Idaho Backpacking Adventure for Girls 14-15 - 2 Weeks

Join other like-minded 14- and 15-year-old girls, alongside experienced and welcoming instructors, on a two-week backpacking adventure through the stunning Idaho backcountry.

You’ll hike 30-60 miles through pine forests and alpine meadows, scramble to the tops of peaks, and camp beside clear mountain lakes. Your days will be filled with hands-on learning—setting up tents, cooking meals over camp stoves, reading maps, and navigating with a compass. You might catch your first fish, bake cinnamon rolls in the backcountry, or learn to identify animal tracks along the trail.

Whether this is your first time camping or your tenth, we’ll start by teaching you the foundational backpacking skills, and build toward more advanced skills like off-trail navigation and decision-making. As you gain confidence, you’ll take on more responsibility—leading your group for the day, choosing campsites, or organizing your cook team. You may even travel in small student-led groups without instructors for the day.

Mountain weather keeps things interesting. You might wake up to sunshine and end the day in a thunderstorm, or bundle up against unexpected snow. You’ll carry 40-55 pounds through elevations from 7,000 to 11,000 feet and might spot moose, elk, bears, or mountain goats.

All-girls expeditions are built on the same core NOLS principles: leadership, risk management, environmental stewardship, and supporting your team. You’ll leave with outdoor skills, new friendships, and confidence that carries into every part of your life.

Information for Parents: The NOLS Difference

At 14-15, your teen’s brain is in a critical rewiring phase—where experiences now become traits later. While camps keep teens comfortable, a NOLS course gives them tools to navigate an uncertain world. Hiking through Idaho’s remote mountain ranges, topping alpine ridges, and discovering clear alpine lakes teaches them that the world is big, beautiful, and not revolving around them. We teach through natural consequences: if the tent isn’t set up right, they get wet. No nagging, just feedback that builds responsibility and judgment. Plus, research shows 96% of NOLS grads complete college. You’re investing in the adult you want to send into the world.