Student Hosteling Program

Description

In addition, it is important for the trippers and leaders to have a time to come together as a group before the stresses of dealing with travel logistics (especially bike travel) begin. Our headquarters is set up to be sensitive to the needs of the groups at this point and to provide the experiences and setting necessary to set the stage for a close group. We provide the emotional, logistical, and psychological support for leaders dealing with a new group of students, allowing the leaders to get to know their groups while our staff takes care of unexpected problems.

The daily structure of an SHP trip is geared specifically to the needs of this age group, We provide the basic framework and each group adjusts to that framework according to its own needs, desires, and abilities. The SHP framework consists of a definite itinerary, with reserved overnight stops (except for our challenging trips) to be met, specific roads that can or cannot be used, and certain major sights or activities that must be seen or done. Within that framework, each group has the freedom (as a group) to make its own plans and decide for itself which acceptable route to take, and when and what to see and do along the way. Another deliberate part of the daily structure is giving each group the responsibility for buying and fixing its own meals, within SHP guidelines of decently healthy fare and the daily food budget. Consideration of others, cooperation, responsibility, and thinking ahead are all stressed during the many daily decision-making opportunities. Accepting the consequences of their actions and decisions is also an important part of the experience.

A classic, wonderful trip that we've been running for over 40 years! World famous biking in world famous scenery - you can't go wrong! Wet in the Wilderness of Vermont...yes, WET! Vermont Bike Adventure combines picturesque New England beauty with the summertime fun of swimming. In Vermont, you have the opportunity to swim almost every day; it might be in a clear mountain lake, lazy farm pond, rushing waterfall, gurgling forest brook or from a swing below a covered bridge. The biking is awesome in Vermont! It's Vermont, so there will be some hills but every uphill ride earns you a downhill coast on the other side. Trippers enjoy great roads for cycling, excellent campgrounds, cool nights for sleeping, quaint country stores, working farms and covered bridges. Your group will ride on quiet, tree lined country lanes and on winding roads through green mountain valleys, past red barns and lush fields with inquisitive cows or horses (or llamas!) hanging over the fences, all leading you through pretty villages. Vermont's general stores are amazing, with everything from cheese to hats to candy to stamps for the postcards that you never remember to mail home.

SHP's summer headquarters in the Conway is the center for this one-week visit to Western Massachusetts and provides easy access to both the Pioneer Valley and Berkshire Mountains. You will set up base here at our campground.. We fix breakfast and a picnic lunch for you to take every day, using great products from local farms. Supper around a campfire may lead to some star-gazing (almost no ambient light at night!) Just wait until you try our neighbor's maple syrup on pancakes! Day trips will run from here to hike up Mount Greylock and ride the rail trail in Berkshire County and take the exciting river trip on the Deerfield River through Zoar Gap (provided by Zoar Whitewater with professional guides). You will also visit beautiful Shelburne Falls with its Bridge of Flowers and Trolley Museum. Kids love the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in Deerfield and the local dinosaur tracks. The Eric Carle Museum is nearby as well, and combines with a lovely bike ride in historic Hadley. You can look down on the corn maze from Mount Sugarloaf and try to figure out this year's design.

The SHP trip structure provides a unique opportunity for teenagers to share the marvelous benefits of an intense group experience based upon responsibility, cooperation, and sharing. The main element in realizing the potential of a trip is outstanding leadership, and we therefore choose leaders who are the types of people who have the strength, maturity, sense of responsibility, and experiences to be the guiding figures for their groups. They provide strong direction, firm structure (based on SHP policies) and a sensitive personality around which a cohesive group can form. Our leaders are firm in matters of safety, respect for others, and the SHP rule structure but they also have the warmth, the humor, and the enthusiasm to provide a rewarding group experience.

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