Staten Island · Richmond County
Pouch Camp
NYC Parks
- Location
- Manor Road, Sea View / Todt Hill area
- Size
- 118 acres
- Hours
- By arrangement (Boy Scout camp)
- Type
- NYC Parks
Pouch Camp is a 118-acre Boy Scout camp in the heart of the Staten Island Greenbelt, one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in New York City. The camp provides wilderness-style recreation within the city limits.
The camp was acquired by the Boy Scouts' Greater New York Councils in 1949, on part of the former estate of architect Ernest Flagg, and is named for William H. Pouch, a longtime Scout official and council president. It is one of the few remaining urban Scout camps in the United States.
The Greenbelt surrounding Pouch Camp contains one of the most extensive forest ecosystems in New York City, with mature hardwood forest, wetlands, streams, and diverse wildlife including white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and red-tailed hawks.
Todt Hill, adjacent to the camp, is the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard south of Maine at 409.8 feet above sea level. The elevation creates a microclimate and forest ecosystem that is unique within the city.
Pouch Camp represents one of the most remarkable open spaces in New York City: a working Scout camp with over a century of history, surrounded by mature forest at the highest point on the Atlantic coast south of New England.