Family Adventure Camp at Tremont

December 12-14, 2025

Tremont is a place where connections are made. By engaging the natural world through hands-on, curiosity-provoking explorations, our programs provide time and space for families to connect with each other and with nature.

We’re excited to host Black Kids Adventures‘ Family Adventure Camp on December 12-14, 2025. During this week, your family will discover waterfalls, share stories and s’mores around the campfire, build forts, and develop wilderness skills – all with experienced naturalists and National Park staff by your side! A special highlight will be a presentation by Dexter Armstrong about his experience working in several national parks as a National Park Service ranger. Check out the full schedule.

Registration includes all materials, food, and lodging throughout the program. Participants will receive an invoice from Black Kids Adventures when accepted into the program; the program fee is non-refundable.

Unplug, unwind, and reconnect with nature during this unforgettable family adventure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a nonprofit residential environmental education center located inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Townsend, Tennessee.

In partnership with Great Smoky Mountains National Park, our mission is to deliver experiential learning for youth, educators, and adults through programs that promote self-discovery, critical thinking, and effective teaching and leadership. We believe that education creates lasting positive change for people and our planet.

From our home inside the national park, our research and residential programs investigate the diversity that sustains all life, develop a sense of place, and cultivate a stewardship ethic that will influence lifelong decision-making.

We aim to help your child get curious, ask questions, and deepen their connections with their surroundings and themselves.

You will be staying in a communal wing of our safe and comfortable dormitory – start thinking now if you would prefer a top or bottom bunk! The dormitory is comprised of three large wings or bunkrooms. You and your family will share one of these wings with 3-4 other families. There is plenty of room for all. However, we recommend you bring an extra bedsheet or two for hanging off of the bunks, which will help create more privacy in this shared living space.

Restrooms are always separated by gender. The dorm is heated and cooled with central heating and air. Please note that the Tent Village will not be available because the tents need storage over winter.

Take a virtual tour of our facilities.

Check out the program schedule. Activities are subject to change depending on weather, but you’re sure to explore, experience something new, get curious, and learn more about the world around you. All activities are suited for ages 4 and up.

We can generally accommodate for a variety of physical abilities. If you have specific concerns about you or your child’s ability to participate, please feel welcome to contact us in advance.

There is no cell phone service at Tremont, though adults will be provided with a wifi password. Prior to the trip, you will be provided an emergency phone number that people can use to contact our office. Tremont has landlines and internet phones throughout campus that can be used to call home if needed.

You will be served 3 hot meals per day in our family-style dining hall. We make a variety of healthy choices available, including a full salad bar with lunch and dinner, and fresh fruit available at all times.

Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available at each meal – be sure to let us know if you have these or any other dietary restrictions when you register. While we can accommodate most dietary restrictions, there may be exceptions for unique situations. Learn more about our food accommodations.

Tremont has an incredible professional teaching faculty that specialize in teaching outdoors and caring for youth and adults in a residential setting. All of Tremont’s teacher naturalists are trained medical first responders, have passed a background check, live on-site in private housing, and are available to assist participants 24 hours per day. Learn more about Tremont’s faculty.

In addition to Tremont staff, you will also meet several representatives from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and, of course, you’ll be accompanied by the amazing team from Black Kids Adventures.

Check out the packing list in your welcome letter! Be sure to pack clothes and footwear that can get dirty.

Though we encourage you to pack as much on this list as possible, we have essential items that you are welcome to borrow, including extra shoes, rain gear, cold-weather layers, and water bottles. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

There’s time built into your schedule to stop by our Visitors Center. There, you can purchase various souvenirs, including stickers, postcards, sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, field guides, maps, and more. We accept cash and credit cards.

We do have a very limited selection of Tremont merchandise available through Great Smoky Mountains Association’s online store.

We hope this doesn’t happen, but if you need to cancel your registration, please contact us in advance to let us know.

Absolutely! Check out Tremont’s summer camps! During the summer, we offer multi-day, overnight experiences for kids ages 4 to 17 – and sometimes their adults! Our summer camps connect kids with nature – and each other – through new, empowering experiences full of curiosity, discovery, and wonder.

Money, or lack of it, should never stand in the way of a life-changing summer experience. We make every attempt to offer financial aid to any child who needs a little extra help to make summer camp in the Smokies a reality. Learn more.

We also offer adult naturalist classes, hiking programs, and photography courses throughout the year. See the full schedule.

We all belong in nature.

At Tremont, we deeply believe that connection to place and to each other makes us more whole and our communities more resilient. We succeed in our mission when we facilitate inclusive outdoor experiences that contribute to each participant’s sense of belonging in nature and the Great Smoky Mountains.

We embrace the idea of nature as not that which is untouched by humanity but where life thrives. As such, we have the opportunity to address inequities that prevent individuals from thriving at Tremont. This includes addressing the systemic racism that has resulted in the intentional exclusion of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized community members from being welcomed or safe in the outdoors, precluding their feelings of belonging in these spaces. 

This work takes planning and intentionality. We accept our responsibility to adjust our policies, teaching practices, and workplace culture to provide equality of access to, and connection with, a healthy natural environment. Our ongoing efforts center on racial equity, yet we understand the intersection of this work with other discrimination based on physical ability, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or ethnic background. 

When we uplift the most marginalized communities, we all become stronger.