Campus & Facilities History
Experience Learning is based in Pendleton County, WV. We run our programs out of two facilities that adjoin the Monongahela and Washington & Jefferson National Forests. These are the largest areas of National Forest east of the Mississippi River. These parts of the forest feature some of the darkest skies in the east, the highest peak in West Virginia, healthy streams, natural springs and numerous caves. They also include extensive Red Spruce and northern hardwood forests that boast some of the highest biological diversity anywhere in the world.
Our original campus is called the Spruce Knob Mountain Center (SKMC) and is a 400-acre property located on the shoulder of Spruce Knob, West Virginia’s highest peak. This property houses our main dormitories, kitchen, staff housing, and rental spaces. The staff at Experience Learning has been working out of the SKMC for decades and the unique structures at SKMC are built into the history of our programming. Click here to learn more about the history of SKMC.
A more recent addition to Experience Learning’s facilities is the Sweetwater Farm Trail Center. This farm is located across the valley to the east in Sugar Grove, WV. The trail center boasts miles of purpose-built mountain biking trails and has already become a hub for our bike-focused summer camps and is open to the public for non-motorized recreation. Find more information about Sweetwater Farm here.
Experience Learning’s loading/unloading center for some camps and programs is the Historic Circleville High School, in Circleville, WV. This building was a project of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and is a prominent feature among the small towns and farms in the North Fork Valley.
