About Us

Where We Meet

We usually meet at Covenant United Methodist Church on Duval Road in northwest Austin. Most of our Cub Scouts are from Davis Elementary School and nearby private or charter schools.

When We Meet

Meetings are usually 1 to 1½ hours on Sunday afternoons during the school year from late August to late May.

Each Cub Scout typically attends two meetings per month:

Pack meetings are usually the second Sunday of each month, 4:00-5:15 PM, and are attended by Cub Scouts of all grade levels (K-5th). At Pack meetings we discuss upcoming campouts and special events; recognize achievements; and participate in a fun activity or game suitable for all grade levels. Pack meetings are led by a parent-volunteer Cubmaster.
Den meetings are usually the first Sunday of each month in the mid- or late-afternoon at a time and location chosen by the parent-volunteer Den Leader. At a den meeting, a Cub Scout meets with other Cub Scouts of the same grade level for age-appropriate activities and skills learning.

Pack and den meetings may be skipped or rescheduled in months when there is a major event such as a campout or school holiday. A calendar is usually published at the start of each school year, and parents have access to an online calendar and email reminders to keep informed of the latest details and changes.

Parents are requested to be present at all meetings and events to help the leaders with supervision and instruction, especially for younger Cub Scouts who typically need more personalized attention.

Camping & Overnight Trips

Pack 421 organizes three overnight trips per school year:

a fall campout typically in late October or early November
a spring campout typically in late March or early April, and
a museum sleepover (indoor camping) in the Fall, which is typically at a zoo, science center, or cultural center (the sleepover venue rotates annually between NASA Space Center Houston, the U.S.S. Lexington in Corpus Christi, and several major zoos or aquariums in Texas)

For the dates of overnights and other important events for 2025-26, see this post on our Events blog. It is important for Cub Scouts to attend the overnights to get the most out of Scouting.

At the Cub Scout level campouts are intended to be an easy introduction to tent camping. Cub Scouts sleep in a tent with their own family (please no RVs or campers). Don’t worry if your family has never gone tent camping; the Pack will help you prepare and can find a tent you can borrow if needed. Hot meals are provided by the Pack and served buffet style. Younger and older siblings who are not Cub Scouts are welcome to attend, too.

Most of our campouts are at a Texas state park located within a 1- to 2-hour drive from Austin. The official program for campouts starts at midday on Saturday and goes until midday on Sunday (approx. 24 hours). We often reserve campsites Friday night, as well, for families that wish to come for an extra night of camping before the Pack’s official program begins at midday on Saturday.

The annual museum sleepover is a bit different from the campouts. To start, the sleepover is usually a bit farther away from Austin (e.g., NASA Space Center in Houston, USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, the Dallas-Ft. Worth Zoo, etc.), and the “camping” is indoors (i.e., sleeping bags in a big air-conditioned room). The food and activities are organized by the venue.

Families normally drive themselves to the campouts and sleepovers, or better yet, carpool with another family.

Note: Every adult who participates in Pack 421 overnights is required to complete the BSA’s annual online training called Safeguarding Youth Training (SYT), formerly called YPT, which takes about 90 minutes the first year and 15-20 minutes to renew in following years. Adults who want to attend an overnight but are not the parent or legal guardian of a Cub Scout (e.g., a grandparent or aunt/uncle) have additional BSA registration requirements; if this applies to you, please make arrangements with Pack leaders well before the planned overnight.

Annual Special Events

Besides the overnight trips, there are three other major events on Pack 421’s calendar every year.

Pinewood Derby: Each year in late January or early February, our Pack runs a Pinewood Derby where Scouts race small wooden cars that they’ve built from a kit with the help of parents. Some Scouts aim to build the fastest car, while others focus on creative designs. We offer awards for both! The car kits are normally distributed at the Pack meeting in December.
Blue & Gold Banquet: In late February typically, our Pack hosts a banquet to celebrate the anniversary of Scouting and to recognize our oldest Cub Scouts graduating from 5th grade who will be continuing their Scouting journey as middle schoolers in a Scouts BSA troop where they will hopefully earn the coveted rank of Eagle Scout. Cub Scout Pack 421 feeds into several excellent Scouts BSA troops for boys and girls, ages 10½ to 17.
Year-End Picnic & Field Day: In late May, our Pack hosts a cookout or picnic in a local Austin park, so that we can gather to recognize all of the Scouts for their achievements during the year and participate in some fun outdoor activities, such as lawn games and/or map-reading scavenger hunt.

Summertime Activities

There are no Pack or den meetings during the summer (June-August) because many families travel or attend camps. But Pack 421 Cub Scouts still have several opportunity to get together and have fun during the summer:

Pack Outings: Once a month during the summer, for a couple of hours, our Pack meets up at a local venue such as a roller or ice rink, bowling alley, climbing gym, commercial cave, museum, mini-golf course, or other fun location. It is something different every time!
Summer Camps: Cub Scouts can enroll in day camps or sleep-away camps offered by our local Scouting America district or council during the summer. The camps are normally at scenic Council-owned properties where Cub Scouts can swim, fish, shoot archery and BB guns, do scoutcraft, and many other fun activities. These opportunities are open to Cub Scouts from all over the Central Texas area and are normally advertised in the early spring.