Children of many backgrounds cheer along a wooden Pinewood Derby track in a bright church hall

Shepherd Park · Washington, DC

Your child’s adventure starts here.

We give families in Shepherd Park a place to learn, explore, and grow together — nights under real stars, a derby car your child built, service on our own blocks. Cub Scout Pack 24 welcomes girls and boys in kindergarten through fifth grade, and Scout Troop 24 takes it from there.

Join Pack 24 Visit a meeting first

No uniform, no experience, and no church membership needed. Your first visit is simply a visit.

Plan a first visit

A Scout year, in pictures

Fun, hands-on adventure your whole family can share.

Week to week, our Scouts learn skills at den and troop nights. These are the moments they tell you about at dinner.

Kids and parents laughing on a sunlit wooded trail beside a creek — **Trail days** Rock Creek is our backyard. Hikes start small and grow bolder every year.

Hands of many skin tones tying knots with red and white rope on a khaki tablecloth — **Den nights** Knots, first aid, and fire safety, taught in small groups by grade.

Families roasting marshmallows at a campfire at dusk with tents and lanterns behind them — **Family campouts** Parents come too. First-time families borrow gear and learn right alongside their children.

Four kids carrying grocery bags of donated food along a leafy brick-house street — **Scouting for Food** Every November, our Scouts leave bags one weekend and collect food the next, right here in the neighborhood.

Two children kneel to place an evergreen wreath at a white headstone on a frosty morning — **Wreaths Across America** On a December morning at a national cemetery, our Scouts learn what it means to honor someone.

Scenes on this site illustrate the program; they are not photos of our own Scouts. We keep our youth members’ faces off the public web.

Why families join us

What your child takes home from Scouting.

Comfortable outdoors

Your child will pitch a tent, read a map, cook over a fire, and get rained on and laugh about it. These are skills they keep for life.

Friends across the neighborhood

Our dens bring together children from different schools and different blocks. The friendships they make here tend to last well past the uniform.

Real responsibility

A Cub Scout leads the flag ceremony. A Scout plans the campout menu. Adults coach, and youth take on a little more every year.

Service they can see

Food collected on our own streets. Wreaths placed with their own hands. Our Scouts learn early that helping other people is part of who they are.

Two programs, one path

Start in the pack, then grow into the troop.

Pack 24 is family-led fun, sized for younger children. Troop 24 hands the map to teens. Many Shepherd Park families grow through both.

A circle of young children in navy shirts and yellow neckerchiefs holding hands in a sunlit church hall

Grades K–5 · Girls and boys

Cub Scout Pack 24

Small dens by grade, pack nights with everyone together, family camping, and the Pinewood Derby. Cubmaster Sean Ponder.

Explore the pack

Teenagers reading a topographic map together on a rocky overlook above a river valley

After fifth grade

Scout Troop 24

Youth-led patrols plan the trips and run the meetings, and trained adults stay close while they lead. Scoutmaster Sam Washington.

Explore the troop

The big four

Four traditions our families look forward to every year.

Details for this season go to registered families. Our public calendar shows what a visiting family can attend.

Northminster Presbyterian Church on Alaska Ave NW: stone facade, red arched door, and green copper spire

Home base

The stone church at 7720 Alaska Ave NW.

Northminster Presbyterian Church hosts both units. The church does not run the program, and your family does not need to belong to the congregation. Walk in, find the fellowship hall, and someone will wave you over.

Questions before you come? Write sean@shepherdparkscouts.org. The church office (202-829-5311) reaches the building, not the cubmaster.

How a first visit works

Cost, honestly

$165 a year, and help is available if you need it.

That is National Capital Area Council’s published membership fee. Units may add modest dues for badges, camp deposits, and supplies. Assistance is available, and asking is easy. Cost should never keep a Shepherd Park child out of Scouting.

Join Pack 24 How joining works

Before you write

Questions families ask first

My child has never camped. Is that a problem?

Not at all — that is what we are here for. Most Cub Scouts start with no outdoor experience, and so do plenty of parents. Our family campouts are built for first-timers, and gear can be borrowed.

Can girls join?

Yes. Pack 24 welcomes girls and boys in kindergarten through fifth grade. Troop 24 is listed as a boy troop after that.

How much time does it take?

Den meetings set the rhythm, with pack nights and a few weekend events across the year. Your family chooses the outings that fit. Email us for the next public night.

Is this the church youth group?

No. Pack 24 and Troop 24 are independent programs hosted by the church, and we welcome families of every background and belief.

All family questions