New Land, New Opportunities
New Land Site Plan, Designed by Verde Design, Santa Clara, CA. Subject to change.
Mount Hermon recently was able to acquire a nearly 15 acre parcel of land near redwood camp, just off conference drive and bordered by the Felton Faire shopping center. We announced this to our alumni first in an earlier letter.
We have been working away on developing our plans for how to best utilize this property and are now at the point where we can share our plans publicly. We have been guided by a few key principles as work has progressed on the planning phase.
- We want to keep the property mostly open space and green. The “green” aesthetic will also extend to how we design and build any structures or facilities on the property.
- Enrich the lives of children and families – in a beautiful natural environment
- Mainly for recreation – for both overnight campers and day-use guests
- Bless the local community and extend our local impact
There will be three main “zones” to the property with distinct facilities, user groups, and activities.
Zone One
Zone One will be closest to Redwood Camp. We are proposing the following in Zone One:
New Land Zone One, Designed by Verde Design, Santa Clara, CA. Subject to change.
- A pedestrian overpass bridge to connect the new property to our existing Redwood Camp
- A 100×200 recreation field for games and activities
- A large bouldering wall alongside the field
- Space for target sports
- Various trails and nature spaces
Zone Two
Zone Two will be in the “middle” of the property and will have access to the facilities of both Zone One and Zone Three. Zone Two will be for a new community day camp. We are proposing the following for Zone Two:
New Land Zone Two, Designed by Verde Design, Santa Clara, CA. Subject to change.
- A new building in program, office and recreation space to support a robust summer day camp program and school year after school programs
- Outdoor recreation and activity spaces with a playground
- Access to all the amenities of zone 1 and zone 3
Zone Three
Zone Three will be closest to the shopping center and much of the hillside. Zone Three will be for both overnight and day use guests and will have the following:
New Land Zone Three, Designed by Verde Design, Santa Clara, CA. Subject to change.
- A community garden with 50+ garden plots
- A world-class bike park with downhill “flow” trails, pump tracks, and skills parks
- A 50-70 element aerial adventure park
- A splash zone water feature
- A dedicated building to support the above activities and provide retail and concession space
- Parking to support the facility
As you can see, this is a significant opportunity for Mount Hermon and will add to our already amazing programs and facilities. At this point we are involved in the county permitting process which will likely take 6-9 months. Please join us in prayer as we work through this process, and also for all the staff, families, and children that will be impacted through this amazing new facility.
In the description of Area Three you mention overnight usage. Will that include RV space for volunteers and conferees who seek to be a part of the programs,
as is the case at Kidder Creek?
John, I’m not with Mt. Hermon, so I don’t know for sure, I don’t think that there will be overnight facilities on this site. If you look at the description for area two, it talks about summer day camp, and after school programs in that area. I believe that is what they mean by day use, people who come from the nearby area to use these facilities for the day. Whereas overnight guests are those who are staying at Redwood Camp, or up at the Conference Center.
John, thanks for writing!
The reference to overnighters was referring to those conferees at Redwood or Conference center that are there overnight or multiple nights as part of a conference.
It won’t be set up for RV parking
Hope that helps
This plan looks amazing. My only concern is for Redwood campers and program during the summer. The foot traffic from Conf. Ctr. folks may cause Redwood campers to feel “intruded” upon by “strangers” wandering through their camp experience.
Jeannine, thanks for your comment re: new property. Based on our camping guidelines from the state and our own safety meeting a couple weeks ago, we can’t allow foot traffic through Redwood Camp while it’s in session. We recently were mandated to put in a new auto crossing gate that doesn’t allow cars in without a code or supervised.
We will have either a walking path or we are devising a shuttle system to the new property, or both.
Hope that helps
So exciting to see the creativity of MH’s vision take shape. The direct community impact seems wonderful.
ps- How about a magic carpet from the pool to Lakeside? 😉
Great suggestion Brendan! I’m with you 100%