Overview
Located at Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base, Okpik is the premier winter camping program in Scouting America. The Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base is the site of Scouting America’s National Cold Weather Camping Development Center.
All trips are fully outfitted and provisioned, including almost all of the personal gear necessary to stay warm in the winter. A highly trained staff member, called an Interpreter, accompanies all crews on their trek.
NOTICE: Dog Sled programs will now be on a lottery system. See info in 2027-28 below
Session Schedule & Fees
Winter programs run December into March the following year
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Northern Tier offers a variety of programs during the winter season. We understand that many Troops and Crews want
to work around school schedules, and we have done our best to help you work around those schedules. Our more
popular programs have set schedules that cannot be adjusted. If you want an Okpik adventure outside of those
designated sessions, you can ‘Build Your Own Winter Adventure!” More details are below on this option.
A couple of program notes:
• Dogs are only at Northern Tier during the designated dog program sessions. If you would like to meet the dogs,
perhaps learn a little about them, and get an introductory circle ride (1-3 minute quick ride), you will need to
overlap your adventure with the session dates of the dog programs.
• Pricing for our scheduled programs is the cost of the program for the crew size noted.
• Adventure’ you will see peak season and off-peak season pricing. Pay careful attention to this pricing difference
when you book your adventures.
Okpik Winter Adventure:
This program is available beginning Jan 3. You as a crew can pick the day you want to arrive at Northern Tier and the day
you want to depart from Northern Tier for home. Once we have that information, we can help you design a program
that best meets your needs.
Late Registrations are eligible for custom payment schedules
Your crew must be on either the recommended payment schedule or a custom one setup by Northern Tier. Please call us at (218) 365-4811 to set up a custom payment schedule. Not following the recommended payment schedule and not contacting us to set up a custom one could lead to the cancellation of your crew.
Recommended Payment Schedule – Holiday Stay & Dog Programs:
$350 Deposit per crew at time of registering
20% of remaining balance is due 30 days after initial registration
Final (Full) payment is due May 15th, 2026
Recommended Payment Schedule – Winter Adventure:
$350 Deposit per crew at time of registering
20% of remaining balance is due 30 days after initial registration
40% of the remaining balance is due May 15th, 2025
Final (Full) Payment is due on October 1st
Northern Tier still offers their most popular sessions and programs. Those programs are outlined below with
dates and pricing. When booking any of these programs, the dates are not negotiable. You will need to plan
and prepare for the program as scheduled below
Payment Schedules
Late Registrations are eligible for custom payment schedules
Your crew must be on either the recommended payment schedule or a custom one setup by Northern Tier. Please call us at (218) 365-4811 to set up a custom payment schedule. Not following the recommended payment schedule and not contacting us to set up a custom one could lead to the cancellation of your crew
Payment Schedule – Holiday Stay & Dog Programs:
$350 Deposit per crew at time of registering
20% of remaining balance is due 30 days after initial registration
Final (Full) payment is due May 15th, 2027
Payment Schedule – Build Your Own Adventure:
$350 Deposit per crew at time of registering
20% of remaining balance is due 30 days after initial registration
40% of the remaining balance is due May 15th, 2027
Final (Full) Payment is due on October 1st 2027
Northern Tier offers a variety of programs during the winter season. We understand that many Troops and Crews want
to work around school schedules, and we have done our best to help you work around those schedules. Our more
popular programs have set schedules that cannot be adjusted. If you want an Okpik adventure outside of those
designated sessions, you can ‘Build Your Own Winter Adventure!” More details are below on this option.
A couple of program notes:
• Dogs are only at Northern Tier during the designated dog program sessions. If you would like to meet the dogs,
perhaps learn a little about them, and get an introductory circle ride (1-3 minute quick ride), you will need to
overlap your adventure with the session dates of the dog programs.
• Pricing for our scheduled programs is the cost of the program for the crew size noted.
• Adventure’ you will see peak season and off-peak season pricing. Pay careful attention to this pricing difference
when you book your adventures.
Winter Adventure:
This program is available beginning Jan 3. You as a crew, can pick the day you want to arrive at Northern Tier and the day
you want to depart from Northern Tier for home. Once we have that information, we can help you design a program
that best meets your needs.
Dog Sled Lottery
Due to high demand for Dog Sledding, we have shifted this registration to a lottery-based system. Using a lottery will ensure a smoother registration process that’s fair for all crews wanting to register for one of Scouting America’s most popular programs. Crews will have from Oct 1st to Oct 15th to enter the lottery for a Dog Sledding Trek in 2028. On Friday, Oct 16th, we will begin to contact those who were successful, and anyone who was not successful will be automatically added to the waitlist in the lottery order.
Things to know about the Dog Sled Lottery
Only one registration is allowed per unit. You can get up to 2 crews with that registration, but they must be selected under the same lottery entry
A scout is trustworthy. We expect scouts to stick to single entries per unit; however, if we find an instance of multiple entries per unit, we will delete the extra entries and reserve the right to remove your unit entirely from the lottery.
If successful, you will have 1 week to make the $350 deposit or risk losing your spot.
You will be notified shortly after the lottery closes if you were successful.
If you were not successful, you will be automatically added to the waitlist in lottery order. If crews don’t accept their spot or don’t make the deposit in time, we will work our way down the waitlist
Northern Tier still offers their most popular sessions and programs. Those programs are outlined below with
dates and pricing. When booking any of these programs, the dates are not negotiable. You will need to plan
and prepare for the program as scheduled below
All fees (including deposit) are non-refundable and nontransferable in the event of cancellation. Be cautious of making reservations or paying fees for those who have not made a financial commitment. Northern Tier High Adventure Programs must commit financial resources to employ staff, purchase food and supplies, and prepare for base operations. Participants are, therefore, also required to make a financial commitment to attend. Be conservative in making reservations to avoid losing fees due to cancellations.
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- Upon Registration: $250
- May 1, 2024: 100% Dog Sled and Holiday Stay Fees Due
- May 1, 2024: 50% of Balance Due for Okpik Weekends
- Oct 15, 2024: Remaining Balance Due for Okpik Weekends