Stories

NOLS alumni of all ages come together to repair a bridge in the Adirondacks.

Here's what one grad did to prepare for her gap year expedition in Patagonia with NOLS.

Get the scoop on what it's like to live in a tiny house—and why you might want to give it a try.

NOLS alumni Rachel Dranoff explains how to harness the potential energy of a NOLS course.

Astronaut in training Shawna Pandya talks to us about pursuing big goals.

“How can I support you?” It was maybe the best question I had ever been asked. It was expedition behavior in a sentence. Read more from NOLSie and writer Carolyn Highland

Two parents tell the story of their family's worst day—and the happy ending that came as a result of being prepared.

We caught up with NOLS grad Bailey Barnes to learn more about the challenges—and fun—of a gap year, and how she made her gap year a reality.

Choose an outdoor gap year! Gap year parent Eugene Buchanan writes about his daughter's surprising decision to take a wilderness-based gap year.

23 days, 12 students, 4 instructors, and 1 epic adventure. This fall, I participated in an Outdoor Educator course with NOLS in Lander, Wyoming.

Check out these top 5 gap year tips and discover the transformative power of outdoor gap year programs.

Meet the author of the book A Worthy Expedition: The History of NOLS.

Growing up as a city slicker, I had minimal experience with backpacking and the outdoors.

Len Zanni, co-owner of Big Agnes, Inc. and NOLS grad, talked with us about what he’s learned from NOLS and from his years of working in the outdoor industry.

Best Time to Take a Gap Year: Discover how any year can be transformed into an impactful and transformative gap year.

That summer with NOLS cracked me open, so light could get in. The things that ruin us, the things that have us looking up at a star-filled sky asking, "Why am I doing this?"—those are what spark who we were meant to be.

Photographer, engineer, and adventurer pulled out his camera to document this canoeing and backpacking expedition in Canada's remote Yukon Territory.

Should my child take a gap year? Gain insights from a parent's perspective and get great advice on why a gap year is a powerful learning tool.

NOLS and AmeriCorps grad Becky Mares shares why she used her AmeriCorps award for a NOLS course in Alaska

A student from the Archer School for Girls share stories from her expedition in Washington state

If we have learned anything over fifty-four years of NOLS experiences, it’s that the landscapes we operate on speak for themselves, if we can get people out there to experience them.

Looking back, finding my sense of place was in part learning to take the beauty around me and reflecting it back to myself, a gift from the Arctic wilderness and NOLS that I get to take with me into my frontcountry life. I’m making a promise to myself to use it.

I ditched my phone, deciduous landscapes, and research papers to embark on the wildest thing I could think of: a NOLS Semester in the Southwest. I was nervous I wouldn’t be “good at” NOLS, but knew I wanted a life change more than perfection.