School Trips to Tremont

At Tremont, learning is all about experience. Step outside. Explore and ask questions. Lots of them. Learn to think problems through. Come up with new ideas. Test those ideas. Try something new together.

Nestled within the stunning Great Smoky Mountains National Park, our school programs offer students unparalleled opportunities for immersive, hands-on learning in one of the nation’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Students not only gain a deeper understanding of environmental science but also develop critical thinking skills, resilience, and a sense of stewardship for the environment.

Tremont School Programs
At A Glance

Grades: 4th-college
Program Length: 3-5 days
Group Size: 12-135
Location: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, Tennessee
Cost: Starts at $288 per student (additional financial aid, scholarships, and discounts available)

School Trips to Tremont

At Tremont, learning is all about experience. Step outside. Explore and ask questions. Lots of them. Learn to think problems through. Come up with new ideas. Test those ideas. Try something new together.

Nestled within the stunning Great Smoky Mountains National Park, our school programs offer students unparalleled opportunities for immersive, hands-on learning in one of the nation’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Students not only gain a deeper understanding of environmental science but also develop critical thinking skills, resilience, and a sense of stewardship for the environment.

Tremont School Programs At A Glance

Grades: 4th-college
Program Length: 3-5 days
Group Size: 12-135
Location: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, Tennessee
Cost: Starts at $281 per student (additional financial aid, scholarships, and discounts available)

What Does a Tremont Trip Look Like?

At Tremont, education takes on an immersive form. It’s about stepping beyond conventional boundaries, venturing into the outdoors, and igniting a cascade of inquiries. This isn’t just learning – it’s a dynamic process of engaging with the world.

Our distinctive approach involves residential trips spanning 3 to 5 days, during which students become inhabitants and explorers of the national park. They aren’t mere spectators, but instead are active participants.

We work closely with each school or group to tailor the program to their specific educational objectives, ensuring a memorable and impactful experience for all participants.

What Does a Tremont Trip Look Like?

At Tremont, education takes on an immersive form. It’s about stepping beyond conventional boundaries, venturing into the outdoors, and igniting a cascade of inquiries. This isn’t just learning – it’s a dynamic process of engaging with the world.

Our distinctive approach involves residential trips spanning 3 to 5 days, during which students become inhabitants and explorers of the national park. They aren’t mere spectators, but instead are active participants.

We work closely with each school or group to tailor the program to their specific educational objectives, ensuring a memorable and impactful experience for all participants.

A Tremont experience aims to:

Challenge teachers and students to develop personal and meaningful connections to the land and to each other

Immerse participants in the biodiversity and beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Engage teachers and students through hands-on experiences

Help students build critical thinking skills and scientific literacy

Model best teaching practices through cooperative teaching

“I would recommend Tremont to anyone. It is a fantastic program led by passionate, fun, committed people who provide exceptional educational experiences in a gorgeous setting. The kids (and adults) really get so much out of their stay. They learn about the environment, themselves, and their friends. The kids learn how to be responsible for the natural spaces and for themselves. What is not to love?”

-5th Grade Teacher

Morning:
Wake up to the sounds of a whippoorwill’s morning call. A group of students joins a teacher naturalist to collect weather data, which they use to create a forecast for the day. Over a warm, hearty breakfast, they share the forecast with their schoolmates.

Students head into the woods for Salamander Investigations, where they learn to safely catch and handle salamanders. They find salamanders, give them names, make observations, and ask questions. Then, they use tools to answer one of the questions they asked, reporting their findings to the group. At the end of the lesson, once the salamanders have been returned to their homes, students realize they just participated in every step of the scientific process – and had fun doing it!

Afternoon:
After a delicious lunch, students head out for their next activity – a geology hike! A teacher naturalist guides them up the trail to Spruce Flats Falls, stopping to examine interesting features in exposed rock, notice the fault line running through the valley, and identify ecosystem changes as the geologic features and elevation change. When they arrive at the falls, students bravely complete the Tremont Challenge by sticking their heads under the icy-cold stream. On the hike back, the group spots a black bear with her cubs on the hill below.

When they return to campus, students are given some supervised free time; some choose to start a kickball game, some try to find caterpillars in a pawpaw tree, and some use the time for quiet reflection.

Evening:
Students enjoy a nutritious, family-style dinner together, catching up and reflecting on the amazing things they noticed throughout the day.

The group heads to the Council House, where a teacher naturalist builds a fire for roasting marshmallows. Students are enraptured as a professional storyteller shares songs and lore from the Appalachian mountains. Afterwards, the group sings some of their favorite camping songs, including the all-time Tremont favorite, The Scat Rap.

Students return to the dorm, get ready for bed, and fall asleep looking forward to another day of exploration tomorrow.

Our programs not only meet standards across many disciplines, content areas, and grade levels, but inspire students’ connections to the natural world and each other. We’ll work with your lead teacher to identify your school’s goals for the trip and customize a program schedule for your group.

A few favorite activities include:

“I always take away little things the Tremont teachers do and implement those strategies in my own classroom.”

-11th Grade Teacher

Salamander Investigations

Uncovering questions, following curiosity, and designing student-driven investigations to learn more about salamanders.

Lesson Plan

Geology Hike to the Falls

Hiking to a scenic waterfall. Piecing together the geologic story of the Smokies through evidence found on the Falls Trail.

Stream Ecology

Investigating water quality through collection of bio-indicators (aquatic macro-invertebrates) and abiotic water quality testing.  Stream class– students will get wet!

Lesson Plan

Walker Valley Living History

Interviewing inhabitants of Walker Valley in 1926 to see how their lives would be affected by the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Explore our menu of lessons, evening programs, and special presentations.

Our programs not only meet standards across many disciplines, content areas, and grade levels, but inspire students’ connections to the natural world and each other. We’ll work with your lead teacher to identify your school’s goals for the trip and customize a program schedule for your group.

A few favorite activities include:

Salamander Investigations

Uncovering questions, following curiosity, and designing student-driven investigations to learn more about salamanders.

Lesson Plan

Geology Hike to the Falls

Hiking to a scenic waterfall. Piecing together the geologic story of the Smokies through evidence found on the Falls Trail.

Stream Ecology

Investigating water quality through collection of bio-indicators (aquatic macro-invertebrates) and abiotic water quality testing.  Stream class– students will get wet!

Lesson Plan

Walker Valley Living History

Interviewing inhabitants of Walker Valley in 1926 to see how their lives would be affected by the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Explore our menu of lessons, evening programs, and special presentations.

“I always take away little things the Tremont teachers do and implement those strategies in my own classroom.”

-11th Grade Teacher

Book Your Trip

Book Your Trip

1. Get the Conversation Started

Fill out this form to get a quote for your group, or contact us with questions.

2. Confirm Your Dates

Check out our 2025/26 calendar to see which dates are still available, and then complete an application. Don’t worry – you don’t need to have all your school’s details figured out yet! We’ll send a contract to confirm your dates.

Want to be notified when the next school year’s booking opens? Email us and we’ll make sure you’re on the list!

3. Work with the Tremont Team to Plan Details

In the months before your trip, we’ll reach out to learn about your school’s goals for the visit, customize your itinerary, and provide resources for your lead organizer, teachers, and parents. Check out our lead teacher resources.

4. Build Enthusiasm

We’ll help you communicate about the Tremont trip however we can! We’re happy to join for parent nights (in person or virtually), provide resources, and support fundraising efforts. Explore our resources for parents.

5. Have a Great Trip

We can’t wait to welcome your group to Tremont! It’s going to be a blast!

“We see kids become very independent at Tremont. For most of our ELL [English language learner] students, the entire experience it’s a completely open window to exploration. I love to see how much they learn and enjoy it.”

-5th Grade Teacher

2025/26 Tremont Trip Rates

Additional financial aid, scholarships, and discounts are available. See “Reducing the Cost of Your Trip” below.

Trip Duration Teaching Option Base Rate per Student Discounted Student Rate if
Teacher Attends a
Teacher Escape Weekend		 Extra Adult Fees*
3-day co-teaching $296 $288 $462
3-day 100% Tremont teaching $453.60 $445.60 $607
5-day co-teaching $444 $436 $613
5-day 100% Tremont teaching $574 $566 $762.30

*For every eight students brought to Tremont, one adult can attend at the student rate. Extra adults must pay the extra adult fee.

Rates include nutritious meals, on-site lodging, high-quality instruction from experienced teacher naturalists, customized instruction that matches your school’s goals, and materials for students and teachers. Rates do not include transportation.

Reducing the Cost of Your Trip

We strive for our experiences to be accessible to all, regardless of financial means. We offer a variety of resources for lowering the cost for your school trip.

Attend a Teacher Escape Weekend

We offer three Teacher Escape Weekends each year at a highly discounted price. When you attend, you’ll not only learn take-home educational strategies to improve student performance, but you’ll have a chance to meet our staff, experience our programs, get to know our campus, and learn from other educators who have led successful trips to Tremont.

You receive an $8 discount per student, plus you’ll return for free with your school group

Sign Up for Cooperative Teaching

When teachers team up with Tremont faculty to practice experiential learning techniques during their Tremont trip, they gain confidence and are more likely to transfer those skills back to the classroom. We’ll make sure you feel prepared to teach in our space, and you’ll leave with tangible skills and a steep discount for your students.

You’ll save $120-150 discount per student (compared to 100% Tremont teaching.)

Apply for Financial Aid

Thanks to funding from generous donors, we average more than $50,000 in scholarships given each school year. Lead teachers should complete a financial aid application and return it to Tremont at least six weeks before the scheduled trip. (See our Lead Teacher Resources here.) Financial aid is granted based on (a) your total request, (b) the effort you have made at raising the funds, and (c) the needs of your students.

Request a Scholarship

We’re incredibly fortunate to have friends and supporters who love and value our work. If your school needs additional support beyond what is available through financial aid, an additional scholarship may be available to you. Let’s talk.

Fundraise

We’re happy to help support your fundraising efforts. Here are a few ideas that may work for your school.

Tremont Trip Rates

Additional financial aid, scholarships, and discounts are available. See “Reducing the Cost of Your Trip” below.

2024/25 School Year

3-Day Trips

  • Co-teaching: $281/student
  • 100% Tremont teaching: $422/student
  • Extra adult fees:* $440 for co-teaching, $583 for 100% Tremont Teaching

5-Day Trips

  • Co-teaching: $432/student
  • 100% Tremont teaching: $546/student
  • Extra adult fees:* $578 for co-teaching, $726 for 100% Tremont Teaching

2025/26 School Year

3-Day Trips

  • Co-teaching: $296/student
  • 100% Tremont teaching: $453.60/student
  • Extra adult fees:* $462 for co-teaching, $607 for 100% Tremont Teaching

5-Day Trips

  • Co-teaching: $444/student
  • 100% Tremont teaching: $574/student
  • Extra adult fees:* $613 for co-teaching, $762.30 for 100% Tremont Teaching

*For every eight students brought to Tremont, one adult can attend at the student rate. Extra adults must pay the extra adult fee.

Rates include nutritious meals, on-site lodging, high-quality instruction from experienced teacher naturalists, customized instruction that matches your school’s goals, and materials for students and teachers. Rates do not include transportation.

Reducing the Cost of Your Trip

We strive for our experiences to be accessible to all, regardless of financial means. We offer a variety of resources for lowering the cost for your school trip.

Attend a Teacher Escape Weekend

We offer three Teacher Escape Weekends each year at a highly discounted price. When you attend, you’ll not only learn take-home educational strategies to improve student performance, but you’ll have a chance to meet our staff, experience our programs, get to know our campus, and learn from other educators who have led successful trips to Tremont.

You receive an $8 discount per student, plus you’ll return for free with your school group

Sign Up for Cooperative Teaching

When teachers team up with Tremont faculty to practice experiential learning techniques during their Tremont trip, they gain confidence and are more likely to transfer those skills back to the classroom. We’ll make sure you feel prepared to teach in our space, and you’ll leave with tangible skills and a steep discount for your students.

You’ll save $120-150 discount per student (compared to 100% Tremont teaching.)

Apply for Financial Aid

Thanks to funding from generous donors, we average more than $50,000 in scholarships given each school year. Lead teachers should complete a financial aid application and return it to Tremont at least six weeks before the scheduled trip. (See our Lead Teacher Resources here.) Financial aid is granted based on (a) your total request, (b) the effort you have made at raising the funds, and (c) the needs of your students.

Request a Scholarship

We’re incredibly fortunate to have friends and supporters who love and value our work. If your school needs additional support beyond what is available through financial aid, an additional scholarship may be available to you. Let’s talk.

Fundraise

We’re happy to help support your fundraising efforts. Here are a few ideas that may work for your school.

Common Questions

What exactly is Tremont?

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a residential environmental learning center located in the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We are a private, nonprofit organization that works closely with the National Park Service to provide programs that increase the awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the natural and cultural resources of the Smokies.

Our mission is to provide in-depth experiences through educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.

Our dedicated team of naturalists, educators, and staff are passionate about sharing their knowledge and love for the natural world. With years of experience in environmental education, they inspire curiosity, foster a sense of wonder, and empower students to become stewards of the environment. All Tremont staff have undergone background checks, and all teaching staff have extensive emergency response training. (Read more in “What safety precautions does Tremont take?” below.) Meet our team.

Some schools will opt into cooperative teaching. In that case, our educators will work with your teachers to make sure they feel prepared to co-lead lessons. Materials are available for teachers to peruse in advance, though there will be ample time to discuss in person.

We pride ourselves on our safety record. We have very few injuries each year because we are proactive in risk management.

Our staff knows the terrain and is highly trained to make good decisions in the field regarding the safety of participants. This training is based on our First Aid Protocol manual that covers everything from treating a blistered heel to safety during lightning storms. All teacher naturalists must maintain, at minimum, certification in Wilderness First Aid (16-hour intensive training in wilderness medicine) as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. All staff who lead backpacking trips have even more rigorous Wilderness First Responder training (64-hour intensive training in wilderness medicine). All program staff carry first aid kits, including epinephrine for severe allergic reactions, and we have an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) on-site for cardiac emergencies.

Our campus is self-contained and number of our staff live on site. Finally, every person Tremont hires has undergone thorough reference checks as well as background checks.

We also ensure that any animal encounters are safe for both the participant and the animal. We do this by keeping a safe distance, or, when we are able to interact with the animal, doing so in a way that causes no harm and minimal stress.

Your group will stay in a communal wing of our safe and comfortable dormitory, located on Tremont’s campus inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 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 students 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.

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.

Groups are scheduled more than a year in advance. Thus, we adhere to the following billing practices:

  1. You will have 30 days to sign and return your contract with a 10% non-refundable deposit.
  2. A group that cancels more than 60 days before its scheduled arrival date will lose its deposit or be billed 10% of the scheduled number of participants, whichever is higher.
  3. Cancellations made less than 60 days prior to the scheduled arrival date will be billed for 50% of their scheduled number of participants.
  4. Groups may submit a more accurate count up to 90 days prior to reserved dates. Thereafter, groups are responsible for a minimum payment of 90% of the number of participants indicated on the Reservation Confirmation Agreement or the most current number we have.
  5. The full cost will be invoiced during your stay at Tremont. Full payment is due within 30 days after your group’s arrival date.

Check out our Lead Teacher Resources page, which includes a handy checklist of what and when to prepare for your trip.

Of course! Check out our Parent Resources pages, available in both English and Spanish.

Absolutely! We love working with all kinds of groups! We do have a 12-person minimum group size, though scheduling priority is given to larger groups. We recommend teaming up with other homeschooling groups, environmental clubs, scouts programs or other non-traditional learning groups. If you’re interested in visiting, let’s talk.

Absolutely! Our registrar, Kelly, is happy to help any time – no question is too small! Feel free to email Kelly or call her at 865.448.6709 x 13.

“Our students become more environmentally aware, independent, and confident in an unfamiliar space.  They have a better understanding of how we each impact the environment in which we will live and play whether that is through food waste or salamander habitat or just keeping our own spaces cleaner.”

-5th Grade Teacher

Common Questions

What exactly is Tremont?

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a residential environmental learning center located in the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We are a private, nonprofit organization that works closely with the National Park Service to provide programs that increase the awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the natural and cultural resources of the Smokies.

Our mission is to provide in-depth experiences through educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.

Our dedicated team of naturalists, educators, and staff are passionate about sharing their knowledge and love for the natural world. With years of experience in environmental education, they inspire curiosity, foster a sense of wonder, and empower students to become stewards of the environment. All Tremont staff have undergone background checks, and all teaching staff have extensive emergency response training. (Read more in “What safety precautions does Tremont take?” below.) Meet our team.

Some schools will opt into cooperative teaching. In that case, our educators will work with your teachers to make sure they feel prepared to co-lead lessons. Materials are available for teachers to peruse in advance, though there will be ample time to discuss in person.

We pride ourselves on our safety record. We have very few injuries each year because we are proactive in risk management.

Our staff knows the terrain and is highly trained to make good decisions in the field regarding the safety of participants. This training is based on our First Aid Protocol manual that covers everything from treating a blistered heel to safety during lightning storms. All teacher naturalists must maintain, at minimum, certification in Wilderness First Aid (16-hour intensive training in wilderness medicine) as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. All staff who lead backpacking trips have even more rigorous Wilderness First Responder training (64-hour intensive training in wilderness medicine). All program staff carry first aid kits, including epinephrine for severe allergic reactions, and we have an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) on-site for cardiac emergencies.

Our campus is self-contained and number of our staff live on site. Finally, every person Tremont hires has undergone thorough reference checks as well as background checks.

We also ensure that any animal encounters are safe for both the participant and the animal. We do this by keeping a safe distance, or, when we are able to interact with the animal, doing so in a way that causes no harm and minimal stress.

Your group will stay in a communal wing of our safe and comfortable dormitory, located on Tremont’s campus inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 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 students 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.

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.

Groups are scheduled more than a year in advance. Thus, we adhere to the following billing practices:

  1. You will have 30 days to sign and return your contract with a 10% non-refundable deposit.
  2. A group that cancels more than 60 days before its scheduled arrival date will lose its deposit or be billed 10% of the scheduled number of participants, whichever is higher.
  3. Cancellations made less than 60 days prior to the scheduled arrival date will be billed for 50% of their scheduled number of participants.
  4. Groups may submit a more accurate count up to 90 days prior to reserved dates. Thereafter, groups are responsible for a minimum payment of 90% of the number of participants indicated on the Reservation Confirmation Agreement or the most current number we have.
  5. The full cost will be invoiced during your stay at Tremont. Full payment is due within 30 days after your group’s arrival date.

Check out our Lead Teacher Resources page, which includes a handy checklist of what and when to prepare for your trip.

Of course! Check out our Parent Resources pages, available in both English and Spanish.

Absolutely! Our registrar, Kelly, is happy to help any time – no question is too small! Feel free to email Kelly or call her at 865.448.6709 x 13.

“Our students become more environmentally aware, independent, and confident in an unfamiliar space.  They have a better understanding of how we each impact the environment in which we will live and play whether that is through food waste or salamander habitat or just keeping our own spaces cleaner.”

-5th Grade Teacher

Let’s Get Started