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Junior Ranger Challenge

Welcome, future Junior Rangers! We are so excited for you and your family to explore San Mateo County’s wealth of natural, cultural, and recreational resources. Instead of in-person Junior Ranger programs, we have created this Junior Ranger Challenge so you can become a Junior Ranger safely with your COVID pod.

The challenge is intended for Junior Rangers age 7-12.

It spans six months, from April 1–September 30.
You have until then to complete the challenge.

To become a Junior Ranger, you will have to go explore at least one San Mateo County Park and complete some of the activities found on this webpage. Make sure you read all the steps before you start! Here's how to do this:

Step 1

Complete the introductory activities. They are found in the Introduction section of the challenge. The activities are called: What does it mean to be a Junior Ranger, Park Rules, Be Safe, and Intro to Habitats and Ecosystems. All are great preparation to get you ready to explore, so you need to do all four!

  • Introduction

Step 2

After you complete those, pick the kinds of places you want to go to! You have to pick at least 2. Here are the kinds of places, what we call groups, and the parks and activities for each group. You’ll see some parks fall under multiple groups! We recommend checking the park web pages as well the trail page before you visit. 

  • Historical Sites Group

    Parks

    • Sanchez Adobe
    • Woodside Store

    Activities

    • Ohlone Land Acknowledgement
    • Linking the Past and Present
    • Stuck in the Past

    Historical Sites Booklet

  • Riparian habitats group

    Parks

    • Memorial
    • San Pedro Valley

    Activities

    • Riparian BINGO
    • Watershed Maze
    • Animal Detective

    Riparian Habitats Booklet

  • Scrub/Chaparral HABITATs GROUP

    Parks

    • Pillar Point Bluff
    • San Pedro Valley
    • Memorial
    • Wunderlich
    • Edgewood
    • Junipero Serra
    • San Bruno Mountain

    Activities

    • Scrub/Chaparral BINGO
    • Fire Ecology Word Choice
    • Animal Diner

    Scrub/Chaparral Habitats Booklet

  • Redwood HABITATs GROUP

    Parks

    • Memorial
    • Sam McDonald
    • Huddart
    • Wunderlich

    Activities

    • Redwood BINGO
    • Explore the Redwoods
    • Tree Rings

    Redwood Habitats Booklet

  • Intertidal HABITATs GROUP

    Parks

    • Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
    • Coyote Point

    Activities

    • Read the Tides
    • Protect the Harbor Seals!
    • Best Beaks

    Intertidal Habitats Booklet

  • Oak Woodland HABITATs GROUP

    Parks

    • Memorial
    • Sam McDonald
    • Huddart
    • Wunderlich
    • Junipero Serra
    • San Bruno Mountain
    • Edgewood
    • San Pedro Valley

    Activities

    • Oak Woodland BINGO
    • Senses Exploration
    • ID a Tree

    Oak Woodland Habitats Booklet

  • Grassland HABITATs GROUP

    Parks

    • Edgewood

    Activities

    • Grassland BINGO
    • Checkerspot Butterfly Origami
    • Grassland Crossword

    Grassland Habitats Booklet

Step 3

As you see, each group has 3 activities. Click on the booklet for each group to see what the activities are like. Some are more difficult than others, but try the best you can to complete all 3 activities from the group you pick! There is an answer key for the extra tricky ones. Email kewright@smcgov.org for questions. You may do a different activity from another group if one is too difficult. Use the Checklist to keep track of what you’ve completed!

  • Answer Key
  • Checklist

Step 4

If you complete:

  • 2 groups for a total of 10 activities: you get the Junior Ranger badge and certificate
  • 3 groups for a total of 13 activities: Junior Ranger badge, certificate, and notebook
  • 4 groups for a total of 16 activities: Junior Ranger badge, certificate, notebook, and water bottle!

Step 5

Take a picture of yourself working on an activity at a park and email it with proof of your completed activities plus your checklist to kewright@smcgov.org. Fill out this survey to receive your prizes!

Step 6

Make sure, at some point once you finish, you complete the Junior Ranger Pledge! You may complete it with a friend or family member, or with one of our Park Rangers! The last Friday of the month from May-September, at 4pm, Ranger Katherine Wright will host a zoom meeting for Junior Rangers. You may join in to complete the pledge with her or ask any questions you may have! Sign up here!

  • Junior Ranger Pledge

.... and that’s it! We hope you have a lot of fun and learn more about your San Mateo County Parks!

A couple notes

Many parks have a $6 entrance fee include. Make sure to check the park page before you go.

If you are completing the History group, you are welcome to visit either Sanchez Adobe or Woodside Store anytime but they are only opened fully and staffed Tuesday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m, Saturday – Sunday 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

We recommend you also download the OuterSpatial app on a member of your group’s phone for the History group, especially if you go when the locations are not staffed. We put helpful information about each location on the app!

We also have a Take A Hike Challenge starting May 1st! Check out the trails for the challenge and you might be able to complete both challenges at the same time!

  • Full Junior Ranger Booklet
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