FAMILY ADVENTURE CAMP
Located on Scout Key between the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, Camp Jackson Sawyer offers camping opportunities to Boy Scouts of America registered individuals and units as well as to Family Adventure Campers. Whether you’re a Scout troop looking for rustic camping or a family ready to enjoy a Deluxe Luxury Tent, there is a camping style for everyone. Sea Base is excited to offer the opportunity to explore the beautiful Florida Keys to Scout groups and families alike. We hope to be the home base for your tropical adventure in paradise!
What is Family Adventure Camp?
Family Adventure Camp is an exciting new way that BSA and non-BSA registered youth can enjoy the beauty of Camp Jackson Sawyer. We welcome all families with youth participants to stay at CJS and experience the excitement Scouting has to offer young people. Families can use Camp Sawyer as a home base, staying in one of our comfortable Deluxe Luxury Tents during the popular spring and winter camping months (FAC operates October – April). We have a partnership with Bahia Honda State Park where you can pre-book kayak and snorkeling experiences through our website (coming soon!). We encourage FAC campers to explore Bahia Honda State Park where you can swim and enjoy one of the most beautiful beaches in the Florida Keys!
What is a Luxury Deluxe Tent?
If you want to experience a waterfront camping adventure while still sleeping in a real bed and enjoying electricity and air conditioning, you will love our Luxury Deluxe Tents! Each tent contains comfortable beds and high-quality furniture and is a short walk away from our shower house and indoor restroom facilities. A front porch with Adirondack chairs provides a comfortable place to relax and enjoy the incredible scenery.
Luxury Deluxe Tents each have two rooms separated by a zipper door. The main living area comes in two different bed setups: some have one queen bed while others have two full/twin bunkbeds (full bottom bunks with twin top bunks). All tents have two bunkbeds (four twin beds) in the smaller side room.
Luxury Deluxe Tents are $150 per night (plus fees) and do not include linens. A linens package containing pillows, sheets, and blankets can be added for a one-time $25 fee for the duration of your stay.
What Activities are Available at FAC?
What Florida Keys family adventure is complete without getting out and enjoying the beautiful blue water? Family Adventure Camp is working closely with Bahia Honda State Park to provide water activities to FAC participants. Bahia Honda is located less than three miles north of camp, and they offer a beautiful sandy beach and a wide range of activities including snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, hiking, sailing, and fishing. Soon, you will be able to book some activities directly on our FAC reservations site! For now, please contact their concessions office directly for availability and reservations.
Please note that FAC participants are able to wade onsite at Camp Sawyer but must be able to touch the bottom at all times. For fishing, please obtain the appropriate fishing license.
We encourage your family to bring games and supplies to make s’mores onsite as we have fire rings available!
Frequently Asked Questions
Camp Sawyer is always open to Boy Scouts of America registered individuals. The purpose of CJS is to serve Scouts and youth. Thus, in addition to current BSA-registered individuals, we also welcome families camping with at least one youth participant under 18 years. We are excited to offer a wholesome camping experience to both Scouts and families. Please understand that we cannot accommodate adult-only groups without current BSA registrations for each individual.
Note that rustic campsites are only available to registered BSA Scout troops. Family Adventure Campers are welcome to enjoy our Luxury Deluxe tents.
Deluxe Luxury Tents are $150 per night, not including linens. Linens (pillows, sheets, and blankets) can be added for a one-time cost of $25 per tent for the duration of your stay. Deluxe Luxury Tents accommodate 6-8 per tent. Rustic campsites are available to registered Scout groups only and are $55 per night per site. Each site accommodates four. Tents are available to rent for a one-time charge of $8 per site. Please note that we do not have individual size tents available, as all tents are either four or six man. Rental tents will be assigned according to your YPT needs. All other camping gear will need to be brought along to camp.
Family Adventure Camp and Scout troop camping runs from October – April. FAC is not available in the summer months. For Scout troops that are part of the South Florida Council, limited summer camping is available. Camping may also be available to Sea Base crews arriving early or departing late for their adventure. To enquire about summer availability, please send an email to FSB.Camp.Sawyer@scouting.org.
At Camp Sawyer we have indoor restroom facilities, including showers. There are community meeting spaces under the shower house and in a pavilion located at the center of camp. We currently have BBQ grills available and hope to have a full outdoor kitchen soon in the future (bring your own cooking supplies). If your group has refrigeration needs, we recommend bringing a cooler. We have washer/dryers available for use, but you must provide your own detergent. We have many other improvements in the pipeline that we look forward to sharing with you soon!
CJS is located on Scouting’s most beautiful waterfront property in the Florida Keys. Registered Scout BSA units are welcome to bring kayaks or paddleboards for use at camp as long as every adult and youth adhere to Safety Afloat Guidelines. Swimming is allowed for registered Scout BSA units as long as every adult and youth adhere to Safe Swim Defense Guidelines. Snorkeling is allowed for registered Scout BSA units provided every leader and youth adheres to Snorkeling in Open Water Requirements. It is the responsibility of unit leadership booking and attending the campout to review these rules and ensure proper training is received prior to arrival at CJS – unprepared units will not be allowed to participate in the activities above unless proper training standards are met.
Family Adventure Camp participants may participate in swimming, snorkeling, and paddle sports at nearby Bahia Honda State Park or from any public beach or launch area deemed appropriate by the family. Due to BSA water safety training requirements, Family Adventure Camp participants may not enter the water at CJS aside from wading. Family Adventure Camp does not sanction, oversee, provide instruction, or insure Family Adventure Camp participants off-property activities including water-based activities.
Yes! We still offer plenty of primitive-style, rustic camping sites. Each rustic campsite accommodates four campers. If your group is larger, please select multiple sites. Each rustic site does not include any amenities within the site but shares all common campground amenities. Bring your own tent and camping gear. Site location cannot be guaranteed, and our camp staff will show you to your designated site(s) upon arrival.
We strive to provide a wholesome camping experience for our Scout units and families. As such, our camp rules have been developed with youth protection as our guiding principle. Please carefully review the Terms of Service before booking at CJS. Being aware of the rules will help us avoid any issues upon check-in and during your stay. Noncompliance with the Terms of Service can result in being asked to leave the camp without refund. Please find the Terms of Service here: https://www.campspot.com/book/sfcbsa/terms-of-service.
No, pets are not allowed at Camp Sawyer. We appreciate your understanding.
You can now book reservations at Camp Sawyer online here: https://www.campspot.com/book/sfcbsa.
PLEASE NOTE: When you input the expected guests, this is done on a site-by-site basis. You will need to ensure the guest total you input will fit on one site. For rustic sites, the max occupancy is “4” and for Luxury Deluxe Tents, the max occupancy is “6” or “8”. After you input in the number of guests per site, you will see the total number of sites that are available. After adding a single site to your cart, please use the “back” button of your browser to add additional sites until you have enough in your cart to accommodate the entire group. Please ensure that you are reading the site descriptions carefully to avoid confusion at check in.
Please review our cancellation/refund policy here: https://www.campspot.com/book/sfcbsa/cancellation-policy. We recommend trip insurance for all of our guests at Camp Sawyer.
We are committed to having policies in place to make camp as safe as possible for Scout groups, families, and our staff. With your commitment to follow these policies, we believe we can offer a great camping experience during these challenging times. Anyone found not following COVID-19 mitigation procedures will be asked to leave camp without refund.
Important Note: Precautions cannot fully eliminate the potential for exposure to COVID-19 or any other illness while at Camp Jackson Sawyer. Persons with COVID-19 may show no signs or symptoms of illness, but can still spread the virus, and people may be contagious before their symptoms occur. It is possible that someone with COVID-19 may pass the required health screenings and be allowed into camp. Every staff member, volunteer, Scout, and family must evaluate their unique circumstances and make an informed decision before booking at Camp Jackson Sawyer.
Please review the Camp Sawyer COVID-19 Mitigation Policy here: https://www.campspot.com/book/sfcbsa/covid-policy.
Please review the full Sea Base COVID-19 mitigation plan that has been submitted to local and state health departments: https://www.bsaseabase.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/09.04.20-Preparing-for-Sea-Base-2020.pdf.
Please review the COVID-19 Pre-Event Medical Screening Checklist. Anybody who answers “yes” or displays symptoms per this checklist will not be admitted to camp: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-057.pdf.
Please review the Monroe County COVID-19 website here: https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/1169/COVID-19. We adhere to all local requirements at camp.
If your questions/concerns have not been answered in our online resources, please contact FSB.Camp.Sawyer@scouting.org. We are happy to help!
Please visit the Florida Sea Base website: https://www.bsaseabase.org
Please visit the Boy Scouts of America website: https://www.scouting.org/. We hope that Family Adventure Camp offers an inspiring stay that excites your youth to learn more about Scouting!
