Since 1942, Camp Puh’Tok has provided young people and their families with fresh air, wonderful programs, and FUN! Campers ages 5-16 take part in summer activities that emphasize leadership, teamwork, spirituality, appreciation of nature, and discovering our American heritage.

LOCATION

Camp Puh’Tok offers a magnificent setting in Northern Baltimore County; on over 60 acres of pristine woodlands, bordered by scenic Gunpowder Falls and the 18,000 acre Gunpowder Falls State Park.

HISTORY

A Salvation Army officer, Brigadier Douglas G. Eldredge founded Camp Puh’Tok in 1941. As World War II began, the property, Misty Mount, which Brigadier Eldredge had leased as a summer camp for The Salvation Army Boys’ Club of Baltimore in the Catoctin Mountains, was taken back by the U.S. government for use in the war effort. Striving to locate a new camp site, Brigadier Eldredge appealed to the Gunpowder Youth Camps. This organization, supported by the Towson American Legion, Towson Kiwanis, Cockeysville Optimist and Towson Rotary Clubs, graciously offered to lease some of it’s property, near Camp Alkor, our neighbor to this day.
In the early years, young men from the Highlandtown and Middle River Boys Clubs helped build the first camp facilities. In the 1950’s and 60’s, Chief Sunrise (Rubin Jacobs), a great grandson of the Sioux chief Sitting Bull, mentored campers and helped craft the camp’s Native American programs.

In 2002, under a public-private partnership, Puh’Tok received permanent land protection. This action will help to ensure that future campers enjoy the same natural resources that present campers do.

PHILOSOPHY

We believe that the adventure of camping can provide children with a deeper appreciation of nature, other people, and themselves. Each day, we seek to expand this vision through the following foundation:

Be At One With Nature: To comprehend the universe, we must first study the color of a sunset or how the spider spins her web. Nature offers a tool to better understand the world in which we live. It also serves as a mirror that reflects our most inner thoughts.