About

The Sierra Nevada Field Campus (SNFC) is a place dedicated to building inclusive community around research and education in the natural sciences, land management, art, music, and culture. We offer workshops, classes, and program space for convenings for individuals and groups alike who contribute to this work and we provide space for faculty to conduct research at field sites. We primarily aim to serve the San Francisco State University community as well as the local communities of the northern Sierra Nevada. We also serve as a research and education resource for the general public of California and beyond.

SNFC is a place where you are immersed in one of the most beautiful, diverse and wild regions of the northern Sierra Nevada. Our expert and friendly instructors guide your senses as you explore a dazzling array of plant and animal life. It is a place where students of the environmental sciences and artists can get hands-on experience. It is a place where people can stop to smell the azaleas and the Jeffrey Pines. It has been called a nature camp for adults. It is a place where personnel working in environmental fields can upgrade their knowledge. It is place where people from all walks of life can come together, energized by the easy comaraderie and humbled by nature's magnificence. It is simply a wonderful experience, open to the general public.

The Sierra Nevada Field Campus recognizes that our facility and programs are located within the ancestral and traditional intertribal homelands of the Nisenan, Mountain Maidu, Konkow, Washoe, and Northern Paiute. These tribes all exist today and retain their relationships with the land and waters. We hope to honor the people and land as we continue our work of remembering, learning, and growing in the mountains.

The Sierra Nevada Field Campus envisions a world where people understand each other and how their skills and passions can collectively support the earth and humanity.

In alignment with San Francisco State University’s mission to educate and equip students to thrive in a global society and in recognition of the importance of experiential education to meet that goal,

The Sierra Nevada Field Campus provides the place and conditions for the SFSU community and the general public to explore the natural sciences, land stewardship, and the arts through transformative learning experiences and research in the Lakes Basin and Sierra Valley regions of the Sierra Nevada.

Read our Testimonials to hear from students and instructors.

If this will be your first visit to the Sierra Nevada Field Campus, you can find more detailed information about what to expect when staying on campus here at Accommodations and Meals page. Or check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

Head over to our History page to learn about our 75 year history.

And as always, if after exploring our website, you still have questions, feel free to reach out to us at snfc@sfsu.edu