Spend 78 days crossing the Baja California Peninsula on foot, by sea kayak, and under sail. This region is a land of extremes and contrasts—mountain ranges extending over 1,000 miles, the Sonoran Desert, and the Sea of Cortez. You’ll explore these environments on foot, in a sea kayak, and on a sailboat as you develop leadership skills that will stick with you for life.

Your semester consists of three sections. The backpacking section (approximately 25 days, 50-100 miles) starts on the Pacific coast and crosses the peninsula, hiking into the NOLS Mexico campus on the Sea of Cortez. You’ll explore desert and mountain environments, interact with rancheros living in remote regions, and learn outdoor living fundamentals from tent setup to navigation. As you travel, you will have opportunities to lead your group and learn risk management from your instructors.

The sea kayaking section (approximately 26 days, 100 miles) takes you along the Sea of Cortez, where desert, volcanic coastal mountains, and ocean meet. You’ll paddle before dawn, practice rough water techniques, snorkel the undersea world, and learn to track weather and judge sea conditions.

The sailing section (approximately 27 days, 100 miles) teaches you fundamentals of coastal sailing as you explore in 22-foot Drascombe longboats, learning seamanship, navigation, and leadership while anchoring or beaching each night to camp ashore.

You may stop along your journeys to visit fishing villages and ranches, help with chores like milking goats and making tortillas, and see ancient cave paintings created long before the peninsula was colonized. As you demonstrate competence, you may travel in student-led groups, culminating in a multi-day independent expedition on the hiking or sea kayaking section.

You’ll return with technical abilities, cultural understanding, and confidence to lead your own wilderness adventures.