The Outdoor Program
The Mountain School sits on 418 acres of forests, streams and marshes. Miles of maintained trails are available for walking, running, skiing, and snowshoeing - depending on the season.
The Outdoor Program helps every student, regardless of previous experience, develop the skills to travel safely and comfortably outside, to cultivate and deepen a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, and to get to know our campus and surrounding landscape.
On weekly afternoon outdoor hikes, students gain proficiency in map and compass skills, learn how to build a shelter, and learn as basic camping techniques, from knot-tying to stove use.
Solo
Each semester in the early fall or late spring, students participate in a three-night, four-day solo camping trip. The Outdoor Program trains all students with the basic camping and navigation techniques necessary to safely enjoy up to four days alone in the Northern forest. Never been alone, outside at night? No worries! We prepare for this camping trip with a group nighttime hike and group camping to practice all of the skills you need for solo.
Science Hike
When we’re not training for solo, one afternoon a week is dedicated to an outdoor session that complements your Environmental Studies course. During Science Hike you’ll learn to recognize patterns in our forested campus and connect those patterns to the processes that created them. You’ll learn how to identify trees, decipher land use history, and become intimately familiar with a chosen Science Site.
School Trails
The Mountain School maintains a trail network that supports many different activities throughout the year. In the fall, students enjoy morning runs with dormmates or afternoon walks with their advisors. At the beginning of the spring semester, all students have the chance to learn how to cross-country ski and snowshoe with school gear that you are free to use anytime! Students may hike Patterson Mountain or camp out on-campus at Pine Top as well!
What if I don’t have any experience in the outdoors?
Mountain School students are not all outdoorsy. Many Mountain School graduates come to the school with minimal experience outside, and they thrive.
What’s important is to be interested in learning, open to new challenges and experiences, and willing to allow yourself to be known by the group. We have a wide variety of gear that you can borrow to be comfortable and safe in the outdoors, ranging from a day pack, to waterbottles, to cross country ski gear, to fleece long underwear.