What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 2pm Tuesday 10am - 2pm Wednesday 10am - 2pm Thursday 10am - 2pm

Durango Forest School

Home
United States
Durango, CO
Durango Forest School

Year-round/nature sites
Ages 3-6
Monday-Thursday
9:30-2

Our mission is to develop the whole child, cultivate curiosity, and inspire confidence through community relationships, authentic learning experiences, self-chosen risks, and wild, nature play.

01/23/2026

We love the many seasons of Forest School. We would particularly love more of the "sledding season" variety this winter! ❄❤☀

12/12/2025

We love playing in the sun, snow, and mud at Twin Buttes ❤☀❄ And it was so cool to watch them put in the new bridge!

10/28/2025

As Durango Forest School enters its fifth year we are beginning to wonder, where are the girls? Female enrollment is steadily decreasing and this is a trend seen nationally. Meanwhile 9R classrooms are stocked full of girls.

While it seems glaringly obvious to parents of boys that the four walls of a classroom can’t possibly contain them, girls often seem right at home sitting quietly and doing their work.

But is this what we really want for them?

Girls who spend time in nature are more likely to

* pursue STEM-related careers
* project confidence in new situations
* solve problems easily and effectively
* be comfortable in a variety of outdoor settings
* protect the environment and live sustainably
* establish lifelong healthy habits
* advocate for gender equality

Give your daughter the wild, free and empowering educational foundation she deserves. Visit durangoforestschool.com to learn more.

05/23/2025

We just wrapped up our 4th amazing year of forest school! We are incredibly grateful to our dedicated and loving families and our generous community partners who make forest school possible. DFS is our dream come true, and we couldn't do it without you 🌱🌷💕

03/25/2025

We have 2 openings in our summer mini-session: July-21-24, 9-1:30, Mon-Thurs. $250 for the week. These spots are only available to children who have participated in our programs before. Email if interested!

02/21/2025

We are so grateful for our partnership with ! We love the space to run free, climb, explore, and enjoy the beautiful forest and meadow. This week we relished the snow play, including shoveling, sledding, making snow creations, and observing animal tracks in the snow and mud. ❄️☀️🐾

02/04/2025

Lots of love and appreciation for sturdy shelter, cozy books and a good fire.

01/25/2025

It is worth sharing how incredibly rich with language a forest school day is compared to an indoor classroom. We have had educators join us who visit all of the preschools in the county. They marvel at how much conversation occurs throughout our day.

Consider for a moment the sheer number of words needed and used and understood by all players to create a shared schema of a place; the items in and around it, how they will be used and for what purpose. Then comes the rising action, the danger or obstacle. Next up is a plan to overcome the obstacle and upon resolution another plot twist. And this continues for hours.

The children are creating with complete independence. All the while considering feelings and learning to manage their own (and sometimes failing) and trying new things and taking risks and crying and getting back up and deciding what they want their next action to be. The agency, the motivation to communicate and connect and also express their own boundaries through language is vital work for us all, but especially children.

For we all begin there and we know what it feels like to be here, as adults. Still considering feelings and managing our own (and sometimes failing) and trying new things and taking risks and crying and getting back up and deciding what we want our next step to be. The work is never done. Thank you for giving your children a language rich foundation.

01/16/2025

fire fanning warming stick collecting adding stirring smiling storytelling ice breaking throwing crunching balancing sliding skating falling crashing crying comforting trying (again) building creating collaborating admiring (beauty) destroying laughing persevering climbing feeling resting layering sweating de-layering asking joining talking negotiating giggling dreaming resting jumping dancing sharing gazing deciding acting discovering
playing
playing
playing
at forest school.

01/10/2025

We welcomed the new year with our first fire of the season! The children enjoyed helping to build the fire pit, collect wood, and ignite and feed the fire. We practiced fire safety and enjoyed the warm blaze on a chilly day. We are deeply grateful to the property owners who partner with us and encourage our wild ways 🔥🌨❤

11/01/2024

After the cloud burst on Tuesday, we were lucky enough to watch as the water returned to Junction Creek, first as a trickle, then as a rush! The forest schoolers were fascinated by the water pathways leading down from the mountains, enjoyed "fishing" for leaves, launching boats, and rock-hopping. We love the dynamic forces of nature's classroom 🍂🌧❤

09/10/2024

Durango Forest School fosters social/emotional development, independence and resilience through wild nature play. We have a few spots left for this school year.

Reach out today!

https://www.durangoforestschool.com

Address

Places Wild
Durango, CO
81301

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 2pm
Tuesday	10am - 2pm
Wednesday	10am - 2pm
Thursday	10am - 2pm

Telephone

+17242558528

Website

https://www.durangoforestschool.com/

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