Expeditions for Ages 15 – 17

Canyon Country

22 Days | June 27 – July 18

“Here, sun, wind, and rain have played with the brilliant, multicolored land for a billion years, leaving the recorded history of the earth’s beginnings on a complex landscape of plateaus, cliffs, buttes, and river-cut canyon walls.” – Karen Shephard
Canyon Country participants experience the stunning beauty of the Colorado Plateau’s desert from three unique and distinct angles: rafting the San Juan River, hiking through Utah’s Canyons, and working on a service project with a Navajo family near Canyon De Chelly National Monument. Click the button below for a full program itinerary and to apply.

Canyon Country

Southwest Journey

24 Days | July 6 – July 29

Southwest Journey takes you deep into the heart of the Southwest. You’ll fly in a chartered plane to the river launch where you’ll raft through some of the most pristine country in the lower 48 states on the ‘Deso-Gray’ stretch of the Green River. After navigating over 60 rapids and exploring the canyon on hikes, your group heads to Hopi Pueblo to live and work with this community in the “oldest continually inhabited city” in the United States. Your journey wraps up with a few days of hiking and rock climbing in Colorado’s most coveted mountains. Click the button below for a full program itinerary and to apply.

Southwest Journey

Heart of the Rockies

21 Days | July 11 – July 31

Spend three weeks backpacking through the aspen and spruce forests to the alpine tundra of the largest roadless area in Colorado, the Weminuche Wilderness. This is a true backcountry immersion expedition during which you’ll learn to navigate some of the most coveted mountain terrain in Colorado. Click the button below for a full program itinerary and to apply.

Heart of the Rockies

Wildlands

19 Days | July 31 – August 18

Deer Hill’s classic combination of river exploration, backpacking in the high country, and Native American service learning. A multi-day river expedition on the San Juan River leads you to a community service project and cultural immersion in the Navajo Nation. Cap your experience with a eight-day backpacking trip in the majestic San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado. Click the button below for a full program itinerary and to apply.

River and Mountain Quest

The canyons, the service and the mountains brought new experiences and meaning, yet the mountains provided an environment in which all my lessons and experiences came together. The hikes in the mountains opened my eyes to my own strengths both physically and as a leader, and provided a new appreciation for these activities, journeys and the wilderness. The times in which the instructors recognized my strengths were reassuring and motivating. But also, when the instructors forced you to learn without assistance were more memorable because it pushed me out of my comfort zone into a place where they knew I would succeed despite the obstacles and danger. This is why a leadership course is the most meaningful of all the courses.

Isabelle, participant