About Old Kia Kima Youth Camp:
A Legacy Reborn

Old Kia Kima Youth Camp is a restored former Boy Scout summer camp that is now owned and operated by the Old Kia Kima Preservation Association (OKKPA). The Old Kia Kima Preservation Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, youth outdoor and camping experience organization that was formed to restore the former camp, Kia Kima. OKKPA acquired and restored the campgrounds, lodges and support facilities to provide an outdoor camping experience for use by youth programs whose objectives are closely aligned with the organizational mission.

Nestled in the Ozark Mountains in Cherokee Village, Arkansas, the camp sits on a bluff overlooking the South Fork of the Spring River and traces its origins back to 1916, just six short years after Boy Scouting was founded in the United States on February 8, 1910. The name chosen for the Scout camp was "Kia Kima" which in the Chickasaw Indian native language, means "Nest of the Eagles".

Camp Kia Kima served as a Boy Scout summer camp for 47 years, excluding the World War II years, until it closed in 1963. The site remained abandoned for 33 years before the Old Kia Kima Preservation Association was founded in 1996.

The restored camp is concentrated in a small corner of the original 160-acre property and consists of 16 native stone and wood cabins as well as several other buildings including the Thunderbird Lodge, a stone and timber structure which houses a museum, including a complete collection of Norman Rockwell Scouting prints.

In April 2015, Old Kia Kima was named as an Arkansas Historical site.

For more information about camping and facilities available at Old Kia Kima Youth Camp, see our Frequently Asked Questions.

For more history of Old Kia Kima Youth Camp, see Old Kia Kima History.