Trail School

Outside Nature Explorations for
Children Ages 5 to 10

Offered 1-4pm Tuesdays & Thursdays in 3 seasonal sessions:

Fall & Early Winter: September – December

Winter & Early Spring: January – March

Spring & Early Summer: April – June

For other outdoor experiences, check out Nature’s Little Explorers for Ages 3-4 and Teen Trail School for Ages 11-17!

The Philosophy Behind Our Trail School

This program is designed to focus on learning through child-led exploration, play, and activities with the guidance of a naturalist who knows the preserve. Activities will vary depending on weather, seasonality, and the interests of children. Children will build skills of discovery, inquiry, experimentation, and imagination while nourishing their relationship with nature. Rain, snow, or sunshine – we will be outside!

Trail School is inspired by one of the great naturalists of the 19th century, Enos Mills. Enos Mills himself describes the philosophy best as he talks about his Trail School at the base of Longs Peak, over 100 years ago: “These children were dealing with real things through interest, and their imaginations blazed with more keenness than it was possible for the powers of legends and fairy tales to incite. They had been to school, had studied, had worked, had learned without realizing it. Their reports amounted to enthusiastic recitations of new, big lessons well learned. Best of all, they were happy, and were eager to go on with this schooling – this developing.”

What to Expect from Trail School?

A typical afternoon of Trail School looks like this!

1 – 1:30 Arrival and Free Play in the Foxes Den

1:30 – 1:45 Opening Circle under the Pine Trees

1:45 – 2:15 Set off on our hike to our planned destination – Along the way seeing what the trail has to offer for on-the-spot learning

2:15 – 3:15 Explore our destination! A mix of guided activities, exploration, and free play. (And of course don’t forget snack!)

3:15 – 3:50 – Pack up and hike back.

3:50 – 4:00 – Closing Circle, where we share our favorite moments of the day!

Each day will include a hike through the forests and fields, often away from the main trail system. Naturalists will have field guides, magnifying lenses, observation jars, and other tools of discovery to help children deepen their curiosity and facilitate on-the-spot learning. Of course, nature itself will provide anything else we need. The day’s adventure will include ample time for free exploration, nature play, and space for each child to connect with nature in their own way as well as guided activities designed by our naturalists that may occur along the hike or at the destination of the day. Our 270-acre “classroom” is rich with diverse habitats, including streams, forests, wetlands, beaver ponds, and open meadows. Below is a list of some of our favorite locations to explore!

Stream and Pond Exploration: Flowing through our preserve we have Baltimore Brook, Spring Brook, Boulder Brook, and the static Phillips Pond. These water sources are excellent locations to explore aquatic wildlife and discover the wonders of water.
Peanut Hill: On top of a hill in a secondary growth forest of maples, aspens, and hornbeams, there’s a variety of sticks of all shapes and sizes scattered about making Peanut Hill our favorite location to build forts!
Griffiths Flats: This shallow emergent marsh and abandoned beaver dam area is a great location to find a plethora of interesting plants and wildlife. Whether it’s fall, winter, or spring a hike through this area is always enjoyable with something to discover.
The Gravel Pit: Baltimore Woods could have become a gravel mine if not for the caring community of stewards that worked towards preserving Baltimore Woods for what it is today. This location reflects a little bit of that history of the land and is now a great place to play in our labyrinth and explore the different varieties of rocks.

The Details

This program is planned to be entirely outdoors, so please dress for the weather. Trail School is for children ages 5-10. 5-17, split into two groups of 5-10 years old and 11-17 years old. Children in September – December sessions must be 5 years old by September 1st. Children must be 5 years old by January 1st for January – June sessions. Adults must stay on-site during the program. An indoor space with Wi-Fi is available, if needed. Bring a water bottle and a small snack.

Multiple child discounts ($5) are automatically applied when you register. Discounts apply beginning with the second child.

A membership discount is available. Members receive discounted prices on our programs, as well as discounts in our gift shop and early notice of upcoming programs and events, including summer camp registration opening dates. Purchasing a single, one-year, family-level membership during your registration process will allow you to save on all programs you and your family members register for! You can purchase a membership while registering for your programs, or through our website. For more information on memberships, click here.