Experience the Wilderness, Earn Credit, and Grow as a Leader

Embark on a thrilling summer expedition through the snow-covered Northern Rockies, climb among the granite towers of Idaho’s City of Rocks, and paddle the winding waters of Utah’s Green River. This incredible summer semester in the Rockies offers high school students a fun and challenging opportunity to grow as leaders and explore the wild.

Taught by expert instructors with deep wilderness experience, you’ll gain practical skills in a dynamic, hands-on outdoor classroom. These seasoned educators don’t just teach — they mentor, challenge, and support you every step of the way. With your team of peers, you’ll learn to live in remote wilderness, face real challenges, and make thoughtful, informed decisions. Along the way, you’ll earn high school credit and develop real leadership experience in one of the most inspiring learning environments on earth.

Push Your Limits And Explore The Wild

This NOLS course will take you on an intense and educational journey. This 68-day semester is broken into sections that will take you backpacking, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting. Your adventure begins in Wyoming’s Absaroka or Wind River Range — both part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. You’ll start by learning foundational skills: cooking and stove use, map reading, Leave No Trace practices, expedition behavior, and techniques for hiking and camping in grizzly bear country. As the course progresses, your group will move into more advanced topics, including leadership styles, effective communication and feedback, wilderness first aid, and navigation with GPS and compass.

During the moving water section, you’ll develop paddling techniques such as eddy turns, peel-outs, ferries, river reading, and more. On the Green River, the only sound is the song of a canyon wren. You’ll look down into verdant water and see teams of pikeminnow among layers of silt. The rushing hum of the Green River rapids will invigorate your sense of connection to nature.

On the rock climbing section, you’ll be reshaped — like igneous rock forged under pressure, hardened like the granite beneath your feet. NOLS offers more than stunning wilderness; it teaches you to navigate its wild uncertainty. You’ll stand in the shadow of a pinnacle tall enough to eclipse the sun, smell the scent of pinyon pine, and feel the land become part of who you are.

You Will Never Be The Same

You’ll finish as an expeditioner — a confident leader and navigator with strong camping skills. You’ll be a skilled climber, expert in knots, rope handling, belaying, anchor building, rappelling, and managing rope systems. You’ll find space to breathe, reflect, unplug, and reconnect with the simple power of living close to the land. This experience will stay with you long after the course ends, shaping not just who you are, but who you are becoming.