About Us
With a rich history of Scouting that dates back to 1916, the Golden Gate Area Council (GGAC) serves the Northern California Bay Area communities of San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Lake and Solano Counties and supports more than 700 local packs, troops, teams and crews. The Golden Gate Area Council was formed in April 2020 by the merger of the San Francisco Bay Area Council, the Alameda Council and the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council.
The Council Headquarters is located in Pleasanton, California near the 580 / 680 hwy junction with a satellite office in Alameda. The Golden Gate Area Council maintains five nationally accredited camps: Camp Royaneh (Established 1925) – Located near Cazadero, CA along East Austin Creek and the oldest Scout Camp in California still in operation; Camp Wolfeboro (Established in 1928) – Located east of Angels Camp, CA along the North Fork of the Stanislaus River in the Sierra Nevada Mountains; Camp Herms (Established 1930) – Located at the top of the ridge in the hills above El Cerrito, CA; Rancho Los Mochos (Established 1944) – Located in the hills south of Livermore, CA near Mendenhall Springs and Wente Scout Reservation (Established 1959) – Located in the hills east of Willits, CA with 2200 acres, the largest Scout property in California.
Camp Royaneh is located 2.5 miles south of the Northern California town of Cazadero, near the Russian River, and 100 miles north of San Francisco. The property was acquired in April 1925 by the San Francisco Council and opened on June 22, 1925 as the first permanent summer camp of the San Francisco Council. Camp Royaneh is the oldest continuously operated Scout camps in all of California and second oldest west of the Mississippi. Camp Royaneh is comprised of over 345 acres of private scout property.
Camp Royaneh operates multiple week long sessions during the summer and each year the camp hosts thousands of Scouts from all over the United States including California, Texas, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii and Florida. To educate our Scouts we have a highly trained staff of coed youth and young adults from places like Utah, Tennessee, Oregon, and even Taiwan, and France, but mostly the Northern California area. The camp offers over 50 different Merit Badges, with the possibility of more being announced at camp, as well as many awards to earn and lots of activities to partake in that are just fun.
Camp Royaneh offers a chance to hike, backpack, ride horses, rock climb, swim and participate in a rodeo all in one week. Scouts can try their hand at black powder musket firing, rappelling, archery and even orienteering. Expert instruction in Eagle required merit badges and popular outdoor skill merit badges like pioneering will make the Scoutcraft area come alive. The camp is rich in wildlife and allows for the study of nature, conservation, wildlife management, woodcraft and plant science. The majestic stands of mature Redwoods and the temperate climate spell adventure for the new unit as well as seasoned units that likes to take it easy and test their skills. Our 300,000 gallon pool is a great place for swimming or just relaxing.
