Wilderness Adventures

Wilderness Ventures offers some incredible adventures throughout the world to some of the most unique places that only a limited number of people will ever get to see and enjoy. As a trip leader, I have had the privilege of leading student participants throughout the regions of the Grand Tetons & Yellowstone, the Big Island of Hawaii, and internationally in Australia. I have so many positive memories and stories from my experiences, and many of the participants on these trips have continued to build on their relationships that first formed throughout these summer excursions. Throughout the year, the Wilderness Ventures administration and staff put in countless hours researching and planning each trip with such incredible detail. Their hard work and effort truly pays off for the students in the summer as trips typically run very smoothly and emphasis can be placed on the students and their experiences, instead of worrying about the logistics. When instances do occur (like change in flights or late arrivals, etc) the Wilderness Ventures staff does a great job of adjusting plans as needed and communicating with trip leaders and parents. I have enjoyed working with the administration, other trip leaders, and the participants and am looking forward to returning as a trip leader again this summer!

I was an employee of Wilderness Adventures for multiple years and had nothing but positive experiences with the team there. The team at WA is amazingly supportive of its community and has created trips that have true positive impact on the students and leaders involved. I experienced firsthand, through leading multiple trips for WA, the multifaceted growth that both students and leaders achieve through WA programs. I cannot recommend this company highly enough, both as a place of employment and for future students of outdoor leadership 5/5

WA has given my child life-changing confidence, life-long friends, and once-in-lifetime experiences. Their detail-oriented approach allows me to feel good about sending my child on trips with WA. The day he returned, my 12 year old was on the WA website looking for next summer’s trip. Cannot say enough great things.

My daughter just returned from the Wilderness Adventures California Explorer Trip. She had an amazing experience and can’t wait to go on another trip! She absolutely loved her leaders and admires them so much. She had a great group and misses all of her new friends. I graduated college with a degree in Outdoor Education and worked for WA years ago. I then continued on to work for Outward Bound and Mountain Madness as an instructor and outdoor guide. Due to my outdoor experience, I chose WA for my daughter because I know how important it is to pick a company that takes safety seriously and understands what it’s like as parents to send your child away on an experience like this. I didn’t take this decision lightly and as an experienced outdoor educator, I felt completely comfortable putting my child into the hands of WA. They provide a well-rounded experience that teaches many necessary life skills. Not only do they teach outdoor skills, they teach skills like food shopping, menu planning, and cooking, as well as communication and group dynamic skills. The entire experience as a parent was very smooth, from the timely and clear email communication, easy to complete paperwork, personal phone call from one of the leaders, to the awesome APP that allowed me to see pictures from the trip while it was happening. The APP was one of the best parts, because I loved seeing how happy my daughter looked in the pictures; this gave me a sense of ease to know she was having such a great time! I would recommend WA to everyone’s children! My daughter had an impactful and memorable experience that she will benefit from for years to come. I love seeing how much she has grown from her trip. She is more mature, self-confident, self-aware, patient, and positive. The other day she was talking about her trip and she said, “the one thing I don’t like about WA is that I had to say bye to my friends which was really hard”. If that is the only thing she didn’t like…I’d say that is the best review possible! We love Wilderness Adventures!

Wilderness Adventures is a terrific program! I have done three of their trips - Jackson Hole Explorer, British Colombia, and High Sierra - and they have been the best three summers of my life! I previously went to an ordinary summer camp which I also love before turning to Wilderness Adventures, but only one week into my first trip I already loved Wilderness Adventures more! The experience of being with a smaller group of kids for 3 weeks brings you really close. You bond over doing the coolest outdoor activities there are as well. I was very hesitant going into my first trip, nervous about if I would like the kids and nervous about backpacking, but I loved it. I would highly recommend WA to anyone and everyone. It has brought me some of the best experiences of my life. Their trip leaders are some of the coolest people I have ever met and their office staff are super nice and easily accessed. Overall they run a phenomenal company and you should definitely adventure with them!