Venturing
Youth-led adventure for teens and young adults — built around the interests your crew chooses to pursue.
What is Venturing?
Venturing is Scouting America’s program for teens and young adults ages 14 through 20. It is built on a simple idea: young people learn best when they choose what to pursue and take real ownership of how they pursue it. Venturing crews plan their own activities, elect their own leaders, and shape their own program around the interests of the members.
A Venturing crew might focus on high-adventure outdoor pursuits like backpacking, rock climbing, or whitewater paddling. Another crew might center on shooting sports, scuba diving, or emergency preparedness. Still others build their program around service, arts, or STEM. The through-line isn’t the activity — it’s the growth that happens when young people plan meaningful experiences together, execute them, and reflect on what they learned.
Venturing welcomes any young person in the age range, whether they came up through Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA or are joining Scouting for the first time. Crews are co-ed, and prior Scouting experience is not required.
How Venturing works
Venturers belong to a crew, which is typically smaller and more flexible than a Scouts BSA troop. Crews vary widely in what they do and how often they meet, because the members themselves shape the program.
Youth-led at every level
Elected Venturers plan the crew’s calendar, run meetings, and make decisions. Adult Advisors mentor and ensure safety but don’t run the crew.
Program built around interests
Every crew is different. Some focus on a single specialty like sailing or backpacking; others rotate through a variety of activities based on what members want to try.
Flexible meeting schedule
Crews set their own meeting rhythm to fit the ages and commitments of their members — often less frequent than a Scouts BSA troop but with bigger trips and projects.
The Venturing awards
Venturing has its own awards system distinct from Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA. The four awards recognize progressive growth in four areas: adventure, leadership, personal growth, and service. Venturers can pursue all four in sequence, or focus on the ones that match their goals.
The Ranger Award
A separate high-adventure recognition for Venturers who develop advanced outdoor skills across multiple disciplines — from wilderness first aid to backpacking, watercraft, and shooting sports. The Ranger Award can be earned alongside the main Venturing awards and is one of the most respected achievements in outdoor Scouting.
What crews actually do
Because every crew shapes its own program, activities vary widely — but the common thread is that Venturers plan and lead the experience themselves. Typical Venturing activities include:
High-adventure trips
Backpacking, whitewater paddling, rock climbing, mountaineering, and expeditions to Scouting America’s national high adventure bases.
Specialty pursuits
Scuba, sailing, shooting sports, emergency preparedness, aviation, culinary arts — whatever the crew chooses to focus on.
Service and community
Crews plan and execute meaningful service projects, from disaster relief support to sustained community partnerships.
Who runs the program?
Venturing crews are led by youth. An elected Crew President presides over the crew, supported by other elected officers who handle activities, administration, and communications. Adult volunteers — a Crew Advisor and Associate Advisors — provide guidance, ensure safety, and coach the youth leaders, but they don’t direct the crew’s decisions.
Every registered adult completes Safeguarding Youth Training and a background check. All Venturing activities follow Scouting America’s youth protection policies, and adult-to-youth ratios are maintained on every activity.
Ready to find a Venturing crew?
Use our program finder to see crews near you and connect with a local Advisor.
