Did you know that the nonprofit Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Foundation offers free field trips to Mission Trails as well as in-person educator visits to your school? Since 2009, the MTRP Foundation has provided enriching outdoor experiences to more than 30,000 students, and we hope your class will participate this school year.
The MTRP Foundation offers educator-led field trips for students in kindergarten through 8th grade and pre- or post-learning opportunities in your classrooms. Each program is designed to meet Core Curriculum requirements and Next Generation Science Standards.
We offer field trips to the park on Wednesdays and Fridays, accommodating up to 80 students. Reservations are required for all group and class visits. Please note that our scheduling system will automatically book you for a 3.5 hour field trip starting at 9:30AM until 1PM. This will include a 30-minute lunch break, a 1.5 to 2-hour guided nature walk, museum time, and an educational film.
Pre-learning or post-learning opportunities can be scheduled for before or after your field trip, on Tuesdays or Thursdays. An educator will come to your school to cover topics explored in person at the park. Even if you are unable to bring your class to the park, we would be happy to offer in-school visits with similar programming materials and lessons.
The MTRP Foundation can reimburse up to $250 for bus transportation per field trip for groups of 25 or more students. The minimum number of students for an MTRP Foundation field trip is 15.
Please read through our teacher packet found here
If you are seeking a Ranger-led field trip or Self-guided field trip, please see those pages on the MTRP website. Self-guided programs can only take place on Mondays and Ranger-led Field Trips are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
At this time, both the MTRP Foundation-led and Ranger-led field trip schedules for the 2024-2025 school year are completely full. As the school year goes on, we expect some bookings to be canceled. Please add yourself to the waitlist and we will try to get you scheduled for this school year. Our educators are very busy so please add yourself to the waitlist in lieu of contacting them directly. Thank you.
Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation Field Trip Offered
K – 2nd Grade: The Habitats of Mission Trails Regional Park
As awareness of where we live in relationship to San Diego’s cherished wildlife is the focus of this K-2nd grade outdoor education program. The concepts of habitat and the four elements necessary for one – food, water, shelter, and space – are discussed in an introductory presentation. Students are then taken on an easy half-mile guided walk through some of the park’s native habitats to see where some of Mission Trails’ many inhabitants live. Students will also discover some of the many signs and clues wildlife leave behind. This program begins and ends at the park’s Visitor Center.
NGSS; K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, 1-LS1-1, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1
3rd Grade: The Kumeyaay and Mission Trails Regional Park
The Kumeyaay are our region’s indigenous people, and their ancestors lived in the area that is now Mission Trails Regional Park. One of the more obvious dwelling sites used by the Kumeyaay includes a granitic bedrock area that has several depressions worn into the surface from hundreds of years of grinding acorns and other foods. This 3rd grade outdoor education program takes students on a one-mile roundtrip interpretive walk to the historic Grinding Rocks site at the edge of the San Diego River. Along the way, Kumeyaay usage of native plants and wildlife resources will be discussed. The cultural and social customs of the Kumeyaay will be covered. This program begins and ends at the Visitor Center, where students will also get the chance to view an educational video or Native storytelling presentation and participate in a Scavenger Hunt through the museum.
NGSS; 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-4, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2
4th, 5th & 6th Grade: Ecosystems of Mission Trails Regional Park
Within the park there are seven distinct ecosystems – places where living and nonliving things interact. This one-mile exploratory walk takes students through four of the park’s dominant ecosystems – coastal sage scrub, chaparral, oak woodland and riparian. Students will have an opportunity to discover the differences between each ecosystem and learn why these differences exist. We’ll discuss animal species that may be found within each ecosystem (and, with hope, see some!), and identify soil composition. This program begins and ends at the park’s Visitor Center.
NGSS; 4-ESS2-1, 5 ESS2-1, 5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS-2-4
7th & 8th Grade: Biodiversity and Stewardship of Mission Trails Regional Park
Human beings are living organisms who interact with and benefit from the ecosystems around them. Ecosystems that have a greater variety of different species of plants and animals have a greater biodiversity. These ecosystems are also healthier and more stable. This field trip will emphasize biodiversity, human impact on the environment, and stewardship. We will include a discussion about biodiversity, and students will have the opportunity to be “citizen scientists” by using the iNaturalist app to track nature observations along the trail. Students will learn about stewardship and how they can be stewards for the environment, including a video about stewardship, which focuses on the stewardship involved with Mission Trails Regional Park. This program begins and ends at the park’s Visitor Center.
NGSS; MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, LS2.C (MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5)