Braves of Decorah Lodge # 381 was founded in 1947. The Lodge name was changed in 1995 to Ni-Sanak-Tani, meaning the “place where three rivers meet”.

The Gateway Area Council (#624) of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)—now legally functioning under the nationwide evolution to Scouting America—has a deeply rooted history of serving youth across the Coulee Region of Western Wisconsin and Southeastern Minnesota. For over a century, the council and its local camps have provided outdoor adventure, leadership training, and character development.

• Council HistoryFounding and Rebranding: The council was originally established in 1921 as the La Crosse Council (#624). Recognizing its position as a "gateway" between states along the Mississippi River, it formally changed its name to the Gateway Area Council in 1925.

• Headquarters: The council maintains its main service center and Scout Shop at 2600 Quarry Road in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

• Territory & Impact: Divided into specialized districts (such as Seven Rivers, Soaring Eagle, and Winding Trails), the council serves youth across several counties including La Crosse, Vernon, Crawford, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Monroe, Jackson, and Juneau in Wisconsin, as well as Houston County in Minnesota. It serves roughly 1,400 active Scouts annually.

• Honor Society: The council's Order of the Arrow (OA) organization was chartered to promote camp service, environmental conservation, and character honor.

History of Local Camps

Gateway Area Council’s outdoor programming has centered around its dedicated properties, notably, Camp Decorah. 

Camp Decorah (Holmen, Wisconsin)

• Location and Landscape: Nestled roughly 15 miles north of La Crosse along the banks of the Black River and Council Bay in Holmen, Wisconsin, Camp Decorah sits in the unique, rocky bluff geography known as the Coulee Region.

• Historical Leadership: For generations of Scouts, the camp was synonymous with Sam Hagerman, a legendary local Scout executive and camp director (who also served as a prominent La Crosse Festmaster). His impact is immortalized on the property via Hagerman Hall.

• Infrastructure Evolution: Over its many decades of operation, Camp Decorah has evolved from a primitive summer camp into a highly sophisticated, year-round multi-use facility. It features established thematic campsites (such as Apache, Winnebago, Cherokee, and Iroquois) alongside modern additions like the Dahl Family Scouting Center. Traditional outdoor staples—shooting real .22 rifles, archery, and canoeing—have been heavily upgraded to include a 45-foot climbing tower, a bouldering wall, a zip line, a multi-use 5-mile trail system, a stocked fishing pond, and a Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience (COPE) low-ropes course.

• Adaptive Programs: The camp continues to host traditional Scouts BSA Resident Summer Camps, National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT), and Cub Scout Day/Overnight Camps. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the camp gained regional recognition for successfully modifying its entire program model to offer safe, socially distanced outdoor activities when youth needed normalcy most.

Historical & Shared Properties

• In the earlier 20th-century era of the council, units frequently utilized localized spaces before Camp Decorah became the completely centralized hub for the council's operations. Scouts regularly gathered for multi-troop camporees and conservation work at locations like Camp McCoy (near Sparta) and Goose Island, alongside various tree-planting farm projects near Black River Falls.

• Today, the Camp Decorah Corps—an all-volunteer community group—actively maintains the historic grounds, ensuring the property remains a premier destination for regional youth development and public retreats.

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