Plan A Field Trip

Park ranger speaks to students in a small room before a fireplace — A park ranger speaks to school students in the fort's kitchen.
NPS Photo

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site warmly welcomes school groups for a memorable hands-on experience. A trip to this reconstructed early nineteenth century trading post provides an array of interdiscipinary insights. Here, over a dozen tribal nations, Mexican citizens, and Anglo settlers cooperated and competed for the natural resources held within the Borderlands. For sixteen years, trading in buffalo robes tapped into the complex network of international commerce that rapidly increased America’s global reach. At this site, negotiations of language, culture, rights, and values expressed themselves in direct one-on-one conversations all while the political impetus toward Westward expansion proved unstoppable. Examining Bent's Old Fort opens inquiry into ideas of fairness and sociopolitical neutrality. It engages the reality that fair exchange extends beyond concrete goods and services to ecological stewardship, cultural respect, and national sovereignty.

To arrange a visit, all schools should access the field trip reservation request form below.

Extra Information:

The Western National Parks Association's bookstore located on fort grounds sells videos, maps, souvenirs, and books related to this intriguing time in history.
Fourth grade students are eligible for the Every Kid Outdoors Pass which allows free entrance into any national park unit in the United States for one year.

Request a field trip

All school groups should fill out the reservation request below at least three weeks in advance.
The academic fee waiver section of the reservation request is only required for school groups with students above 16 years of age.

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Does anyone in your group need any accommodations?

School / Organization Name (required)

Name of Requester/Contact Person (required)

Title / Position (required)

Contact Email Address (required)

Contact Phone Number (required)
123-456-7890 extension if any

Mailing Address (required)

City (required)

State (required)

ZIP (required)
Five digit ZIP code [99999]

Name of Primary Contact Visiting if Different Than Above (optional)

Title / Position of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Email Address of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Phone Number of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)
Format: 123-456-7890

Program Name or Subject Requested/Self-Guided

Grade Level(s) of Students (required)

Number of Staff / Chaperones (required)

Number of Students (required)

Preferred Date of Visit (required)
format mmddyyyy

My preferred date has been confirmed by the park (required)

Preferred Program Start Time (required)

Alternative Date(s) (required)
Enter one or more dates .

Anticipated Arrival Time (required)

Anticipated Departure Time (required)

Mode of Transportation (required)

Disclaimer:

A park representative will follow-up to confirm group details once this request has been received and reviewed.

Visitors 16 years of age or older (including students, chaperones, and teachers) must pay an entrance fee at this site. Academic institutions (including schools) may apply for an academic fee waiver to cover the cost of these visitors. The number of teachers/chaperones that are covered with a waiver varies depending on the size of the group.

Would you like to request an academic fee waiver for your group?

Yes. I need to complete the fee waiver application. No I do not need a fee waiver.

For this section, all of the criteria fields and the acknowledgement checkbox are required for the waiver.

Certification

Academic fee waivers are not granted automatically. Applicant groups must show they qualify for the waiver. There are three criteria the group must meet to qualify for an academic fee waiver: eligibility, relevance of park resources or facilities to academic program, and academic purpose. Details of these qualifications are listed below. If your institution and purpose meet these criteria, submit this form.

Criterion One - Eligibility

Describe and/or attach current official recognition or accreditation as an educational institution by a federal, state, or local government or other documentation attesting to educational status, such as an accreditation letter, educational tax-exempt letter.

Attach Supporting Document for Eligibility (if needed). Acceptable document types: are Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, and Google Doc

Criterion Two - Educational Purpose

Verify how this visit supports a specific curriculum for which academic credit is offered. For example, attach a course syllabus/description, course catalog, lesson plan, letter detailing the educational purpose, etc., and/or describe.

Attach Supporting Document for Educational Purpose (if needed). Acceptable document types: are Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and Google Doc

Criterion Three - Relevance of Park Resources or Facilities

Identify the pertinent park resources and/or facilities and detail how they are relevant to support the educational purpose of the visit (attach letter or describe).

Attach Supporting Document for Relevance (if needed). Acceptable document types: are Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and Google Doc

Authorized School / Organization Contact Name (required)

Title / Position

Acknowledgement (required)

The Recreation Fee Authority (16 USC 6802 Sections 3 a and b) allows for fee waivers only for bona fide educational and/or scientific institutions that are using the park for educational purposes. I hereby certify that the above detailed trip meets these requirements and therefore request that fees be waived.

Current official documentation of recognition of affiliation as an educational institution by a Federal, State or local government entity, or other evidence attesting to educational status is attached (e.g. accreditation letter, educational tax-exempt letter). It is insufficient to merely state or imply this on official letterhead.

By checking this box I acknowledge that I have read the Acknowledgement.

Date of Acknowledgement (required)
format mmddyyyy

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 114-289 National Park Service Centennial Act and 54 U.S.C. 100701 Protection, interpretation, and research in System.

Purpose: To administer education programs for education audiences including but not limited to school groups, scouting groups, extracurricular groups, and home school groups.

Routine Uses: To effectively manage requests for education received by the NPS, the Education Reservation Request Form is used to collect basic education reservation information to facilitate operational aspects of scheduling groups for park education programs, including in-park education programs, ranger in classroom programs, and/or online distance learning programs.

Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede the ability to grant your education reservation request.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) to provide park managers and educators the information needed to schedule and conduct education program activities. All applicable parts of the form must be completed in order for your request to be considered. You are not required to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned control number 1024-0288.

Estimated Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Do not send your completed form to this address.

Last updated: October 1, 2024

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

35110 State Highway 194
La Junta, CO 81050

Phone:

719 383-5010
Staff are available Monday through Friday to take your call from 9:00 a. m. - 3:30 p. m. Mountain Time. If no one is available to take your call, please leave a message, and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

Alerts In Effect

Plan A Field Trip

Request a field trip

All school groups should fill out the reservation request below at least three weeks in advance.

The academic fee waiver section of the reservation request is only required for school groups with students above 16 years of age.

Disclaimer:

Certification

Criterion One - Eligibility

Criterion Two - Educational Purpose

Criterion Three - Relevance of Park Resources or Facilities

Acknowledgement (required)

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

Estimated Burden Statement

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

Phone:

Contact Us

Tools

Stay Connected

Contact Us

Plan A Field Trip

Request a field trip

All school groups should fill out the reservation request below at least three weeks in advance.

The academic fee waiver section of the reservation request is only required for school groups with students above 16 years of age.

Learning Accommodations

School / Organization Contact Information

Group Details - Park Visit/ Field Trip

Disclaimer:

Academic Fee Waiver

Certification

Criterion One - Eligibility

Criterion Two - Educational Purpose

Criterion Three - Relevance of Park Resources or Facilities

Acknowledgement (required)

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

Estimated Burden Statement

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

Phone:

Contact Us

Tools

Stay Connected