Camp Prairie Schooner supports many Girl Scouts' first camp and outdoor experiences. The 186-acre property's close proximity to the Kansas City metropolitan area has led to the camp being the most highly utilized program and property of the three camps in this master planning study.
Illustrative Master Plan. The master plan provides for spaces, facilities and amenities which support Camp Prairie Schooner's day and troop camping, expand adventure programming, provide for additional aquatic programming with a swimming pool and improved access to the Little Blue River. Residential units are upgraded to serve multiple groups of a range of size. Adventure programming is expanded into currently undeveloped areas of the property to draw from the camp's rugged and wooded character.
View of Camp Core. A prominent ridgeline runs through the Camp Core at Camp Prairie Schooner serving as an axis which links the adventure tower (shown center) to proposed residential units in the western reaches of the property (shown to the lower right). The master plan aims to bolster this linkage with a primary pedestrian connection along the roadway, realigning the proposed camp units to both relate to this primary axis and yet maintain a unique relationship with the immediate surrounding landscape.
Illustration by Carl Rogers, PLA, team member on the master planning study.
Know Your Watershed. Camp Prairie Schooner is shown within the context of the Little Blue River watershed and existing parks, open space, and cultural resources of the area. The potential exists to connect the camp with these sites via regional trails and water trails.
Camp Prairie Schooner is defined by one prominent ridge which is the setting for the camp core. Other ridges and valleys create distinct topographic ‘spaces’ which ultimately provide environments for new program and living units, activity areas, and trails each defined by the dramatic topography of the ridge-and-valley Little Blue River landscape.