This open-air student pavilion allows plenty of space to organize your gear and pack up, as well as sleep at night in the fresh air–while keeping any rain away from you or your stuff! Photo: Mark Langston

Green will be your first thought as you drive into NOLS Pacific Northwest. Located just off I-5 in the rural farming community of Conway, Washington, the facility sprawls over 30 acres and includes a small orchard and five-acre forest filled with towering evergreen Douglas Firs, Western Red Cedars and hemlocks.

Despite its peaceful remoteness, the property lies just 10 minutes from Mt. Vernon, where folks call “town,” and where courses can enjoy central access to the steep, snowy Cascades, the lush Olympics, the beautiful San Juan Islands, Vancouver and Seattle. The Mt. Baker / Snoqualmie National Forest also sits close to this outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.

Since running its first expedition in 1971, NOLS Pacific Northwest has settled permanently in Conway — and you’ll quickly see why. This is the first facility designed and built specifically for NOLS courses. The spacious equipment and rations rooms, the open-air student pavilion, cozy kitchen and dining hall complete with rock wall and ping-pong table all lie under one long series of roofs to best serve expedition planning. Across the lawn, you can duck into the library to grab a book, meet other instructors prepping for a course, look at maps or check your e-mail.

When the dinner bell rings, everyone joins together from all corners of the facility – including the boat barn and shower building – to gather around the tables in the dining pavilion and discuss past, present and future adventures. The community you become part of at NOLS Pacific Northwest feels more like an extended family, largely due to the Newbury family, who have been outfitting, feeding, supporting and eating with students here since 1983.

Whether you’ll be climbing in the Oregon desert, hiking on the Olympic coast or mountaineering in India, NOLS Pacific Northwest offers some of the most diverse skills and environments available at the school, as well as a friendly, laid-back community who all gather to wave goodbye as your course drives away toward the wild.

Local Facts NOLS Pacific Northwest has grown to include sea kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, and keelboat sailing and logistical support for NOLS India. The property hosts a small orchard with apple, pear and plum trees. If the season’s right, some courses make fresh cider to take on the road. Many of the trees around the facility were planted by NOLS students after their course. Although the summer season is the most stable weather-wise, the fall offers some of the best travel of the year, with amazing colors and fewer encounters with other people. Courses can spot gray wolves, grizzlies, black bears, fishers and wolverines, but most often see black-tailed deer, elk, Douglas squirrels, marmots and pikas, even bald eagles and osprey! On the sea, you may come across dolphins, humpback whales, harbor seals and cormorants.