Camp Noyo

Camp Noyo was first developed as a logging camp for the Union Lumber Company in 1907. Originally called “Camp Four,” it was the fourth camp established by the lumber company as they progressed east from Fort Bragg along the current route of the California Western Railroad.

In 1933, the Union Lumber Company donated the property to the Silverado Area Council Boy Scouts of America. The Scout council began using the site in the summer 1934 and continue to use the property for several weeks every summer.  The camp was transferred from the Silverado Area Council to the newly expanded Sonoma-Mendocino Council in 1944, and was retained during the consolidation of that council with the Redwood Area Council in 1992.

In 2012, Allan Hemphill, his son Brian, and a small group of family friends purchased the property from the Redwood Empire Council. The Hemphill family has been helping with caretaking of Camp Noyo for over 60 years.

Now under new ownership, Camp Noyo has been made available to the general public on a very limited basis. This unique property has eight private campsites and one River View Chalet, flush toilet, wood-heated showers, and the use of canoes, kayaks, and row boats. The seasonal summer dam creates an estuary that allows boat access to a mile of the river upstream of the camp. The Noyo River is crystal clear and cold and has several very deep pools that are home to rainbow trout, steelhead, salmon, river otters, ducks, salamanders, and frogs. One can enjoy a brisk swim or just nap under the afternoon sun and on the floating dock anchored in the middle of the river.

Camp Noyo is leased back to the Redwood Empire Council for BSA summer programs and weekend camps, but is also available to other groups.  Interested parties are encouraged to book their reservation early for this truly unique opportunity.