations for females as required by Guide to Safe Scouting rules. We were originally supposed to be in this cabin but were relocated by the camp ranger because it is marginally further from the road than McCurdy and the camp roads were not in the best shape.
This unit is heated by a single wood stove and has electricity. It's a short walk to the nearest latrine facilities.
Troops like ours that have camped quite a lot at Camp Hinds in Raymond or Camp Nutter in Acton could definitely enjoy the change of scenery at Camp Bomazeen. I only wish that the weather had been less windy when we were there so we could have enjoyed more time out and about. Happy camping!
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