What do the world’s oldest living tree, a banana slug and Sesame Street’s Big Bird have in common? They’re all part of the trips facilitated by Stanford’s Redwood Club, a student organization increasing accessibility to outdoor adventures.
The original Redwood Club was founded in 1992 with the mission of connecting Stanford students to the outdoors. With the establishment of the Arrillaga Outdoor & Recreation Center (Outdoor Center) in 2013, the club fizzled out. However, in the fall of 2024, Nathan Kuczmarski ’26 and Jack Flynn ’28 took it upon themselves to reignite the organization.
“We started talking about how there wasn’t really an organized club for camping on campus or outdoor activities in general. We voiced some frustrations about other [outdoor] clubs being pretty grad-student-focused, and operating more as banks than as a community,” said Flynn, vice president of Redwood Club.
Fostering community is a core piece of Redwood Club’s vision. When Kuczmarski, president of the organization, transferred to Stanford in 2024, he sought others with a passion for nature. Kuczmarski was first introduced to outdoor spaces on campus through Stanford Pre-Orientation Trips (SPOT), which offers trips for incoming students to take together before they start at Stanford.
“We went to Plumas National Forest, and it was just one of the best weeks of my life. At the end of it, I wondered how I could get more involved in going outdoors,” he said.
Though the Outdoor Center organizes a series of outdoor trips, Kuczmarski and Redwood Club members identified a lack of more frequent, accessible options.
“I saw a need for a greater community built around the people who aren’t leading [SPOT] outdoor trips. I also wanted to make it more affordable for people to go on these trips, because you have to pay a flat fee for the trips through the Outdoor Center,” he said.
Despite its newness, the club has already attracted consistent participation.
“One of the most exciting moments was at our second meeting of fall quarter. We had 100 people trying to get on [our] Yosemite trips,” Kuczmarski said.
Redwood Club organizes a diverse range of trips, from overnight camping to smaller Bubble Breaks, a biweekly series of nearby hikes intended to “break the Stanford bubble.” The club also funds adventures proposed by members. So far, they have been to Big Sur, Pinnacles National Park and Kings Canyon National Park, among other destinations.
“Members pitching their own trips provide a wonderful way of making new memories in a financially responsible way,” said Alex Ravel ’26 M.S. ’27, the incoming 2026-27 president.
Redwood Club trips operate according to Stanford’s Common Adventure model, in which participants cooperatively plan trips with no formal leaders. This method is intended to protect the University from liability. However, the process is well-suited to Redwood Club’s mission.
“It bolsters the community that Redwood Club is trying to achieve,” said Shayla Fitzsimmons-Call ’26 M.I.P. ’28, former financial officer.
As a member of the Redwood Club Executive Board, Fitzsimmons-Call expected that she would have to be a de facto leader on one of the club’s trips to Yosemite National Park. She was excited to discover that she could be “like any other Stanford student, excited for Yosemite.”
“We were sitting at a beautiful viewpoint in Yosemite, looking out at Half Dome. And one of the other group members was delighted to find out that there really was no leader of this group. Redwood wants us to have the outdoor experience that we want to create,” she said.
Fitzsimmons-Call isn’t alone in her fond memories of Redwood Club trips. On an adventure to Half Moon Bay, Kuczmarski found a plastic Big Bird figurine, which has since become the club’s totem. Big Bird now travels on every Redwood trip. Ravel particularly enjoyed a recent Bubble Break to El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve.
“We saw the Methuselah Tree, this really old tree. We hiked, saw these cool sandstone formations, and a lot of banana slugs,” he said. “We all got to know each other really well, which was my favorite part.”
Blair Schooling ’27, the current financial officer, echoed Ravel’s sentiments of the club fostering friendships.
“What I love about the Stanford community is that it’s so easy to strike up a conversation with anyone of any year or major. Redwood Club manifests that well by bringing seemingly random people together,” she said.