Girl Scouts Love State Parks

September 13 and 14, 2025

Every year, Girl Scouts explore the natural wonders found across our country and celebrate our shared love for the outdoors during Girl Scouts Love State Parks weekend.

South Carolina State Parks have been involved in Girl Scouts Love State Parks weekend since its inaugural year in 2019. Several state parks have offered programming including service projects, historical programming, wilderness skills, hikes and so much more. Check out the 2025 programs being offered below!

MORE INFO COMING SOON! Participating parks this year are: Hunting Island State Park, Lee State Park, Sesquicentennial State Park, Oconee Station State Historic Site, Huntington Beach State Park, Battle of Musgrove Mill State Historic Site.

Download your Girl Scouts Love State Parks passport!

Get your official Girl Scouts Love State Parks sew-on patch!

📍 Oconee Station State Historic Site

📅 Date: Sept. 13, 2025

⏳ Time: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Cost: $5 per participant

Join us for a fun-filled day of discovery, creativity, and adventure at Oconee Station Historic Site! Girls will complete a variety of Girl Scout challenge activities while exploring the park’s natural and historical wonders. Learn more.

Activities Include:

Scavenger Hunt & Map Making – Explore the park and create your own scavenger hunt map.
Park Ranger Q&A & Living History – Meet a ranger, ask questions, and step into frontier life.
Knot-Tying & Compass Skills – Learn essential outdoor skills for your next adventure.
Picnic Lunch & Cloud Art – Enjoy lunch and get creative with cloud-inspired drawings.
Nature Walk & Leave No Trace – Discover local wildlife, learn about Indigenous connections to the land, and share Leave No Trace principles.
Tree Promise & Celebration – Plant or honor a tree and reflect on the day together.

Bring: Lunch, water, comfortable clothes, and your curiosity!

Register online, here.

Contact: Ranger Rae at 864-638-0079 or rjensen@scprt.com

📍Sesquicentennial State Park

Hiking 101 – Girl Scouts Love State Parks

📅Date: Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025

⏳Time: 10 a.m. to noon

Description: Join us at Sesquicentennial State Park to learn the basics of hiking! From what to bring and how to prepare to how to leave no trace in the outdoors. Then we will put our knowledge to use on a short hike. Adults must accompany children. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. For questions call (803) 788-2706 or email sjensen@scprt.com.

Free with regular park admission.

Register online, here.

📍Huntington Beach State Park

The Coastal Buzz

📅Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025

⏳Time: 10 a.m. to noon

Cost: $5/scout

Description: Join naturalist Amber Macleod in the Nature Center classroom for a 30-minute presentation on the wide variety of insects that call coastal South Carolina home. They will learn the importance of planting native plants to help our native pollinators, as well as other ways to help mitigate our declining insect population.

The next 30 minutes will engage the scouts in an outside exploration to view the insects they have just learned about, using a variety of provided tools: nets, bug catchers, and magnifying lenses. Gentle catch and release and observations skills will be emphasized.

In the final half hour, each scout will have the opportunity to decorate a flowerpot made of recycled cardboard and plant some seeds of a native flower that they can then take home with them to establish their very own personal native plant pollinator garden!

If desired, we can also add an extension where the girls can paint a 12” x 12” wooden sign blank with a conservation message that will then be posted at one of the native plant pollinator gardens at Huntington Beach State Park.

To register for this program, contact Amber Macleod by e-mailing her at: amacleod@scprt.com.

📍Battle of Musgrove Mill State Historic Site

Beginning Bird Watching

📅Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025

⏳Time: 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. - Juniors and Cadettes

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - Daisies and Brownies

Cost: Free

We can accommodate limited participants in each time slot.

Description: Beginning Bird Watching – covering basic, shapes, sounds, using applications to identify and make a life list. 2nd half of the program will be making a felt bird craft to carry home.

Prepare for the weather, bring a water bottle and snack.

📍Lee State Park

Leaf Art

📅Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025

⏳Time: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Cost: $5/scout

Description: Make your own TREE-mendous art! Using fabric and paper for our canvas, fabric paint, real leaves, and our imagination, we will create nature art souvenirs of Lee State Park.

What to Bring: Bring a washed 100% cotton t-shirt (detergent only, no fabric softener). Wear clothes you don't mind getting paint on.

📍Battle of Rivers Bridge State Historic Site

🌳Battle of Rivers Bridge All-Ages History Hike

📅Date: Sunday, September 14, 2025

⏳Time: 1:00 p.m.

Cost: $5/participant, FREE for siblings 3 and under

For questions and more information contact Russell Stock at rstock@scprt.com or 803-683-0239.

Meets:

✅ Daisy Trail Adventure Badge (100%)
✅ Brownie Hiker Badge (100%)
✅ 1 of 3 Hikes for Junior Trail Adventure Badge (⅓)

Time Needed: ~2.5–3 hours Total Distance: ~2.75 miles (with Daisy group finishing early if needed)

Meet at: Park Office, Rivers Bridge State Historic Site

🔍 Part 1: Gear Up and Get Ready! (All Ages Together)

Meet your Ranger and go over today’s adventure.
Discuss trail options and review the Trail Map with compass demo.
Look at the gear Civil War soldiers carried and compare it to our hiking gear!
Make a walking salad snack (Brownie) and check supplies.
Learn about trail safety, the buddy system, and leave-no-trace hiking tips.

Required Gear:

Bag/backpack
Water (32–48oz)
Enclosed shoes, long pants
Bug repellent, whistle
Flashlight, brightly colored rain poncho
First aid kit (band-aids, ointment)
Trail map & compass

🥾 Part 2: Hiking Adventure (with route flexibility by age)

All hikers begin together on the ½-mile Battlefield Trail, where we:

Learn about the Battle of Rivers Bridge
Play Nature Bingo (Daisy/Brownie)
Explore senses: What can you see, hear, smell, and feel? (Daisy)
Take photos or sketch a quick scene for your journal (Daisy/Junior)

🎯 At 0.5 miles, Daisies may choose to finish or rest with an adult, draw their hike, and complete reflection activities.

Brownies and Juniors continue on the:

1-mile Historic Causeway Trail
- Talk about Civil War marching and how soldiers hiked long distances
- Spot wildlife, stream crossings, and historic features

Then:

1.25-mile Nature Trail (optional for stronger Juniors or groups seeking the full 3-mile adventure)
- Discuss trail ecology and do a short compass challenge
- Set goals and reflect on hiking endurance and preparation (Junior)

🎒 Part 3: Reflect & Share (All Ages)

Return to park office for wrap-up
Draw or share what you learned and saw
Talk about your favorite trail moment
Stamp your badge logs

🏕 Badge Completion Notes:

Daisy: All steps of Trail Adventure badge met
Brownie: All Hiker Badge steps met (snack, map, gear, safety, hike)
Junior: Meets 1 of 3 Day Hike requirements in the Junior Trail Adventure badge

👣 About the Hike

Join our park ranger for a fun and educational hike through Civil War history and nature! This adventure is designed for Daisies (5–7), Brownies (7–9), and Juniors (9–11) to complete badge requirements together while exploring trails, learning new skills, and having fun outdoors.

South Carolina State Parks offers many programs & events to the public throughout the year. Check them out here.

While you are visiting a South Carolina State Park, consider doing some of these activities:

Become a Junior Ranger and participate in fun activities and programs that help you learn more about the parks and our mission.
Ahead of your park visit, pledge to Pick up America. #PickUpAmerica
Earn your "Girl Scouts Love the Outdoors Challenge" patch at South Carolina's state parks!

When you visit a state park throughout the year, please be sure to:

Wear your Girl Scout vest or sash so that you will be recognized as a Girl Scout during your visit.
Take photos of your visit and share them on social media, to show how engaged Girl Scouts are at the parks! Share using hashtag #SCStateParks and #GSLoveStateParks on all social media channels, or make sure to tag us on Facebook (@SC.State.Parks), Twitter (@SC_State_Parks), and Instagram (@SCStateParks).
Learn the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace, and teach others how to protect and preserve South Carolina's state parks.