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August 2023 by Matt Harris
great BSA Scouting camp
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March 2022 by suzanne payan
Was there for our troop 99. Best place to camp for scouts.
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March 2022 by David Payan
Boy scout camp with a long history in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
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March 2022 by B McCaffrey
If you like bugs (Like spiders, Beatles, ants, caterpillar’s and other creepy crawlers) then you’ll love this place! If you don’t like bugs... bring about 100 cans of bug spray. But even that might not be enough to keep you safe.If there were no bugs this place would be a perfect.They do have flushing toilets though so it gets two out of five stars.
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March 2021 by Benny Penrose
I was a boy scout from 68 to 75 with troop 13, we were at the time part owners of o ki hi.I had winderful and exciting times at the camp, hiking, camping, swimming, boating, fishing, and even learned gold panning....
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March 2021 by Michael Riggan
I was there in the mid 80’s as a Boy Scout. My dad and I even helped build a new trading post up there one time 1988.
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June 2018 by John Roach
Great times
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March 2017 by Steven Virden Rasmussen-Jones
I was a member and Senior Patrol Leader in Troop 13 and was at Camp O-Ki-Hi in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Yes, it is and always has been a magical place. I have great memories of this wonderful camp. In my opinion, it is the best camp in the BSA Golden Empire Council
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March 2017 by Donald M. Nelson Sr.
I AM A 77 YEAR OLD SACRAMENTO NATIVE WHO WAS A MEMBER OF TROOP 29 IN THE YEARS RIGHT AFTER WWII [1947-1951] WHEN CAMP O-KI-HI WAS FOUNDED BY A MAN CALLED HARRY B. OGAL I BELIEVE. ED FORTADO WAS THE SCOUT MASTER AND HAD A CHEVRON GAS STATION NEAR THE THEN 'SACRAMENTO JUNIOR COLLEGE.'THERE WAS A MESS HALL AND AT LEAST SEVEN OR EIGHT CANVAS COVERED WOOD BASED BARRACKS. EACH ONE HAD THE NAME OF A SCOUT PATROL GIVEN TO IT. I WAS IN THE WOLF PATROL TENT.BEHIND THE TENTS WAS A WOODEN STRUCTURE CALLED" THE KYBO " WHICH STOOD FOR:K EEP Y OUR B OWELS O PEN.THERE WAS A HOT WATER BOILER BEHIND THE KYBO AND HAD TO BE STOKED AND LIGHTED EVERY MORNING AND EVENING. OUR PATROLS TOOK TURNS WITH THAT CHORE. ADJACENT TO THE KYBO WAS A GIANT COMPLEX OF BOULDERS AS I REMEMBER. FURTHER AWAY WAS GOOD OLD SARDINE CREEK. MANY FISH WERE CAUGHT THEREAND MANY HIKES WERE TAKEN UP AND DOWN THAT CREEK.TO SWIM WE HIKED TO SAND POND WHICH IS THE LOWEST AND SMALLEST IN THE LINE OF LAKES DOWN THE SLOPE OF THE SIERRA BUTTES. THERE WERE MANY PLACES TO HIKE AND CAMP OUT AMONG THE STARS THERE. AS OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED, THE HIKE TO THE RANGER FIRE WATCH STATION ON TOP OF THE SIERRA BUTTES WAS A VERY INTERESTING AND BEAUTIFUL HIKE. BEFORE ASCENDING TO THE BUTTES, WE WOULD CAMP AT LOWER TAMERACK LAKE WHERE FLY FISHING WAS GREAT.THERE WERE MANY EVENING ASSEMBLYS AT O-KI-HI WHERE WE WOULD SING AND PUT ON SKITS AND TELL STORIES. ONE OF THE FIRST STORIES I REMEMBER GIVEN BY A SCOUT LEADER WAS OF GOOD OLD "HIRAM THE HERMIT" WHO WOULD TAKE YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO CHOP WOOD AND CLEAN HIS FISH. SCARY BUT HE WOULD FEED YOU AND KEEP YOU WARM BY HIS FIRE AT LEAST.I SPENT 5 GLORIOUS SUMMERS AT CAMP O-KI-HI AND EVEN AFTER I BECAME AN ADULT, I RETURNED TO THAT AREA TO CAMP, HIKE AND FISH. I HAVE COPD NOW AND CANNOT DO THOSE THINGS ANY MORE BUT MY PLEASANT MEMORIES OF MY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES THERE SUSTAIN ME IN MY OLD AGE AND HAVE BECOME SOME OF THE MOST PRECIOUS MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES IN MY LIFE.PS; I NEVER SAW HIRAM THE HERMIT.
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January 2014 by Justin L.
I attended camp every winter and summer from January 1998 - July 2002, earned many skills and merit badges there, learned and practiced the 12 strong tenets of the Boy Scout Law with the guidance of the dedicated adult staff, and became part of the junior staff as a guide to the younger boys. I credit much of the quality training in my scout years to the quality time spent at camp. As stated on the campokihi.org website, the camp is volunteer-run, which makes it a place of and by, and for people who go there not just out of tradition, but out of love. Most adult volunteers are Scout parents, several whose Scouts had already attained their Eagle awards and moved on in their own adult lives. Still some of the most dedicated and perennial staff had no children in Scouts, but loved the camp and loved the troops enough to devote their time every year maintain the camp and teach the boys who attended. They also get the boys involved in caring for their camp: during the program the scouts clean their own cabins and rotate camp-wide chores every day of the week. Some boys become dedicated assistant staff to facilitate the camping experience of other scouts, and the truly devoted come up outside of the camp season to participate in work weekends to prepare the camp for upcoming sessions. No wonder then that the camp received the top marks in its accreditation reviews every year, often outranking the top performing and several times larger paid-staff council camps in terms of quality of program, quality of management, safety, and cleanliness. Add to that the beauty of the Sierras, the abundance of natural hiking trails, lakes (some bring up their boats to teach the sailing merit badge) and geological features (some leaders have taken boys on rappelling trips), nearby towns with historical attractions such as mines and train museums, even golf courses (yes, you can earn your badge for that here, too), you'll be too busy enjoying all of the activities of your camp to wonder what's going on at the other camps (yes, there were some in the area--at least during the years I visited).
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September 2012 by Steve J.
I am an alumni of Camp Okihi, or as it was originally named Camp Harry B. Ogle. As it is stated, it is owned by 4 Boy Scout troops from the Golden Empire Council in Sacramento and has been in generally continuous operation since the late 1940's. I was an alumni from Troop 13 and attended from approximately 1957 up until about 1962. The camp back then and it is essentially the same today is constructed to handle about 60-80 scouts and adults. The original came consisted of about 6 MASH style military tents and out buildings including a shower building. It is very close to some extremely beautiful scenery in the northern Sierra, in the Lakes Basin area near the Sierra Buttes, the Sardine Lakes, Sand Pond, and Packer Lake. Paker and Sardine both have nice resorts. I went back for sentimental reasons in about 2004 and spoke to the camp administrator. He told me that the came is still owned by the four troops, but that it is available for specialized camps too, i.e., science camps, computer camps, etc. This may have changed, so inquire at the above address or the headquarters of the Golden Empire Council in Sacramento. It is a wonderful place. At one time, there were other camps close by from the Yolo YMCA, The Diablo Girl Scouts (which ironically was attended by my wife), and the San Francisco Campire Girls. It is my understanding that these are all or mostly abandoned. Too bad. Great place with tons of very good memories.
