Seedlings · 6 Weeks – 12 Months
One primary caregiver per baby, soft lighting, and a nap schedule that follows your child's own rhythm rather than a clock on the wall.
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Where Roots Run Deep and Curiosity Runs Wild
Cedar Hollow Children's Garden — Licensed Childcare for Ages Six Weeks to Five Years in Eugene, Oregon
A Childhood Grown Outdoors
Every day at Cedar Hollow begins outside — rain or shine, our children start the morning on the trail behind our Friendly Street campus before a single indoor activity opens. Forest time isn't an add-on here; it's the backbone of how we teach balance, patience, and where a snail actually goes when it rains.
A Program Built on Staying
Eleven Teachers Who Know Every Child's Name
Cedar Hollow opened its gate in 2014, when our founding director, Maren Ostlund, began minding a handful of neighbors' children in her own backyard workshop three blocks from where our Friendly Street campus now stands. We're still small on purpose — around forty children across four rooms at each site, and a waiting list we tell you about honestly rather than pad.
Every lead teacher here has stayed at least four years, which means they know which child needs a quiet corner after lunch and which one needs a head start at the trail gate. That kind of knowing doesn't come from a binder; it comes from time spent outside, together.
See Cedar Hollow For Yourself
Most families make their decision the moment they watch our Young Oaks room head out the back gate for morning trail time. Book a 30-minute visit and see it yourself.
Book a Tour-
12+
Years Rooted in Eugene
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165+
Enrolled Families
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1:4
Child-to-Staff Ratio
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210Children
Licensed Capacity
Programs Rooted by Age
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Sprouts · 1 – 2 Years
Mud kitchens, low climbing logs and a sensory table that changes weekly keep busy hands occupied while language and balance catch up fast.
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Saplings · 2 – 3 Years
Letters and numbers arrive through real jobs — watering the trail-side planters, setting the snack table, and naming every bug found along the way.
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Young Oaks · 3 – 5 Years
Kindergarten-readiness skills mix with real responsibility — leading the morning trail walk, tending the garden bed, and reading to the younger rooms.
Two Campuses, One Neighborhood
Both sites share the same forest-trail curriculum and licensing — pick whichever is closer to home.
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Friendly Street Campus
2140 Friendly Street, Eugene, OR 97405Maren Ostlund, Founding Director
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River Road Annex
4885 River Road, Eugene, OR 97404DeShawn Griggs, Site Director
From Our Families
What Parents Notice First
One story from the many pinned to our welcome-room corkboard.
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My son used to melt down every single drop-off. Three weeks into Sprouts, he started asking on Saturdays if it was a 'trail day.' I still don't fully understand what changed, but I'm not going to argue with it.
Priya Anand, parent of Kavi (age 2)
Let's Find Your Family a Spot
Tours run weekday mornings while the Young Oaks room heads out to the trail — honestly the best time to see us in action. Send a note and we'll find a morning that works.