Hidden Valley on the Chilao Flat Topo map, 1959

In 1940, the Arcadia Girl Scouts formed its own local council, separate from Pasadena. They started with 8 Girl Scout troops and one Brownie troop (2nd or 3rd grade). In time, the Council grew its members and they began to look at having their own established camp in the mountains: 

“The Council hopes Arcadia will have its own camp in the near future, available for the approximately 600 local members. The girls have used Camp Singing Pines, the Pasadena area site in the Angeles National Forest and will be permitted continued use of the swimming pool as this camp is not far from the projected local site”

— Daily News-Post and Monrovia News-Post,1950

The council devised preliminary plans and in 1950 the six-acre site was granted by the US Forest Service Department. The Arcadia Girl Scout Council selected a site along Santa Clara Divide Road, adjacent to Camp Singing Pines and developed it into Camp Hidden Valley.

With cookie sale funds, the Scouts and their dads helped with the extensive renovating and improvements to the camp. The site consisted of a lodge, a fire ring, a screened outdoor cooking shelter, water supply and latrines.

While at camp the girls learned about nature lore, conservation, and making camp crafts including some using manzanita wood.

Main structure at Camp Hidden Valley as it was still standing in 2006

Same structure at Camp Hidden Valley, 2011. Credit: Bob Cates

In 1959, Arcadia Girl Scouts merged with neighboring councils to form the Santa Anita Girl Scout Council. The new Council had jurisdiction over 7500 girls from Alhambra, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South San Gabriel, Temple City, Monrovia, Duarte, Potrero Heights, Montebello, parts of Monterey Park and East Los Angeles.

The newly formed and expanded Santa Anita Girl Scout Council offered a wide range of camps and programs for its girls:

“Two established camps will be offered this year, both in the Angeles National Forest. Loomis Ranch where younger Intermediates will camp, will have a program emphasis on farm life affording the girls an opportunity to care for several types of farm animals…Hidden Valley and Rosanita will be operated as one camp, and will offer the more experienced camper primitive living.”

— Daily News-Post, May 1959

Different age groups took turns using the campsite but the Senior Girl Scouts mainly camped at Hidden Valley:

“At Hidden Valley a camp planned especially for older Intermediate and Senior Scouts, patrols of girls prepare all of their own meals using “sheepherder” stoves—and back-pack trips are a special feature of the camp.”

—Daily News-Post, Aug 1960

The camp experience centered around immersing in nature, participating in progressively adventurous experiences and cultivating personal growth through teamwork and shared living. It was all about building confidence, creating lasting memories, and developing a strong sense of community.

Many individuals devoted years of their free time to supporting the Girl Scouts, including Fred Hewitt, a Duarte resident. He played a key role in building a craft shelter for Hidden Valley and, along with his wife Louise, served as resident managers for many years.

The neighbor camp, Singing Pines owned by Pasadena Girl Scout Council (later Sierra Madres Girl Scout Council) often used Hidden Valley Camp as an overnight site or as an outpost unit for older girls.

At present, Camp Hidden Valley has been abandoned and is no longer in use by the Scouts. While a few structures are still intact, the iconic building collapsed in 2012.

The site as it looked after the shelter collapsed, another building in the background remains intact. Many great memories were formed around this fire ring.

Photos of Camp Hidden Valley from more recent times. Top and lower left, screen shots from Youtube Video: “Exploring Abandoned Campground Hidden Valley” by CA Hiker, 2018. Photo on lower right credit: Bob Cates

Google Earth screen shot in 2012

While the Hidden Valley Camp may no longer be in use, the legacy it left behind is timeless. It lives in the stories the women continue to tell, in the friendships that have lasted through the years, in the values instilled in every Girl Scout who had the honor of experiencing its magic and in those who were lucky enough to be a part of its history.