Olympic Peninsula
March 21-26, 2027

Our 2027 Outdoor Adventure will be in Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula Rainforest. We’ll be traveling to WA early on Sunday morning, March 21, and flying home in the evening on Friday, March 26. Once we arrive at the NatureBridge Olympic Campus, we will meet our educator/s and settle into a week of wonder.

OVERVIEW & COST

Cost: $1500-1700*

  • This includes flights (Alaska Airlines, LAX or Burbank-SEATAC flight, taxes, and checked baggage both ways), charter bus, accommodations/ activities and meals on site, meals en route, and contribution toward chaperone fees. OSA will absorb the cost of all other chaperone expenses.
  • *Cost will be determined by flight and charter bus costs, which have not yet been confirmed.
  • *Cost may adjust, even lower, once we have confirmed our transportation and our group numbers. Meeting our max numbers will result in savings per person for the bus transport.
  • We are currently holding 20 student spots. A deposit of $500 is required by September 25 in order to HOLD a spot. (We are paying NatureBridge the trip deposit by September 30.) We can reserve more spots if we know the interest ASAP.

The pictures above are from our 2019, 2023, and 2025 adventures to NatureBridge’s Olympic campus, located ON the banks of Lake Crescent. OSA has been there FIVE times! It is truly a magical place.

The journey is PART of the adventure, and will involve an early Sunday (May 21) departure to LAX or Burbank by car (parent volunteers), then a flight to SEA-TAC airport, then a 4-hour bus ride (give or take, depending on weather) to the campus. On the way there, we’ll stop in Seattle for lunch. On the way back, and weather-permitting, we’ll take the ferry (with the bus) across Puget Sound. We will fly out of SEA-TAC in the afternoon on Friday, March 26, and land at LAX or Burbank that night. Parent drivers will take us TO and FROM the airport.

ABOUT THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA:

Home to alpine ridges, temperate rainforest, and rugged coastline, Olympic National Park boasts three stunning, distinct ecosystems. Amidst it all, the NatureBridge campus sits on the shore of glacially carved Lake Crescent.  Trails lead from the steps of cozy student dorms or historic cabins right into lush, old-growth forest and salmon-filled waterways. The campus is literally surrounded by rainforest. Here, students will apply environmental science in a real-world setting.

Our adventures are unplugged from the indoor world so that we can plug into the natural, outdoor world. Like us, NatureBridge promotes the idea of nurturing kids’  independence and self-reliance, while examining the importance of our interdependence with one another and the world around us. Students may bring old-fashioned cameras, but not phones.

Parents will be emailed frequently with updates and pictures taken by chaperones (the internet is accessible to staff in the main building), and all pictures will be shared with all families. There is also a main phone landline at the campus where someone can be reached at all times.

WHAT WE’LL DO:

We’ll arrive late on Sunday afternoon/evening  (March 21), get settled in with a meal at the historic Rosemary Inn, their on-site lodge, then spend four full days exploring the rainforest and its environs. We will hike, do experiments in the river and the campus labs, take a trip onto the glacially-carved Lake Crescent in an authentic Salish canoe, and learn about the native people of the region (as well as the geology, ecology, and climate of the region). We all also learn about the Elwha River Restoration project, including the dam removal, which was the largest dam removal in U.S. history, lasting from 2011 to 2013.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
  • Moderate quarantine is required for all participants for TEN days before camp arrival. This includes a request that attendees not travel on mass transit out of their area, not attend large indoor gatherings, and avoid visiting with friends or family members who may be at risk of infection or otherwise exposed to illness. Should a participant exhibit symptoms of illness and not be able to travel, a full refund is not guaranteed.
  • Recommended: Airport travel includes a high likelihood of catching germs. We recommend students/adults wear KN95 masks while near crowds in the airport and while on the flight. This is mostly recommended on the way there, so students don’t risk illness while on the trip and be required to quarantine from others.
PLEASE NOTE:
  • Cabin arrangements at Olympic: There will be 1-2 cabins for our boys and 1-2 cabins for our girls, each with a chaperone. It is unclear at this time whether the cabin type may be dorm-style or one of the smaller historic cabins.
  • This is an unplugged trip. Students are asked to leave phones, smartwatches, and earbuds at home.  Some games may be played on non-Internet devices during travel, but then chaperones will secure all devices once we arrive. Photography is permitted with a good old-fashioned camera. NatureBridge staff can be contacted in case of need 24/7, and OSA staff can be reached in the event of an emergency.
  • Excellent parent communication is expected prior to (and during, if needed) the trip. There is much to plan and communicate in the months and weeks leading up to our departure. The safety of all depends on our ability to focus on all.
  • Parents need to support our chaperones and respect our decision-making. They also must recognize that conflicts and sometimes discomfort may occur on these types of adventures, and we recognize these as wonderful growth opportunities.
  • Chaperones will all be OSA-affiliates (teachers, Board members, and/or family of teachers/Board members) and not related to any students traveling unless there is a medical reason for that arrangement.

For further questions, email Lori Peters.