San Mateo Outdoor Education

San Mateo Outdoor Education is a week-long program for 6th grade students. The weekly schedule includes arrival, an opening ceremony, cabin move-in, a discovery hike, evening activities, and lights out on Monday; morning and afternoon activities with a Naturalist, teacher time, cabin time and showers, dinner, and evening activities Tuesday through Thursday; and wake up, breakfast, clean cabin and check out, a slideshow, snack, closing ceremony, and goodbyes on Friday.

Programs

• San Mateo Outdoor Education — 6th grade students; age 11-12 · Week-long; Monday through Friday

At a glance

• Ages: 11–12 years old
• General schedule: Monday: arrival, opening ceremony, cabin move-in, discovery hike, dinner, evening activity, lights out. Tuesday through Thursday: wake up, breakfast, morning activities with Naturalist, lunch, afternoon activities with Naturalist, teacher time, cabin time and showers, dinner, evening activity, lights out. Friday: wake up, breakfast, clean cabin and check out, slideshow, snack, closing ceremony and goodbyes.

About the provider

The Outdoor Education program dates back to the summer of 1965. A district-wide program was started in the spring of 1966, and a pilot Outdoor Education program was approved in 1968. More than 225,000 children have attended Outdoor Education since its inception in 1968. The academic program and the camp are certified Resident Outdoor Science Schools (ROSS) by California Outdoor School Administrators (COSA), and the camp also maintains American Camping Association (ACA) accreditation.

Students are supervised at all times by their cabin leader, naturalist, or teacher. The team is responsible for dispensing necessary medication and will contact parents if a child experiences health problems. Special diets for medical reasons should be noted on the registration form and discussed with the Site Director. Full benefit of the experience requires uninterrupted attendance.

Last updated October 13, 2026.