Applying to the group
What is the 16th Wilderness Ramblers?
The 16th Wilderness Ramblers is a co-ed family scouting group in Jersey City, New Jersey. We get girls and boys into nature, build outdoor skills over time, and camp together as families. We are a chartered group of Outdoor Service Guides (OSG) and a member club of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.
What is the group's mission?
We work to create a welcoming place where people of all ages build outdoor skills, connect across generations, and serve their community. We believe scouting is for everybody. We welcome scouts and families as they are, and we do our best to make scouting accessible to every child and adult who wants to apply, whether they have scouted for years or have never tried it before.
When and why were the 16th Wilderness Ramblers founded?
The 16th Wilderness Ramblers were founded in 2022 by parents who wanted an inclusive, camping-focused outdoor activity to share with their children. We began as an offshoot of the 28th South Mountain in suburban New Jersey and set out to build a group closer to home in Jersey City. We were drawn to Outdoor Service Guides for its balance of a back-to-basics scouting ethos and its long-standing role in giving LGBTQ scouts a welcoming home.
Where and when do you meet?
Our regular meetings are near Van Vorst Park in Jersey City; the exact location is shared with members. We meet on the first and third Wednesday of the month at 6pm and ramble on the third Sunday of the month at 11am. Family camps run in the fall, winter, and spring, including a potential winter camp at Frost Valley in the Catskills, to be confirmed. We draw families from across Jersey City and nearby, including Downtown, Hamilton Park, Paulus Hook, and Hoboken.
Where have you been on rambles and camps?
Our rambles, field days, and camps take us across New Jersey and the region, from county and state parks to nature centers and our Family Camp at Cheesequake State Park. The map below shows where we have been and where we are headed.
What ages can apply, and what is the Timberwolf program?
Each year we organize around a core age group so the section has a group of peers. For the 2026-2027 program year, the Timberwolf program centers on children born between July 2016 and June 2018 (about ages 8 to 10). We have flexibility for children at the edges of that range, so if your child is a bit older or younger, talk to us. Siblings who are not scouts are welcome to tag along to activities. Scouts work through the Timberwolf program, earning badges and life skills in various proficiencies including first aid, cycling, fishing, and collecting. The scouts also build toward completing the program's star levels across the year to advance to the next section.
Do you have sections for younger or older children, like Otters or Pathfinders?
Right now our active section is the Timberwolf program. Outdoor Service Guides also has an Otter Raft for younger children and a Pathfinder Troop for older youth. We can open an Otter or Pathfinder section for the 16th Wilderness Ramblers when a parent is ready to step up and lead it. If you have a younger or older child who wants to take part, tell us on the interest form and we will talk about starting the right section.
How much does it cost, and is financial aid available?
Dues are $500 per family for new families and $400 for returning families. Insurance is $55 per family member. Dues cover shared camping gear, uniforms and handbooks, park and space fees, and liability insurance. No-questions-asked financial aid is available, so cost is never a barrier to applying. See the full breakdown by household size on our cost page.
Do we need camping gear or experience?
No. Families do not need to buy camping gear, and you do not need camping experience. We lend tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags, and we support families who have never camped.
How can parents and guardians get involved?
Our group runs on parent and guardian volunteers, which ensures it is a parent-led program. Volunteering takes a few forms:
- All parents are expected to volunteer a little at Family Camp.
- Some parents are asked to help with an activity at a meeting.
- Some parents serve as Rover leaders with Outdoor Service Guides, which requires a Brownsea Training Camp and a background check through Sterling Volunteers.
No previous scouting experience is needed.
Who are the leaders?
Every leader is an unpaid parent volunteer, so dues go straight to the program. Our leaders complete a yearly background check through Sterling Volunteers, a Brownsea Training Camp, and all five are Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certified.
How do we apply?
Fill out the interest form on our home page. A group leader will reply by email with next steps and how to apply for membership. Families of all backgrounds are welcome.
About Outdoor Service Guides and scouting
Are you affiliated with Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America) or Girl Scouts?
No. Outdoor Service Guides is fully independent and is not affiliated with Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) or the Girl Scouts. Outdoor Service Guides is a member of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS). We are not in competition with other American scouting associations; we consider them siblings in scouting. Many families come to us looking for an inclusive, co-ed scouting program in Jersey City that welcomes girls and boys of all backgrounds.
How is Outdoor Service Guides different from Scouting America and Girl Scouts?
We share core values of service, community, and self-reliance with all scouting movements. Outdoor Service Guides welcomes all genders to scout together with equal dignity, and there is no religious requirement. Our program returns to scouting's original focus on outdoor skills like camping and hiking. We run independently, with no sponsoring organization, no paid staff, and no national product-sales programs. Every role is filled by a volunteer. Outdoor Service Guides turned 20 in 2026 and now has more than 30 active groups nationwide with about 1,500 registered scouts.
What is the Inclusive Scouting badge?
The Inclusive Scouting badge is the first badge our scouts earn, and one of the few worn by scouts of every age, from Chipmunks to Rovers. It shows a silver arrow on a rainbow of black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, sky blue, royal blue, and purple. Scouts earn it simply by wearing it, as a declaration that everyone is welcome to scout with us.
What is "back-to-basics" or traditional scouting?
Traditional, back-to-basics scouting returns to the original pillars of the movement: a love of nature and a drive to help others. We meet outdoors, build woodcraft and nature skills, and take on service projects from trail cleanups to food drives. Scouts work in small patrols, such as Otter rafts, Timberwolf sixes, and Pathfinder patrols, where they learn independence, resilience, and problem-solving as a team. We keep scouting's original methods while modernizing language and following current best practices in safety and outdoor education.
What is scoutcraft?
Scoutcraft is the set of traditional outdoor skills at the heart of scouting: making and breaking camp, knots and lashings, fire, navigation and map reading, cooking outdoors, first aid, and reading the weather and the land. Scouts learn scoutcraft step by step through the Timberwolf program and put it to use on rambles and at camp.
Who were the Baden-Powells, and why the name Outdoor Service Guides?
Robert Baden-Powell (1857 to 1941) founded the scouting movement; his 1907 camp on Brownsea Island is regarded as the beginning of scouting, and his writings are the root of scouting organizations worldwide. His sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, brought the movement to girls, organizing the first Girl Guides in 1910 and shaping early guiding so girls could scout too. OSG was originally named for the Baden-Powell family. In 2020 it reckoned with the fact that Baden-Powell said and did things that do not represent the OSG's values, and it changed its name to Outdoor Service Guides to better reflect who we are. You can read more in OSG's commitment to inclusive scouting.
What is an Outdoor Service Guides group?
A group is the organizational unit that holds the different program sections. Each group has its own name, number, and necker (neckerchief), and a Group Scout Master who coordinates activities. A group may include a Chipmunk Scurry, Otter Raft, Timberwolf Pack, Pathfinder Troop, and Rover Crew, depending on its members and on having enough leaders for two-deep leadership at each level. The 16th Wilderness Ramblers is one such group.
What is the World Federation of Independent Scouts?
The World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS) is an international federation that unites independent, traditional scouting associations from around the world, outside the largest global scouting and guiding organizations. Outdoor Service Guides is a member of WFIS. WFIS holds international events, and OSG members have taken part in gatherings in Europe and Latin America. You can learn more at the WFIS Worldwide and WFIS Americas websites.
Where do we get uniforms and gear?
When a scout enrolls, the 16th gives them their uniform, and we provide all the badges they earn. The OSG Quartermaster store at osg-qm.org is the place to buy additional gear and swag. Shared camping gear is provided by the group, so you do not need to buy your own to get started.
What does being a member club of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference mean?
The 16th Wilderness Ramblers is a member club of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, the nonprofit that builds and maintains thousands of miles of trails across the region. Membership connects us to the trail community and to the stewardship of the open spaces where we hike and camp.
Are there other Outdoor Service Guides groups near us?
Yes. Our closest sibling groups in the region are the 28th South Mountain in suburban New Jersey and three Brooklyn groups (the 5th Prospect Park, the 234th Stuy Rangers, and the 651st Greenwood). We camp and gather together through the year. The map below shows where they are.
