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Therapy in Nature

The Second Nature main office is based in the city of Duchesne Utah, approximately 80 miles Southeast of Park City, Utah. As the seasons and weather change, our students and staff migrate between the lodgepole pine and quaking aspen of the High Uintas, and the Juniper trees and ancient cliff art of the Uinta Basin

The city of Duchesne is perfectly poised between our field areas, to allow our teams to visit each group daily delivering their food, water, and anything else they might need.

Fall/Spring field area:

In the cooler months, our groups head to the milder climate and lower elevations of the Uinta Basin. The Uinta Basin is the most northern section of the Colorado Plateau with elevations ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 ft. above sea level in our camping areas. Day hikes into nearby Nine Mile Canyon allow us to experience some of the most spectacular rock art in Utah. Called "the world's longest art gallery" it is home to tens of thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs, some over a thousand years old, including the famous "Hunter Panel”.

Second Nature has established a network of spacious, semi-permanent basecamps across our scenic Fall-Spring field area. These thoughtfully designed camps provide some comforts of home after a week of adventure, while still allowing students to enjoy the immersive tranquility of nature—providing the perfect backdrop for transformative therapeutic experiences. 

Each basecamp is equipped with essential amenities like wood-burning stoves, heated shower tents, and dedicated spaces for group therapy, board games, activities, homework, and relaxation. These basecamps, dispersed across a wide region, offer groups the flexibility to hike to different locations, creating a dynamic and engaging experience that promotes adventure and independence, and allows for extra comfort after a week of adventure. 

This basecamp approach offers students the safety and comfort they need, while also enhancing opportunities for insight, connection, and resilience—all without compromising what makes nature-based therapy effective. Research has long demonstrated the positive impact of nature on the mind, body, and emotions, as well as its proven health and wellness benefits. 

At Second Nature, we strike the perfect balance between important challenges that drive growth and the tranquility of the natural world, along with the added comfort afforded by the basecamps.

Summer Field area:

As temperatures rise in the Uinta Basin, we venture north into the High Uinta Mountains and trade plateaus for pines. With elevations ranging from 8,000 to 10,250 ft above sea level, in this unique alpine ecosystem, we explore thick forests of Engelmann spruce and lodgepole pine that open up into park-like meadows that are just perfect for camping. Cold clear springs lead us into the lower elevations of this area, where we camp among dense groves of aspen trees.

In all of the areas we explore, we follow minimal-impact camping principles in order to reduce our environmental impact. We are committed to ensuring that the areas we visit remain pristine for fellow outdoors people and future generations.