NOLS Blog
Outdoor Leadership Programs for High School Students: Why Wilderness Matters
Parents searching for summer opportunities face an overwhelming marketplace of camps, programs, and experiences. Sports camps, academic enrichment, traditional summer camps, leadership programs—the options seem endless. But among all the choices, one category consistently produces deeper, longer-lasting outcomes than the rest: outdoor leadership programs for high school students. These programs combine the transformative power of…
Why Teens Need Leadership Skills: A Guide for Parents
Every parent wants their teenager to succeed—good grades, college acceptance, a fulfilling career. But there's something that predicts ...
Ship’s Log: Sailing in Greece’s Ionian Sea Alumni Trip
Photo by Nick Braun After a few days of moderate winds, good introductory sailing and island exploring while ...
Teen Gap Year Programs: Adventure-Based Options for Before College
The traditional path says: graduate high school, start college immediately, don’t look back. But a growing number of families and college admissions advisors are questioning this formula—and discovering that what looks like a detour often becomes the most valuable part of the journey. Gap year programs for teens have moved from the fringe to the…
Best Backpacking Trips for Teens: Wilderness Adventures That Build Character
Something happens when a teenager shoulders a pack, leaves cell service behind, and walks into the wilderness. Something that organized sports, academic programs, and traditional summer camps—though these experiences have their benefits—simply cannot replicate. Backpacking trips for teens offer more than adventure. They offer transformation. And for parents searching for experiences that genuinely change their…
Leadership Programs for High School Students: What Parents Need to Know
Your teenager stands at a pivotal moment. The skills they develop now—how they handle challenges, work with others, and step up when it matters—will shape their path through college, careers, and life. But here’s what many parents discover too late: traditional classroom settings rarely build the kind of leadership that matters in the real world.…
The Poley-Poley: A Chronicle in the Himalayas
It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop. —Confucius The air was thick. My strides were slow and purposeful, careful not to disrupt the group’s cadence. The thrill of spotting Everest Base Camp, still two hours away, motivated me to maintain the syncopated rhythm of deep breathing. Hypoxia…
Case Study: Injury on the Grand Canyon
The Setting You’re on day 12 of a 21-day Grand Canyon expedition, enjoying a well deserved stretch of flat water, staring at the canyon walls and not paying attention to what’s downstream. While enjoying the last of your morning coffee, you hear someone cry out from a nearby raft. You look over and see a…
NOLS Releases Newest Edition of Leadership Educator Notebook, an Instructor’s Toolbox
NOLS is pleased to introduce the newest edition of the Leadership Educator Notebook, a collection of the educational tools NOLS instructors use to incorporate leadership ideas and activities into courses. What is the Leadership Educator Notebook?Filled with activities, lessons, prompts, frameworks and quotes, and edited by Zach Taylor, Liz Tuohy, Phoebe Gebright, and other members…
9 Wilderness Medicine Jobs You Can Get With A Wilderness Medicine Certification
Check out the top 9 wilderness medicine jobs you can score with a wilderness medicine certification.
Enhancing Student Experience and Inclusion through Risk Management
Cal Poly recreation and adventure education staff talk about how risk management adds perspective and growth for their students and programs.
Transform Your Backcountry Cooking with the New NOLS Cookery
To help students learn about backcountry cooking, we started collecting recipes and published the first cookery in 1974. The 7th edition comes out this year.
A Letter to My Future Self
Carolyn shares the letter she wrote to herself on a one-night solo near the end of her Semester in New Zealand.
Embracing Acceptable Risk in the Non-Traditional Classroom: Marin Academy & the WRMC
NOLS caught up with Marin Academy Director of Outings Julie Barnes to find out why she values risk taking, risk management, and wilderness-based education.
Q&A with a NOLS Parent
Parent Shelli Johnson writes about what it was like for her son to go on a 30-day NOLS course
Quiz: Winter Injury and Illness
Do you know how to help with first aid for winter injuries and illnesses?
Black Wolf Expedition: First Descent Packrafting in the Canadian North
An instructor team heads to North America's largest wilderness to explore new rivers and mountains by packraft.
Camping Recipe: Biscuits [Video]
You know you've found the perfect adventure partner when you wake up to the smell of biscuits baking in the morning. Grow your cooking skills with this delicious biscuit recipe.
Kids on Outdoor Trips: First Aid Recommendations
Knowing how to identify and manage pediatric medical issues can help your family have a fun adventure in the backcountry.
The Poetry of Experience
Looking back with a critical eye, I can see the poetry of the experience I had in Alaska. Dramatic, refreshing, limit-pushing poetry.
Responding to Hurricane Harvey with Wilderness First Aid Skills
We found ourselves in a boat pulling away from the only dry land we could see. It looked like a normal city neighborhood had been built in the middle of a lake—all due to Hurricane Harvey
