Landscape

Camp Minsi is located on the shores of Stillwater Lake atop the Pocono Mountains in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania. The landscape of the area surrounding Camp Minsi is composed mainly of broad, flat, swampy areas intermixed with low hills covered with a northern hardwood forest.

Camp Minsi encompasses more than 1,200 acres of relatively flat Pennsylvania woodlands at the summit of the Pocono Plateau. The 314-acre Stillwater Lake, a man-made lake, is now a central feature to the natural landscape of the area.

Natural History

About 20,000 years ago, a giant sheet of ice at least one mile thick covered the area. Evidence of the glacier is the very rocky soil that is called glacial till and the abundance of bogs. Much of the surrounding area is characterized by sphagnum moss bogs, evergreen trees and thin, moist, rocky soil. The first humans to the area found dark forests of evergreens and seemingly bottomless swamps and bogs. Due to the logging of the forests in the 1800s, large portions have regrown with a mix of deciduous trees mainly American beech, plus many species of oak and red maple trees.

Plants

Common tree species are American beech, black cherry, bear oak red maple, sugar maple, white pine, eastern hemlock and various birches. Hay-Scented Ferns, Lowbush Blueberry, and Princess Pine cover the forest floor.

In early May, before any trees have leaves, serviceberry trees flower. In mid-June, the plentiful mountain laurel blooms, followed in late-June to early-July by rhododendron. In mid-July, highbush blueberries bear fruit, providing a feast for bears and birds (and Scouts).

Interesting plants like the carnivorous pitcher plant, cotton grass and many sedges inhabit the bogs. The carnivorous plant yellow bladderwort lives in some of the bogs and in Duck Puddle. In the underwater portion of the plant, small sacks trap tiny aquatic animals.

Wildlife

Common species found in the area include are white-tailed deer, black bear, beaver, turkey, squirrel, chipmunk, muskrat, mink, fox, and raccoon.

Blackburnian warbler, red-breasted nuthatch and northern waterthrush are common to this habitat. In the spring, spotted and Jefferson salamanders and wood frogs flock to the bogs to breed.

Black bear are occasionally present in the areas surrounding camp. Black bear normally avoid people, but bears dependent on eating human food can become slightly aggressive when people get between them and food. If you come in contact with a black bear, try chasing it away by making loud noises like yelling or banging a pot. Notify the camp ranger if you have difficulties with a bear. Never approach a bear and be especially wary of mother bears and cubs.

Fish

The common fish in the 314-acre Stillwater Lake are bass, pickerel, yellow perch, catfish and sunfish. The tailwaters of Stillwater Lake flow to compose Tunkhannock Stream and offer home to Brook and Rainbow trout as well.

Climate

Pocono weather can vary widely from one town to the next. The mountainous terrain often causes more localized weather. 

Pocono Summit gets an average of 48 inches of rain per year (the US average is 37″). Snowfall is around 67 inches.

The average daily high in July is around 80°F. The average daily low in January is 14°F.  Camp Minsi is located at an elevation of 1,800 feet above sea level; nights at the higher altitude can be cold during any season; July sees an average nighttime low of 59°F.

Additional Resources:

• Common Trees of Pennsylvania (from the PA DCNR)
• Wildlife Notes (from the PA Game Commission)
• Reptiles & Amphibians of PA (from the PA Fish & Boat Commission)
• PA Fish Species (from the PA Fish & Boat Commission)
• Forestry Conservation Award for Boy Scouts