Sierra Club Family Trips
Families can sign up for trips hosted by the long-time nature conservancy group, the Sierra Club. The club, founded in 1892 by naturalist John Muir, has as one of its tenets the idea that people should get out into wild spaces and enjoy their beauty. Muir encouraged people to "climb the mountains and get their good tidings."
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Activities
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Family trips with Sierra Club usually require a minimum age of 8 for travelers. Group leaders plan their schedules with a focus on active hours spent in nature and family-centered activities in the evenings. During the day, families may swim or hike. At night there are nature programs, crafts and games.
Types
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The trips offered are both domestic and international. International trips include 50 active itineraries each year. Some of these are recommended for family groups such as Costa Rica rain-forest tours. Domestic trips comprise the bulk of family trips. Fifteen such trips were scheduled in 2011. Local chapters of the Sierra Club also host outings for families nearer home.
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Specialty Trips
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Family trips can be tailored for families with members of different generations in the party. There are also specialty outings for grandparents and grandchildren. These trips include activities that appeal to both older and younger family members. They have down time built into the day for both little ones and seniors.
Examples
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Some examples of the Sierra Club family trips include an outing called Families, Wildflowers and Llamas in the Gros Ventre Wilderness of Wyoming. The Just for Grandparents and Grandkids Trip takes them to the Tahoe National Forest in California. In Alaska families can spend time together on the Denali Train, venturing out from a family base camp into the Denali National Forest.
Considerations
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Sierra Club trips range from three nights to seven. They do not include transportation to the place where the trip begins. There are additional costs sometimes for equipment used on the trip. Adult prices range from $495 to over $800. The cost per child is between $395 and $600. The Alaska Denali trip is the most expensive at around $1400 for children and $1700 for adults.
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References
- Photo Credit family hiking image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com
