Elderhostel Offering New Features : RV programs plus educational activities for grandchildren are now available.

Elderhostel, a Boston-based company that since 1975 has provided hundreds of thousands of mature travelers with low-cost educational travel programs, has added new features that make its programs even more appealing.

While the great majority of weeklong programs still provide accommodations in college dormitories during the typical Sunday-to-Saturday stay, a number of new Elderhostel programs cater to mature travelers with recreational vehicles.

A second new feature, called Intergenerational Programs, permits Elderhostelers to bring grandchildren on special educational trips.

Though there are 29 RV Elderhostels this summer across the United States and British Columbia, there is just one in California--at Feather River College in Boreal, near Lake Tahoe.

Situated at 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, Feather River College has its own RV park on campus (water and electrical hookups included).

There are two weeklong programs for RV owners. From Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, Elderhostelers will learn about the birds, flora and history of the Sierra. Here’s the outline for one class:

“Trains, trees and gold; understanding the local economy. Impact of the transcontinental railroad, the Gold Rush and the timber industry of the northern Sierra Nevada. In addition, you will drive a train, pan for gold and visit a saw mill.”

Week two, Sept. 13-19, has a similar three-course program, plus a chance to learn about butterflies and plants in the area’s Butterfly Botanical Preserve.

Cost per person is $295 for the first week, $280 for the second. That includes RV fees, all meals, three courses and field trips.

Feather River also offers two weeks for regular non-RV Elderhostels, Aug. 16-22 and Aug. 23-29. The courses are slightly different and accommodations are at a local inn. Cost is $290 per person, with, as in all Elderhostel offerings, transportation to and from the site not included.

For grandparents and grandchildren, Elderhostel has 27 programs this summer, including two in California plus others in Nevada and Utah.

There’s one, Aug. 9-14, at Yosemite Institute at Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park, with dormitory-style accommodations--all children stayin one rustic cabin, grandparents in other cabins. Cost is $275 for adults, $225 for children 11-14. There is a limit of one grandchild per adult or two per adult couple.

Grandparents and grandchildren will have both separate and combined classes and activities, and will also explore Yosemite on field trips and hikes. Participants must be able to hike five miles per day.

Squaw Valley Academy, just five miles from Lake Tahoe, offers two grandparent-grandchildren weeks: Aug. 16-22 and Aug. 23-29. Children must be between 9 and 12 years old.

Accommodations are in modern lodgings with private baths. Adults and children learn about the history, geology, flora and fauna of the region in separate classes but are together for other activities and hikes. Participants will be expected to hike 2 1/2 miles per day. Cost is $340 for adults, $305 for children, not including transportation to and from Squaw Valley. Limit is one grandchild per adult.

Complete information on these and other RV Elderhostel and Intergenerational programs can be found in the free Elderhostel Spring Catalog.

The same catalogue lists many hundreds of programs across the United States for mature travelers without RVs or grandchildren. You must be age 60 or older.

The typical program starts with a Sunday check-in and lasts till Saturday breakfast, and includes all classes, accommodations and meals. The price is $285 per week but can go higher. For more information and to get on the mailing list for free catalogues, write Elderhostel, 75 Federal St., Boston, Mass. 02110, or call (617) 426-8056.