Camp Timber Ridge Looks Forward to 100th Summer Empowering Girls

At Camp Timber Ridge, there are a lot of firsts.

For many of its attendees, it’s the first time they shoot a bow and arrow, the first time they climb on high ropes or the first time they sleep away from home. But for the camp itself, almost nothing is a first.

The Girl Scout camp will celebrate its 100th birthday this summer, ringing in a full century of adventure.

Though the activities of the camp have come a long way, many of its traditions stay the same: s’mores, tie-dye and canoe rides are as much of a staple to Timber Ridge today as they were 100 years ago.

But Assistant Camp Director Caitlyn Brune, who first fell in love with Timber Ridge as a camper two decades ago, said the girls who go to camp now are doing things its past attendees may never have dreamed of.

“Our behind-the-scenes session has campers talking about STEM career exploration,” Brune said. “... They will see that you can do anything under a STEM degree. It’s not just science and engineering.”

The camp welcomes all girls, rising kindergarteners through 12th grade to over 200-acres of forest-filled property in Mableton, near Lindley Middle School. There are dozens of different sessions campers can choose from, ranging from $240 to $550.

Though it has a heavy affiliation with the Girl Scouts, and attendees who are Scouts earn at least one badge each session, campers don’t have to be a part of the troop to join the fun at Timber Ridge.

With up to 250 girls welcomed at each of the sessions, campers have the chance to create lifelong, strong female bonds — something interim CEO Kat Marran said is invaluable.

“There are ugly stats that tell us 33% of all high school girls are thinking, at some point, about suicide,” Marran said. “... We’ve got girls between five and 17, and two-thirds of them acknowledge anxiety and stress about making friends ... Girl Scouts can’t fix all the statistics, but if that one girl or two girls that are feeling that anxiety gets to come in and feel welcomed and gets an experience that builds her confidence, she’s much less likely to continue those ugly stats.”

Some of those friendships are forged by overcoming fear together, including on the camp’s high ropes, which are new and improved this year.

“Girls want those adventures too,” Marran said. “They are explorers, and getting up on those high ropes is a testament to their courage. When they complete it, they’re really thrilled.”

Part of building that courage, Camp Director Connie Crunkleton said, is being given the opportunity to fail.

“We offer a great place to try anything, and it’s OK to fail. We offer that safe place to fail. That’s probably one of my favorite parts of camp: watching those campers experience things for the first time and know if they don’t get it right the first time, they still get chances to try again,” Crunkleton said.

But most of Timber Ridge’s history has been full of successes.

Over the last 100 years, the camp has grown exponentially, serving tens of thousands of girls over the decades.

The small swimming hole is now a five-acre oasis in the Atlanta summer heat, cookie sales funded the construction of the camp’s second dining hall in the 1950s and the simple s’more — which was invented by Girl Scouts in 1927 — has evolved into a gourmet treat, where campers build the dessert of their dreams at least once a week.

While the Girl Scouts have contributed the great inventions of the s’more and the thin mint to society, Marran added that there is much more.

“We’re bringing astronauts and secretary of states and Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift,” Marran said. “So, I think we got this covered.”

Registration for Camp Timber Ridge is open now. Registration closes for any given session two weeks before its set start date, with the first session beginning Friday. For more information, visit: GirlScoutSummer.com/Timber-Ridge-Camp.