Tremont is a place where connections are made. Through activities in the natural world like salamander searches, waterfall hikes, and evening campfires, Tremont programs provide time and space for students to genuinely connect with their peers and teachers, as well as classroom concepts – all while exploring the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

By intertwining science and history with hands-on investigations, students can make real-world connections to their academic studies. These experiences not only deepen their understanding of these subjects but also cultivate a love for learning that extends beyond the trip itself.

Our dedicated and expert staff possess a remarkable ability to make students feel welcome and at home. We create a supportive environment that encourages peer-to-peer and teacher-student connections and facilitates an enriching and wonder-based relationship with the natural environment.

We understand that sending your child on an overnight trip can be a big decision, and we are here to provide you with all the information you need to feel comfortable with their upcoming adventure. We’ve compiled many of our most-asked questions below, but feel welcome to reach out with any additional questions you may have.

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.

Your child will be staying in a communal wing of our safe and comfortable dormitory. They can start thinking now if they would prefer a top or bottom bunk! There are separate quarters for boys and girls, as well as separate private bathrooms and shower stalls. Your school’s chaperones will also stay in the dorms, so your child will never be unsupervised. The dorm is heated and cooled with central heating and air.

We offer alternative accommodations for transgender or non-binary students. Please contact us in advance to discuss.

Learn more about our facilities.

It can vary! We work with your student’s teachers in advance to build an experience that aligns with their goals for the trip. Here are some activities your child might participate in, based on the schedule your trip organizers have selected.

Regardless of the specific activities scheduled, your child is sure to explore, experience something new, get curious, and learn more about the world around them.

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

There is no cell phone service at Tremont. Prior to the trip, you will be provided an emergency phone number to contact Tremont and reach your child. Tremont has landlines and internet phones throughout campus that can be used to call home if needed. Typically, Tremont restricts calls home unless there is a behavioral issue or a student becomes ill – if you don’t hear from us, it means your child is having a great time!

Please don’t send snacks with your kids! Food can attract critters, and we don’t want that!

Your child 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. Occasionally, students will pack a sack lunch to enjoy during an all-day lesson or hike.

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 on your registration form. 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 in a residential setting. Many hold graduate degrees in education. 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 our staff, your school will provide chaperones who will help oversee activities and sleeping areas. Chaperones will sleep in the dorms, so your child will never be without adult supervision.

Occasionally, we have other guests on campus. This may include another school or community group. If this is the case, your child will share dining spaces with others, but daily activities and sleeping quarters will be separate.

No. Tremont faculty or school chaperones will always be with your child, and no faculty member will ever be alone with your child.

We do see value in spending time in nature alone, so we do occasionally facilitate activities that help students feel alone, even though they are in a controlled environment with supervision. For example, your child may participate in a solo-sit. This is a time when the group spreads out in a defined area to spend a few minutes sitting quietly and observing nature. During a solo-sit, campers are still being watched over by faculty. During all-day hikes, your child may participate in a solo-walk. This is a time when each camper has the opportunity to spend a few minutes walking quietly and observing the beauty of the park. During the solo-walk, there will always be a faculty member and/or chaperone in front of and behind the campers.

We put together a packing list for you. Please pack clothes and footwear that can get really dirty and wet! Take note of items listed on the “what not to pack” list as well!

Though we encourage you to pack as much on this list as you can, we do have essential items that your child is welcome to borrow, including extra shoes, rain gear, cold-weather layers and water bottles.

Your child will have time built into their schedule to stop by our Visitors Center. There, they 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.

Absolutely! Check out our summer camps! 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 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.