At Foothill Horizons, the natural world provides an exceptional setting for outdoor education.  Our 143 acre campus is located within an oak woodland that includes six species of oaks, large pines, and stands of beautiful manzanita.  A perennial creek adds a cool, riparian zone for study.  In the spring, wild flowers abound.  Gray foxes, squirrels, raccoons, and mule deer are abundant.  Sixteen acorn pounding-stone sites on the school property offer evidence that the Me-wuk people once stood on the land where the students now study that culture. 

All of our lessons address California State Science standards for 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade.

Foothill Horizons Curriculum

Adventure Hike: This is an orientation to our goals of learning about ecology, respecting nature, and cooperation.  Students might challenge themselves on the ropes course, crawl through boulder caves, visit the Sky Tower...the adventures are limitless!  

Me-wuk Lesson: The culture of the Me-wuk people is discovered through hands-on learning at our reconstructed Me-wuk village.  Students might pound acorns, flintknap, and make fire!

Conservation Lesson: Students explore the decision making process surrounding the use of resources.  Using games, and experiments, students learn about renewable and nonrenewable resources.  Time spent with our injured red-tailed hawk brings home the importance of preserving nature.                                                                                           

Discovery Lesson: Sensory awareness is explored in the out-of-doors on the Blindwalk and in the Discovery Hut.  Special attention is given to bird adaptations when students visit our bird blind.

Ecology Lesson: Concepts including interdependence, cycles and adaptations are introduced through various environmental activities, a visit to our school garden and its compost and vermiculture bins. 

Geology Lesson: Students engage in activities that teach the rock cycle as well as introducing theories of plate tectonics.  Places like Rock City, Grandfather Rock, and Granite Gulch provide great examples of various minerals, the crystallization process, and erosion.   

Field Trip: One day each week students travel to Moaning Caverns, one of the largest vertical caves in California to learn about geology, and see their naturalist or classroom teacher rappel down a 180 foot rope.  Then everyone goes to Calaveras Big Trees, to see the earth's biggest living trees - the sequoias. 

Night Hike: This one-hour hike focuses on nocturnal animals, constellations, a visit to our Sky Tower, and a positive experience during the night.

Our Facilities

Our dormitories can sleep up to 196 students divided among twelve separate dormitory rooms.  There are two halves to our dormitory building.  Each half contains six dormitory rooms, a central bathroom and a large meeting room.  Due to the nature and construction of the facilities, the dormitory halves are gender specific—boys in one wing and girls in another.  The number of beds in each dorm room varies from 14 to 20. 

Visiting teachers stay in a separate retreat building which can accommodate a total of 12 people in 6 semi-private rooms.  The retreat building has its own lounge/meeting room and a small kitchen area (including a refrigerator) for minimal cooking.

Meal Service

Our dining hall will seat up to 250 people and includes a stage and sound system.  Lunches are eaten picnic style in small groups at various outdoor locations around the site.  All meals are prepared by our on-site kitchen staff.  For a listing of a typical week’s menu, click here.