The field station facilities at headquarters at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest are available for a variety of group functions: short courses, workshops, overnight field trips, planning sessions, retreats, etc. The facilities include apartments, offices, a conference hall, a library meeting room, and a classroom. Capacity is up to about 80 people. The facilities are located on a low elevation site at the western boundary, near Blue River Reservoir and are generally available for year-round use. While priority is given to publicly-affiliated organizations, use by private organizations is also welcome. Priority during summer field season is given to research projects and education groups; large groups can rarely be accommodated during summer months.
Please note that pets are not allowed at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, either at the Headquarters site (including housing) or at any field location. Service animals under the ADA definition of the term will be accommodated. Some local inns and motels do allow pets, as does the nearby Mona Campground. If you need accommodations for a service animal covered by the ADA definition please let us know at the time of reservation request so we can plan accordingly.
Housing
Housing at the headquarters site consists of 11 apartments in two quadruplexes (four 4-bedroom and four 5-bedroom units each with two baths, kitchen and dining/living rooms) and a triplex (two 2-bedroom/one bath units with kitchen and dining/living room are available in this building). Bedrooms have 2 twin beds. Total overnight capacity at the headquarters site ranges from 60-80 people, depending on configuration. People within a project are normally assigned an apartment together, with several smaller groups frequently sharing an apartment. During summer months, primitive camping facilities are available at nearby Lookout Research Camp (tent spots, picnic tables, outhouses).
Classroom, Labs, Offices
Classrooms, laboratories, offices and a library are in two adjoining buildings. The classrooms consist of a teaching laboratory with a capacity for 32 students, and a library/conference room with seating for 15-20 participants (larger classes may wish to use the conference hall, below). Laboratory space consists of two small water labs with hoods, a multi-purpose laboratory, a vegetation/entomology lab with an herbarium and dissecting scopes, and a computer room with 6-8 desktop computers, a copier/scanner and printers. Limited office space can be rented by long-term visitors.
Conference Facilities
A conference hall with capacity for 50 (with tables) or 100 (chairs only) is available for meetings and presentations. The classroom and library can be reserved as additional meeting space. A dining hall seating 80-100 people with a fully equipped institutional kitchen is on site for use by groups that hire a caterer. This building also houses coin-operated laundry facilities and additional showers and restrooms. A small kitchen adjoining the conference hall is available for meeting coffee/snack breaks, and may be suitable for catering for smaller groups. A list of potential caterers is available from the Site Manager.
Pavilion
The pavilion is a covered structure with a concrete-slab floor (30x60ft) and can be used for a wide range of functions, weather permitting. It is equipped with tables, folding chairs and charcoal barbecue grills.
Connectivity
Cell phone service at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is quite limited; radio and satellite communications are the only reliable options in most of the forest. At Headquarters facility, Wi-Fi calling on cell phones generally works. Landline phones are available in the office building for emergencies, local calls and long-distance calls using a calling card (note that since the 2020 fire, the sound quality on our landlines is dramatically worse than average). All labs, offices, classrooms and apartments are connected via a wireless local area network. Internet service to Headquarters is through a wireless network, which is subject to weather outages and can be overwhelmed during busy periods; research and education use of bandwidth is prioritized and may necessitate Wi-Fi outages. Video-conferencing equipment can be reserved for meetings.
Winter Access
Winter access beyond the HJA Headquarters facility can be difficult due to heavy snowpack. The access road to Headquarters is plowed in winter. Sites beyond Headquarters may be inaccessible in winter without skis or snow machines.