Northern Tier (Scouting)

Northern Tier is a collection of high adventure bases run by Scouting America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park and Canadian Crown Lands, Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, and points beyond.

Northern Tier is the oldest of the four High Adventure bases operated by Scouting America; the other bases currently in operation are Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, Sea Base in the Florida Keys, and Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. The oldest and largest of the Northern Tier bases is the Charles L. Sommers National High Adventure Base. Central to its program are trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) and Quetico Provincial Park.

Programs at the Northern Tier vary by season. In the summer, participants undertake wilderness canoe excursions. There are no lodgings along these trips, and aircraft and motorboats are heavily restricted. Typical treks may cover 50 to 150 miles and take 6 to 10 days, with a maximum duration of 14 days. Accompanying each crew is a staff member called an "Interpreter", formerly known as a "Charlie Guide".