Junior Naturalist
Integrated in our award-winning Kid’s Club, kids ages 5 – 12 will enjoy a hands-on experience with nature through walks to the Lily Pond, animal tracking, tree identification, and more with the Recreation team & our onsite naturalist Michael Ridolfo. Kids will dive into Mohonk’s natural world with fossil hunts, animal and plant identification walks, and arts projects where they can illuminate their discoveries.
The Junior Naturalist Program was created by Michael Ridolfo to help inspire children with a love and appreciation for the Earth.
Check our Daily Activities Schedule for Kid's Club & Junior Naturalist sessions
Meet Michael Ridolfo
Michael Ridolfo is the Naturalist at Mohonk Mountain House. After 20 years of rock climbing, ice climbing, mountain biking, skiing, winter mountaineering, nature photography, writing, and music, he began practicing the art of tracking, wilderness survival, and the native mentoring model. This journey has evolved into teaching children and adults how to deepen their relationship with the natural world. In 1999, he founded Wilderness Mind (now The Earthtime Project), a school dedicated to preserving the ancient arts of tracking and nature awareness.