Tiny Treks

I really wanted to love this program, but I didn’t. In fact I stopped it only after a couple of months and got a refund. We signed up for the North Peninsula sessions, but most of the trails were farther south of Redwood City. Taking 101 south at 9:30am on weekdays is brutal. Lots of traffic, meaning a 45min drive each way. Additionally, most of the trails picked were covered in poison oak. The teachers told us to not stray from the paths to avoid the poison, but my 2.5yo isn’t the type to walk in a straight path — he kept going off path to look at interesting things. I had to constantly and nervously guide him back. That part took out half the fun. There’s hardly any interaction with the other parents — when I started, we were never introduced to one another. I had no idea what their names were, or who their kids were. And it’s hard to get to know any of the other parents while walking on the trails. Snacks were good, art projects decent, but overall, I was disappointed.

We joined this year for the first time and I wish we’d done so earlier, since it is a wonderful program! Every week, we’re looking forward to our outing. For me, it’s in the top three of things the area has to offer. It’s like an outdoor, weekly preschool, each week in a new location (it goes by the «park school» in our house). The program strikes the perfect balance between operating smoothly and fostering a relaxed and playful atmosphere. Teacher Andrea is great at fostering a love of nature in the children. I’d say it’s ideal for children aged 3 – 4, but my children have also enjoyed at ages 2 and 5.
It’s not just the weekly sessions that are wonderful; we now also have this long list of places in the area to (re)visit and know all the fun stuff to do there.

My daughter and I are participating in their summer program and we absolutely love it. What a great idea! We’ve been exploring the bay area through short, fun hikes, exploring nature, and socializing with other families. Highly recommend.

HANDS DOWN, our favorite ‘mommy & me’ activity. My husband and I are so delighted that we found this place. We’ve been participating in the North Peninsula weekly hiking class with Teacher Kate for the past year and a half and will probably continue next year as well. And will probably do the same with our second child. In an age where children spend much of their days indoors, it’s so refreshing to get out and explore nature and teach a child to appreciate the outdoors. My 2 ½ year old son comes home from our hikes and spends the whole rest of the week talking about what he sees — banana slugs, rabbits, deer, spiders, starfish, you name it. I would highly recommend trying it out.

Fantastic program — I loved the one-​on-​one time exploring with my son but also the group setting gave us a chance to chat to other parents/​kids. Highlights were playing peek a boo in the base of a redwood tree, playing with rubber duckies in a little stream, gettning up close (and feeding) farm animals, making paper bumble bees and flying them around. Cindy is a fantastic teacher (not just a guide) — she has an incredible way with kids and draws them in to get them excited about all of the things we saw. My son now has an obsession with finding banana slugs… Fabulous idea and now I carry with me all of these fantastic hiking locations to keep up the hiking with my son! Thank you Pamela, Amy and Cindy.

My son and I had a wonderful time during the four-​week summer session. He is enrolled in another preschool during the year, so this is a great break for us to be outdoors together in a family-​friend environment. I enjoy that it is multi-​aged, so none of my children are left out, and all of them get to join us. The hikes are easy enough for a toddler to do, but outdoorsy enough to feel like you got out of the city and explored nature. Can’t wait to do it again!

Both my husband I work full time, and we always cherish our time with our 4-​yo daughter on the weekend. This (Tiny Treks Saturday program) turned out to be a great fit for us as (1) our child is rather outgoing and loved the outdoors, (2) it exposed us to the wonderful local parks that we’ve otherwise not visited, and (3) it reminded us to cherish the time that we get to spend with our child, from checking out a lady bug to watching her as she holds hands and runs with her friends in nature.
In the last two years, Tiny Treks took us to farms, water plays, parks, hiking trails and much more. Teacher Cindy is great, taking care of the children, preparing nutritious and delicious snacks, and making sure that everyone is acknowledged and part of the group. We’ve also formed great relationships with other families. We are very grateful for this experience, and are eagerly looking forward to spending a third year with Tiny Treks.

Our 3 year old has loved Tiny Treks for the past year and a half. SHe loves teacher Cindy! Our daughter and her father have a special nature bonding morning every Saturday.
We are new to the area, so this has been great to explore outdoor spaces we never would have found otherwise.
We highly recommend it for the little ones!

In a word, Tiny Treks is FANTASTIC! It is an outdoor parent/​child educational program that explores a different Bay Area location each week. Each class begins with a song led by an amazingly warm, funloving, adventurous instructor (in our case we had Teacher Ann whom I highly recommend). There is also a focus on a letter of the alphabet each week so the songs that are sung might begin with that same alphabet letter of week. Then the group is led on an age appropriate hike by the Tiny Treks teacher. Along the hike the teacher shares bit of information about the local flora and fauna with the parents and children or might take the kids on a scavenger hunt where they search for plant life or natural objects that they would find in that particular area. After the hike, the children participate in an art project followed by a healthy snack (which are often organic treats and may begin with the letter of the week). Each class closes in song. I have lived in the Bay Area for many years, and hadn’t known about some of its most beautiful parks and reserves until my child and I explored them with Tiny Treks. Tiny Treks was THE BEST class that either of my children participated in bar none. It instills a love of nature, is healthy, educational and fun!

When we first moved to CA we didn’t know the area at all. My son was two, and we sign up for a Tiny Treks class. We LOVED it! It was the highlight of the week. Each week we would meet the group at a different park and hike, do a project, sing songs and discover nature together. The spots that Tiny Treks has chosen are BEAUTIFUL and the kids are thrilled to see what new things they will encounter. We signed up again when my son was three, and then we did it again when my daughter was old enough. The teachers are carefully chosen — terrific with the age ranges and ready to meet the kids at their level. I love that they also offered a ‘family class’ which meant that the class was made of of a mix of the children’s ages. I always recommend this program because it’s so important to let the kids be outside, which isn’t always easy these days, and Tiny Treks understand this.

I LOVE this program! The teachers are top notch! Cindy & Amy are amazing! So friendly, caring, knowledgeable, always prepared, helpful, patient, loving and creative! These teachers do a superb job welcoming the newcomers.
*Every art project, from making pretend fishing poles to clay sculptures to binoculars, was well thought-​out, creative, age & skill appropriate my 3 year old’s little hands,
*Snacks were always tasty, nutritious & plentiful! sunbutter w/​raisins on rice cakes is a new favorite
*hikes at local parks are a fun, great way to explore the surrounding area parks & trails, esp for a non native northern californian. i have been in the bay area for 4 years & explored more parks in the past 8 months than in my 4 years here! love all the water play along the trails too. stories combined with snack times are a perfect way to wind down the session.
* My only regret is not finding out about this program when i first moved up north 4 years ago! I did the sibling program last summer to try out the program & it as super fun with my then 5 ½& 2 ½ year old. After participating in the year program with my now 3 ½ year old, I want to continue & come back for another summer sibling session!