A NatureBridge program is an overnight outdoor experience that complements your student’s typical academic school program and deepens their connection to nature and the world around them. At NatureBridge students will:
Yosemite National Park is located about two hours northeast of Fresno, CA. Yosemite is a very large national park and it is important to understand where your NatureBridge program is taking place. NatureBridge Yosemite operates at two different locations within Yosemite National Park: Curry Village and Henness Ridge.
Curry Village is located in Yosemite Valley. Please use this pin if attempting to navigate to the NatureBridge Yosemite Valley office.
The National Environmental Science Center (NESC) is located on Henness Ridge. Please use this pin if attempting to navigate to the NESC.
Curry Village:
Breakfast and dinner are provided buffet-style by our hospitality partner in the Curry Village Dining Pavilion. Lunch is provided and facilitated by a NatureBridge educator and eaten on trail.
National Environmental Science Center (NESC):
All meals are provided by NatureBridge. Breakfast and dinner are eaten on campus and served buffet-style. Lunch is provided and facilitated by a NatureBridge educator and eaten on trail.
We strive to provide accommodations to students with dietary restrictions as much as possible. Please see our Dietary Restrictions (Spanish) document for more information on what accommodations we are able to offer.
We have a rotating breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu depending on the year/season. Our amazing kitchen staff works hard to provide nutritional, student- and chaperone-friendly meals to keep our participants fully charged throughout their program. Click on the following links to see a copy of our current Curry Village menu:
Please reach out to djohnson@naturebridge.org for additional questions.
While we do allow students to bring additional food with them, there is no food allowed in any cabin/bunkhouse spaces, so we discourage students from bringing excess snacks. Students do not have access to a refrigerator to store perishable items unless previous arrangements have been with a member of our Operations team.
If students have severe allergies/restrictions, we encourage families to send their student with supplemental food. A member of our Operations team will discuss these options with your school’s Group Coordinator.
Curry Village Available Amenities:
Curry Village does not provide:
NESC Amenities:
NESC does not provide:
Curry Village:
Students will sleep in the Boystown area of Curry Village in heated tent cabins. Students will sleep four per cabin and each cabin has three beds: two single beds and one double bed. Your school/group will be assigned tent cabins in close proximity to one another. Photos of Curry Village lodging can be found here.
Your school’s Group Coordinator is ultimately responsible for all cabin assignments and any special lodging requests are made through them.
National Environmental Science Center (NESC):
The bunkhouses at the NESC provide dormitory-style accommodations with bunk beds. Each bunkhouse has an entryway mudroom where students can store boots, coats, and backpacks. Bunkhouses sleep 24 people and within each cabin there are sliding pocket doors that can be left open or closed, depending on the size and needs of the group. This allows the space to be configured into one large open room or separated into up to four rooms. There are two separate decks off of the back of the bunkhouses offering scenic views and giving students the airy, nest-like feel of being connected to the surrounding forest. Photos of the NESC bunkhouses can be found here.
Your school’s Group Coordinator is ultimately responsible for all cabin assignments and any special lodging requests are made through them.
Curry Village:
All students should bring a sleeping bag and/or warm blankets. Sheets and a pillow are provided in Curry Village, but additional warm bedding is not.
National Environmental Science Center (NESC):
All students are required to bring all their own bedding at the NESC. We recommend a warm sleeping bag and pillow at a minimum. Participants may bring sheets (twin size) and additional blankets if desired.
Curry Village:
Students will not share tent cabins with students or adults from other schools in Curry Village. They will be housed in an area reserved for NatureBridge groups and will be sharing the space with other school groups. Their tent cabins may neighbors a tent cabin from another NatureBridge group or member of the public. All students will use the Curry Village bathhouses which are also shared with other Curry Village guests.
National Environmental Science Center (NESC):
Yes, common areas and bunkhouses may be shared by other NatureBridge groups depending on the size of each group. If a bunkhouse is shared, each group's sleeping space will be separated by a sliding lockable door.
No, bathhouses are located a short walk from the tent cabins (Curry Village) and bunkhouses (NESC). All students should take a buddy with them if leaving the sleeping area.
Curry Village:
Tent cabins sleep a maximum of four students. NatureBridge is happy to support what works best for your student and your school’s policies for gender neutral lodging. Your school’s Group Coordinator is responsible for assigning all students to cabins. These arrangements may include staying in a gendered tent cabin with friends or staying in a different tent cabin that is designated as gender neutral.
There is an ADA accessible bathroom that has a shower and toilet available for any non-binary or gender expansive students to use. It can be locked as a single unit and is open for NatureBridge participants when not in use by a member of the public.
NatureBridge strives to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all participants. If you would like to discuss any special lodging accommodations, please reach out to our Operations team.
National Environmental Science Center (NESC):
The bunkhouses at the NESC are equipped with sliding pocket doors that can separate the space into up to four individual rooms. This flexibility allows us to create a separate sleeping space for nonbinary and gender expansive participants. These arrangements may include staying in a gendered section of the bunkhouse with friends or staying in a separate section of the bunkhouse that is designated as gender neutral.
A private shower and bathroom are available in the dining lodge for participants who feel more comfortable using a separate space.
NatureBridge strives to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all participants. If you would like to discuss any special lodging accommodations, please reach out to our Operations team.
Please see our Safety and Risk Management Practices (Spanish) for more information on how NatureBridge manages risk while your student is on site.
Student supervision is your school chaperones’ main responsibility. Students should be supervised by an adult at all times. During the trail day, students will be in a small group with one NatureBridge educator and at least one school chaperone.
Outside of the trail day, students are supervised by your school/group. Students should always have a buddy with them and let a chaperone know if they are going anywhere.
Any prescription medication should be noted on your student's registration form and brought with them in its original packaging with their name on it as well as with detailed instructions on the administration process. Adults with your school will be responsible for holding and distributing all prescription medications. The one exception is that NatureBridge recommends that any life-saving medication (i.e. inhalers, epi-pens, insulin, etc.) be carried by the student to ensure they are not separated from it.
NatureBridge strives to provide an inclusive experience for all students of varying abilities. Our educators work to create a program that meets the needs of their entire group. If a student has mobility limitations that will restrict their ability to participate in the program, this should be discussed with a member of our Operations team and your school’s Group Coordinator prior to the start of your program.
NatureBridge has an all-terrain wheelchair that we can provide for a student if needed for their trail day. Pictures are available upon request.
If a student with mobility limitations is unable to participate in a trail day, they have the option to stay back on campus with at least one chaperone.
It is NatureBridge's policy that parent/guardian chaperones cannot be in the same trail group as their student. This is because we believe in a student-centered experience that resembles their classroom environment as closely as possible. Through decades of running environmental science education programs, we have found that the best way to support students is to have them in a group separate from their parent/guardian. We appreciate your understanding!
There can be exceptions to this policy if there is a medical or behavioral reason that requires a parent/guardian to be with their student. If your student has a reason to request an exception, please ensure that your school’s Group Coordinator communicates this with a member of our Operations Team before the start of your program.
Students are out on trail from 9 a.m. to somewhere between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., but they are not hiking for the entirety of that time. NatureBridge educators are trained to create a well-rounded experience for their students that encompasses hiking, stopping for snacks, water breaks and lunch, exploring a nature moment, and doing a number of lessons in different parts of the park. While hiking is our main mode of transportation to explore our park, unless a school selects a challenge hike as their preferred program element, we will not be solely hiking for the entirety of the day.
Participants should expect to be on uneven and unpaved terrain from 9 a.m. to 3:30/4:30 p.m. There will be numerous breaks throughout the day for games, lunch, and learning opportunities. The hiking that participants typically engage can be adjusted based on the needs of the group once their educator has a chance to get to know them. There are some days that participants may hike longer distances (5-7 miles) with elevation gain (~1000 feet), but only if the NatureBridge educator decides that the group can safely engage in the challenge.
This depends on the trail that students will be hiking on during the day. There are many restrooms with flush toilets and/or pit toilets positioned throughout Yosemite Valley, but there are some days that students will not have access to any toilet until they return from trail. In these situations, students are taught the proper way to use the “facili-trees” by going to the restroom outside and following Leave No Trace principles.
See a full packing list here (Spanish)
Bandanas are used as “crumb-catchers” or placemats for students to eat their field lunch on. If you do not have a bandana, an old small towel or cut piece of fabric will also work great!
Yes, all participants should bring any desired toiletries as well as a towel. Toiletries are not provided in Curry Village or at the NESC.
Read more about the current weather conditions in Yosemite National Park. This page is updated frequently when there is pertinent information that groups should be aware of.
Please note that while Yosemite National Park can often appear in the news about weather-related events, if there are any important messages that NatureBridge needs to communicate, we will be in contact with your school’s Group Coordinator. Yosemite is a very large national park and not all news stories are about events that will impact NatureBridge programming.