#1 Admin Building N 41deg. 05. 114

        W 85deg. 01.598

When camp construction began in 1967, the building in front of you and the Health Lodge, were the first two buildings to be built. The Health Lodge was renamed and is now Long Lake Lodge. The Administration Building has been remodeled several times over the years, most recently in 2017. In it's original form, the entire south side of the building

was one long meeting room with a stone fire place, kitchenette, and restroom. On the outside of the west end was the camps only source of outside communication for campers and leaders a pay telephone. Make sure you have your dime! 

#2 Camp Ground-Breaking  N 41deg. 35. 084

  W 85deg. 01.503

After purchase of the property was complete, a groundbreaking ceremony was held May 20, 1967 at this location on the west end of Pit Lake. A new ranger, Jack Zeiger. would not be hired until January of 1968, but would supervise and expedite construction of the reservation. Camp was set to open for the first summer in June of 1968.

#3 Family Camp N 41 deg. 35. 078

 W 85deg. 01.068

The area in front of you was developed early on as a Family Camp for trailers and RV's. It offered 24 big 20x60 foot campsites. picnic tables, water, latrines, and a waterfront. Scout leaders were encouraged to bring their families along when they camped with their scouts.

While no longer here, Family Camp lives on today in name only, in our Labor Day & Memorial Day Family Camp Weekends.

#4 Deer Camp N 41deg. 35. 527

   W 85deg. 01. 695

As told in "The Legend of Camp Chief Little Turtle" former Ranger Jack Zeiger discovered the white arrowhead nestled in the roots of a tree while clearing the Deer Camp site. Unfortunately, Deer Camp was not a popular site and became dilapidated from lack of use and it's distance from the main camp. It was eventually abandoned to avoid the necessary repairs. In front of you can be seen what's left of the latrine and wash stand. the only visible remains. Deer Camp joins Titaum Polaris and The Pines as campsites no longer used for camping, but

under development for new purposes.

#5 Gravel Washer     N 41deg. 34. 933

W 85deg. 01. 300

The "heart" of the gravel operation here was the immense washer. It was located about where the sand dune now stands. The "dune" is the remnant of that washing process, Hopper loads of raw gravel were emptied into the washer where it was cleaned and separated by size, then reloaded into hopper cars, reformed into trains and sent off to

customers. "Washed" gravel was valued because of its ability to compact better and to make stronger concrete. Water for the washer was piped up from an intake on Long Lake. If you look down the hill in front of you toward Long Lake, you can see many concrete foundations for the conveyor, loaders, and buildings that made up the washing operation.

#6 Original Pigeon Creek N 41deg.35.207

  W 85deg. 01.665

The original path of Pigeon Creek flowed through the middle of CCLT!

An 1880 county map shows Pigeon Creek originally flowed through the Shooting Sports area, Apache and Huron campsites, and behind Cole Lodge. Sometime prior to the beginning of gravel operations in the area, it was determined necessary to reroute the flow of Pigeon Creek in order to excavate and provide enough water for the gravel washer. A new channel was dredged connecting Pigeon Creek, east of the town of Pleasant Lake, to the east end of Long Lake. The footbridge and valley in front of you mark the original path of Pigeon Creek prior to 1900, and can be seen in differences on the 1880 and 1912 county maps.

#7 Hill House and Steps N 41deg. 34. 921

   W 85deg. 01. 112

Standing at the marker post, you have either just traveled down the stone steps from the top of Hall's Hill (named in honor of a Council Board member responsible for securing the funding for Camp) or are about to climb those stone steps in front of you. Either way, these

hand-laid steps were built many years ago when a summer lake home was built at the top of what is now called Hall's Hill, sometime after the gravel pit closed in 1927. Along with these steps, some of the foundation of the home can be seen behind the well shelter at the top. This is all that remains of the 2-story summer home. The hill was created at the beginning of gravel operations when the topsoil was removed prior to the start of excavation. As you hike, note the many Yucca plants lining the pathway from the steps to the road. More on those when you stop at post #10.

#8 Water Tower N 41deg. 35.297

W 85deg. 01. 748

Other than electricity, one of the first things to be tackled in the development of Camp Little Turtle, was a water system. After a well was drilled and a pump installed, a water tower was constructed here on one of the highest points in camp. The pump was used to fill the

water tower. Once filled, it pressurized all the water lines laid throughout camp. It served camp for 50 years but became unreliable and in need of replacement. In 2018, 2 additional wells were drilled and an on-demand pump with emergency backup power was installed. Today, the unused silver tower serves only as a camp landmark.

#9 Cemetery   N 41deg. 35.496

       W 85deg. 01.844

Early on in the camp's history, hikers discovered what appeared to be a pioneer cemetery. Several headstones were found scattered about a small grove of trees in the area in front of you. Night hikes were taken by troops to visit the cemetery and many stories, including a few ghost

stories, were told about the origin of the stones. However, none could be verified. Unfortunately over the years, the stones became lost, moved, or destroyed. In front of you are the only remaining stones that have been located. Be advised though, one of the many stories of those

stones tells they were just cast-off rejects that were dumped in the woods when they were discarded by the stone-maker!

#10 Unusual Vegetation N 41deg. 34. 958

 W 85deg. 01. 233

Standing at the marker post, notice the unusual plants between the post and the lake. They are Yucca plants. On the ground between the post and the road you can find Prickly Pear Cactus. Neither plant is native to Indiana. How did they get here? Sometime after the gravel pit ceased operation in 1927 due to the pit filling with water, the property belonged to a family named Finley. A vacation home was built atop what is now

Hall's Hill at the East end of Gravel Pit Lake. A relative of the owner who lived in NW Indiana near Chicago, often spent the summer vacationing at the Finley's summer home. It is believed that the relative was so fond of the U.S. Southwest, that they planted many native western plants in the sandy ground surrounding their summer home on the hill! Look around as you hike the East end of Pit Lake for the many Yucca and Cactus plants, offspring of their attempt to bring a little of the SW to northern Indiana. Oh, by the way, the residents of the Hall's Hill

summer house are reported to be a Mr. & Mrs. Charley O. Finley eventual owner of the Kansas City Athletics and later the Oakland A's MLB franchise in the 1960's and 1970's.

#11 The Mastodon   N 41deg.35.329

      W 85deg.02.416

Near here in April of 1968, a work crew was laying water lines in muck and gravel between Little Bower Lake and Long Lake. The crew unearthed a jawbone of a Mastodon. The bone was 3 feet long and weighed 68 pounds and was determined to be 16,000 yrs. old! A rib

bone and a vertebrae were also uncovered. Experts were called in to examine the remains. But due to summer camp opening soon, the need for use of the road, and the difficulty of excavation, the remains were re-covered for another time. The jawbone can be found on display at the Trading Post t CCLT. The Pokagon-Kekionga Trails Committee honors this discovery with our Mastodon Trail here at CCLT.

#12 Gravel Pit Trains N 41deg. 34.898

     W 85deg. 01.216

The gravel operations here employed much machinery, several locomotives, and miles of track in and around the pit, washer, and rail yard. The ridge you are walking on was once one of those rail lines, and between 1905 and 1927, carried hundreds of hopper cars a day, full of sand and gravel, out of the gravel pit and shuttled them to the washer near the sand dunes. After washing, more train loads of gravel were assembled right here and sent on by rail to Midwest destinations. The ridges and flat spots you see on both sides of the ridge trail are the rail beds for the many tracks that serviced the Lenanne Bros. gravel operation here.

#13 Hollywood Tree    N 41deg. 35.655

          W 85deg. 02.493

Sometime between 2007-2009, a piece of the Anthony Wayne Scout Reservation made it's way to Hollywood. Castle Rock Entertainment sent people across the nation in search of the perfect match to a tree that was at a film location in Virginia Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The movie tells the story of a girl who falls in love with a neighbor boy. However, he doesn't feel the same attraction. Many of the scenes take place in a city park that has a beautiful, lone, sycamore tree. A second identical tree was needed to provide close up studio shots, thus the search for a perfect match for the Virginia Park tree. A more than 150 year old sycamore tree was taken from the area near the gravel pit at CCLT. | Location marked by the yellow marker post near the gravel pit service road ] Sections of the tree were marked and carefully cut so that it could be reassembled. When all the leaves came off before rebuilding the tree, the prop department had to make silk leaves to replace the originals. Our CCLT tree lives on in cinematic history in the 2010 movie "Flipped" !