GLEN JEAN, W.Va.— Around 12,000 scouts and volunteers will be in Fayette County over the next 10 days for the 2026 National Scout Jamboree at the Bechtel Summit.
The Jamboree brings together members from the Boys Scouts of America every three or four years and dates back to 1937. This year’s event began Wednesday with an opening ceremony and continues through July 31.
Jamboree Chairman Glenn Ault told MetroNews that it’s a special learning experience for scouts.
“It’s really about changing the life of a scout who attends,” Ault said. “Maybe it’s getting them to grow a little bit in their confidence, maybe it’s teaching them a little bit about resilience, certainly it’s about building character.”
“We want them to come together to learn, grow, and discover what they can achieve when they work together as a team,” Ault added.
There’s no shortage of things on the agenda for this year’s Jamboree. Ault said the 2026 edition of the event features a special theme with America 250th birthday earlier this month.
“We have a lot of different activities, we have some inspiring shows that we’ll do,” Ault said. “Of course, this year, as a partner with America 250, we have on Sundays something called the Americana Extravaganza, which will really touch the heartstrings of patriotism.”
Ault said this reminds the kids about the importance of the country, including a “big” fireworks display on Sunday night.
The Jamboree is back at the Bechtel Summit in Fayette County. Ault raved about the area, saying there’s no shortage of things to do.
“It’s certainly impressive, there’s no doubt,” Ault said. “10,000 acres here, just outside of Mount Hope and Glen Jean, we have almost 3200 linear feet of ziplines. There’s mountain biking on more than 33 miles of trails; we have one of the largest skate parks for skateboarding here in the country.”
Additionally, Ault noted there are man-made rock-climbing walls, sculpted to mimic the actual rock formations at New River Gorge. All told, he said it’s a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for the kids.
Severe weather swept through West Virginia Tuesday night as the scouts and volunteers began to arrive. Ault said it was dicey for staff that was there, however, they were fortunate to only receive heavy rains, not the significant weather experienced in other areas of the state. He said there were some delays with roads but that was all.
Ault said the Jamboree is all about empowering young people to apply the Scout Oath and Scout Law values into their lives and make a meaningful difference in the communities.
One of this year’s scout projects is called Elevate Hunger Relief. Ault said staff and scouts are battling food insecurity.
“Bringing food items, or donating cash, we have, currently, over $30,000 in cash raised for local food banks, as well as almost 5,000 food items that we will be distributing through the local food banks to the communities in need,” he said.
Another project at the Jamboree is called Flood Bucket Challenge. He said the scouts will assemble 5,000 disaster response kits, filled with supplies and essential items for those recovering from floods or other natural disasters.
Ault also encouraged visitors to stop by the Jamboree over the next week and a half. He said it’s open to the public to come and visit on certain days. Learn more here.