Expeditions for Adults
Explore Wyoming’s mountains on horseback
Join a group of motivated peers ages 23 and up for a unique Western adventure: horsepacking in the rugged mountains of Wyoming. Learn to travel and camp with horses as you explore the glacier-carved Wind River Range or the sweeping plateaus of the Absarokas.
Start out with several days of camping at NOLS Three Peaks Ranch. Build community with your coursemates and work on basic skills like grooming, saddling, and riding horses. Then, pack your panniers and head into the mountains, where you’ll put your new horsepacking skills into practice.
Fall Semesters Now Enrolling
Fall Semester in Patagonia
Leave the ordinary behind on the Semester in Patagonia. Climb the mountains and paddle the fjords. Taste the cold wind of the Andes on your face. Breathe in the smell of mate while passing by a poblador’s ranch. On this course, you’ll go mountaineering and sea kayaking in the Andes and coastal regions of Chile and earn an industry-respected Wilderness First Aid certification. You’ll start with the basics and work towards more advanced skills so that you can work toward being totally self-sufficient in the backcountry.
More Semester Courses
Teton Valley
Featured Location
Nestled on the Idaho side of the Tetons, and near Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, our campus is your gateway to some of the best skiing, backpacking, and paddling in the lower 48. NOLS Teton Valley operates year-round and depending on the season, you might hike along the Continental Divide, paddle whitewater rapids, or backcountry ski in the snow-covered Rockies. In the summer and early fall, backpacking courses travel through the meadows of wildflowers in the mountains of western Wyoming, southern Montana, and eastern Idaho. During the warmer months, you can paddle the Salmon River through one of the West’s largest wilderness areas—the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness—and develop your whitewater skills.
Stories from the Wild
How NOLS Ruined the Old Me
POSTED BY: ERIN SULLIVAN ON 3/1/16 8:53 AM
The summer I was 19, I went on a thirty day Wind River Wilderness course. It wasn't like I was outdoorsy. I never went to summer camp as a kid. I was in Girl Scouts, but I only lasted until we had to sleep in tents. Then I was out. I was not the kid playing in the dirt.
Whitewater Rafting & Kayaking
Featured Skill
On a rafting or kayaking course, you’ll learn the skills you need to navigate rivers using these watercraft. You’ll learn how to paddle, read and assess whitewater, knots and rope management, and what it’s like to lead a small group on the river. Depending on your course, you may use a variety of watercraft, including kayaks, paddle rafts, and oar rigs, but every course will give you opportunities to work on different types of challenges, both physical and mental.
Stories from the Wild
Inside Whitewater Expeditions in the Rockies
POSTED BY: KATE DERNOCOEUR ON 3/1/16 8:53 AM
On June 8, 1869, John Wesley Powell and his expedition floated down the Green River through the Gates of Lodore—a narrow, towering cleft worn in the deep red rock of what is now western Colorado.
“NOLS taught me the secret to great teamwork is great leadership … I learned that leadership isn’t exclusive to those in charge; anybody can demonstrate leadership.”