Sites

We run program at several sites in the San Bernardino National Forest. Though the program, staffing and curriculum are all the exact same, each site offers a bit of unique character. All of our sites are leased from non-profit organizations that believe as we do in the importance of teaching children about nature. Situated at 6,700 feet, we are lucky enough to see all of the seasons; from the falling leaves in the autumn months, to the blanket of snow covering us in the winter, and back again to the flowering trees and plants in the spring.

Check out this page for the most accurate weather conditions for our sites. Any other weather prediction site often is not specific enough to our corner of the woods and our elevation.

From 10/14/25 through the rest of the 2025-26 School Year we will be operating out of Camp Edwards, in the Barton Flats area of the San Bernardino National Forest.

Camp Edwards

Physical Address: Camp Edwards, 42842 Jenks Lake Rd West, Angelus Oaks, CA 92305
Mailing Address for Student Mail:
Student Name & School Name
PO Box 2640
Big Bear City, CA 92305
Directions: DUE TO ROAD DAMAGE AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE MUST BE WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT HAS BEEN USED IN THE PAST. Take the roads that lead you to Hwy 330 in Highland. Follow Hwy 330 towards Big Bear as it starts to climb up the mountains. Continue to follow signs for Big Bear, these will lead you to Hwy 18. Follow Hwy 18 into Big Bear. Drive through Big Bear and get on Hwy 38 on the east end of Big Bear Valley. Follow Hwy 38 to Jenks Lake Rd East, turn left here. Follow Jenks Lake Rd East about 1.5 miles until you see the sign that says Camp Edwards on your right. If the GPS says you are there and you do not see the Camp Edwards sign, keep driving – you’re almost there!

Started in 2000, High Trails is a Big Bear based small business that focuses on residential outdoor education for California elementary and middle schools and their students. Each year we host more than 100 schools and 8,000 students as they visit us in the mountains for 3, 4 and 5 weekday programs. To date we’ve helped more than 100,000 students learn to love nature. This single minded approach of focusing on only outdoor education has let us refine our program into what is now, we believe, the best natural outdoor science camp experience for your students. If you’re looking for a friendly, innovative and fresh approach to the world of outdoor education, come join us at High Trails Outdoor Science School; your very own dirty classroom.

Esquith, Kohlberg, & their 6 Levels of Moral Development - Caroline Burdick

Last summer, I accepted a new position at High Trails as Program Coordinator. At the time, I was unclear exactly what that meant. Honestly, as we moved forward in the school year, I was still unsure as to...

Purple Flying Elephants - Mark Lisak Want to learn how to integrate storytelling into your classes? Read on... “Hello! You have hired me, Captain Mark, to take you to the Land of Purple Flying Elephants. The Purple Flying Elephants have taken your... Welcome to Subirdia: Book Review - Mark Kerstens Ever wonder how our ever growing suburbanization and development affects wildlife populations? Have you heard that urban development is exclusively bad for bird populations? I thought so, too, until I read Welcome to Subirdia by... A Life Lesson from My Brother: Heather Plazak Can you imagine being 8 years old and being told you have a disease that has no cure? Or finding out that your life expectancy is at best ten more years? Can you imagine living in... It's Nice To Share: Chris Wright A little while back I got a call from another local outdoor school asking if they could come talk to us and pick our brains to help them figure out some of their current staffing... Little World Wonders - Nasser Rihan Did you know that there is an organism on this planet, which covers 3.4 square miles, and has been growing for over 2,000 years! It spreads mostly underground, growing unchecked in the Malheur National Forest... Eclipses - Mary Ellen Weaver I’m not afraid to admit that I am a big science nerd; especially when it comes to astronomy! I have been at High Trails for more than a season now, and I have to say... The Master's - Alex Kaklamanos A master's degree is an advanced academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. Earning a Master’s degree... Tradeoffs - Cass Landrum When I was 18 I sat in a mandatory economics class and listened to my sweet elderly teacher say that “when making a decision, you must consider two things—‘how much does it cost’, and ‘what’s... Can Science Teach You To Be Nice? Sarah Wood The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any - Fred Astaire I had a strange encounter at the grocery store the other day. The man in front of me in the checkout... Hiking with a USFS Botanist - Jaimie Spetseris/Mark Lisak Working at an outdoor science school in the San Bernardino Mountains has some perks. Aside from hiking in the forest, teaching students about nature, coexisting in a healthy world, breathing fresh mountain air, and going... Where Have All The Monarchs Gone? - Melissa Mercier Monarch butterflies are amazing insects; they can change from caterpillar to beautiful winged creatures! What you may not know is they perform a second and equally amazing feat... Monarch butterflies perform a four generation long trek... Are You Going To Eat That? Colin Veerman “Pass the ketchup! Who wants seconds? Are you going to eat that?” Phrases like this are music to my ears. Not because I‘m crazy about my condiments or I like getting kids to fill their bellies... Mental Limitations-Adriana Boylan After 26 hours of continuous hiking, multi-pitch climbing the East Buttress of Mt. Whitney, and summiting the highest mountain in the lower 48 states, Ryan and I were completely exhausted both mentally and physically. We... Frontloading and Debriefing - Shannon Diaz “On your mark, get set, go!” “Huh? I don’t even know what we’re playing!” Have you ever tried playing a game or doing an activity that wasn’t explained completely or didn't make sense to you? This can... Where Did the Big Bears Go? - Nicholas Spinelli I want you to picture a mountain in your mind’s eye. It’s what our students see the moment they step off the bus here at High Trails. From then on, their imaginations (and questions) are... Sierra Snowpack Water Facts - Mark Kerstens Here at High Trails we live and work in the San Bernardino Mountains. While beautiful and incredibly diverse, our local mountains pale in size, height, and snowpack when you compare them to the vastness of... Why Visit A Classroom? Tamara Perreault Working at High Trails, I quickly became a proponent of teaching outside. There are a lot of clear benefits. In California, class size is almost always 20 or more, but our groups are rarely more... Taking Applications For Granted - Driz Cook I believe in not taking things for granted. In the early years of High Trails, staff would start to talk about the next school year and I would stop them in their tracks. "If there is... Replenishing the Water Cycle - Kevin Williams Did you know the scientific term for the water cycle is the hydrologic cycle? I was on a hike the other day and thought about the apple activity I do during our Water Wonders class to...

Popular Parent Links

Special Concerns: Information and form for special situations. Health Consent Form: required for every student attending High Trails. Medication Form: required if a student is bringing medication to High Trails. Discipline Form and Packing List: general information to prepare for your trip. Forms Video: check this out for a visual explanation of our forms. Printable Parent's Guide: used in lieu of the online Parent's Guide. Menu: a weekly list of the food up here.

Morphology Makes You a Science Wizard - Jenna Ikwe Mennen “Who knows one characteristic of a mammal?” says every High Trails instructor, once a week. “Warm-blooded!” answers an eager student, remembering to raise their hand only after already blurting out the words. Now, how do we... Attention Getters to Start Your Class - Hadley Conrad Imagine it is the third class of the day; about 3pm. Students have enjoyed a fact-filled day. However, they are loaded with new information and reasonably tired from a hike in the mountains with their... Trail Games #1- Kyle O'Dea So what do you do while hiking with a large group of students through the forest? Play games of course! Here at High Trails Outdoor Science School we have an arsenal of games we... Guided Questioning: Turning Wah into Wow - Mark Kerstens Ever have a cool fact, idea, or concept that comes up as you hike that you want to share with the students? These teachable moments happen all the time, and are a great way to... 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What was the world like for you then? I remember when I was in fifth grade, and getting ready to go to Camp... Why Visit A Classroom? Tamara Perreault Working at High Trails, I quickly became a proponent of teaching outside. There are a lot of clear benefits. In California, class size is almost always 20 or more, but our groups are rarely more... Home - Tamara Perreault What makes a place a home? This can be a tough question. Think about it for a moment. When you say, “I feel like I’m at home” what makes you feel that way? 2,000 years ago...

Rising of the Tides - Meg Swords The oceans make up 71% of our planet, and we are just now beginning to unlock its potential to power our world! According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, marine energy is the largest potential... Exploring Outer Space - Tori Jackson A full moon with a moon ring, photo by Tori Space, a place so vast and unknown that there are seemingly endless opportunities for exploration and learning. In this blog post, we'll... Finding Abundance in Scarcity: Pinyon Pine Harvest - Lyla Biddle Relocating to the mountains of Southern California from the abundant Pacific Northwest, where water flows year round and moss covers every surface, I expected foraging in such an arid climate to be quite sparse. Stumbling back... Speak Like A Yuhaviaatam - Ikwe Mennen You're staying in the Condor cabin? I think you mean Qwat cabin! Yuhaviaatam means “people of the pines” in their own language. They are the native peoples who lived on top of our mountain, in the... 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The Yuhaviatam arrived... Mars InSight Lander - Karen Solange Fraser Mars’ latest lander, InSight, launched in May 2018 and landed in November 2018. At approximately 5 feet long and 20 feet wide, it features two solar panels, two cameras, and three scientific instruments with a... Snake Reproduction - Mallory Schmackpfeffer When we talk about snakes, the assumption that we make is that all snakes reproduce by laying eggs, but that’s only part of the story! The truth is that only 70% of snakes lay eggs... Seed Dispersal of the Black Oak - Davíd Valencia Did you know that one of the largest populations of all Black Oak trees in southern California is in the San Bernardino National Forest? [1. Tyler, Claudia M., et al. “Demography and Recruitment Limitations of... Contour vs Downy Feathers – Frazer Winsted It is the middle of Feathered Friends class. 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The Spirits of the Water: Loons - AleXANdra Barteldt There is a loonie legend about a small lake in rural Maine named Flying Pond. As the story goes, the Native Americans of the region returned to the northern lakes every season for fishing and... Archery in North America - Hannah Livezey As staff members at High Trails, we are offered opportunities to visit other outdoor schools and exchange ideas with others in the outdoor field with hopes to deliver the best possible curriculum to the students...