"The instructors were so much fun to be with. They made everything as safe and as fun as possible. I was as close to the instructors as I was to the students."
- Andrew Herman
Dix Hills, NY
As educators, we know that the wilderness can be the best classroom. We capture our students' attention through fun and exciting adventure activities in some of the best scenery in the world. But the activities are merely the medium! A small group experience in the wilderness allows students to join a powerful inclusive community, form friendships with outstanding role models, develop leadership skills, improve self-confidence, thrive without electronics, and slow down and gain a wider perspective on life.
It is an honor and a privilege to help shape young lives. We have dedicated ourselves to Adventure Treks so that each one of our students can come away from our summer experience not only having had one of the most exciting adventures of their lives, but having evolved and grown in ways that they didn’t know they could. Witnessing growth and increased self-confidence, and knowing that we have played a role, are rewards that keep us going year after year.
You can also watch the entire Parent Video here
1) Physical and emotional safety is our first priority.
2) We use an exciting variety of fun outdoor activities to help teenagers grow, gain self-confidence and self-responsibility, learn to lead others, and develop a greater sense of self.
3) Our outstanding, qualified instructors are superior role models and mentors who take a sincere interest in the growth and development of young people.
4) We inspire young people to develop a lifetime love of the wilderness and outdoor activities; and with it a corresponding conservation ethic.
5) We empower students to create an inclusive and reflective community that maintains a culture of kindness, a sense of humor and a spirit of cooperation and volunteerism.
6) Our business is sustainable and responsive, with a focus on people and quality. We form long-term relationships with our students, their families, our instructors, our staff, and our outfitters.
Adventure Treks specializes solely in summer wilderness adventure programs for outstanding young adults. We want to focus on one thing and do it extremely well! We believe that our small-group Adventures, with excellent leaders and peers, can be the defining experience in a young person’s life.
We live in a time when few children really get to be immersed in the outdoors. As our world becomes more complicated, the need for youth to spend formative time in wilderness has never been so urgent. Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, documents the positive academic, social, and character-building benefits of time spent in nature as well as the disturbing societal trend towards Nature Deficit Disorder.
Become their Best Selves
Our wilderness Adventures provide students an opportunity to become their best selves. We hear time and again that students enjoy being outdoors because substantive relationships become more important than material possessions and appearances. Students love being in a place where “people don’t judge you.” At Adventure Treks students find peace, challenge, community, incomparable beauty, and leadership opportunities. By exploring wilderness in their youth, they develop the habits that make outdoor activities and adventure a part of their lives forever.
Great Accomplishment
The challenges of outdoor activities also provide opportunities for great accomplishment. When students experience the satisfaction of an incredible mountain-top view after striving all day to reach a mountain’s summit, priorities often shift.
Fun and Extraordinary Adventure
Developing an appreciation of nature, experiencing some of the most beautiful scenery our planet has to offer, taking time to unwind and unplug from a busy world – all of these things are important, and too infrequent, in the life of a successful young person. It has been an honor and a privilege to provide these opportunities for our students.
Our trips are loaded with fun and extraordinary adventure. Our goal is for each student to come away from their Adventure Treks experience not only having had “the best time of their life,” but having grown in ways they didn’t know they could. These stories are the rewards that keep us going year after year.
Virtually every Adventure Treks student says that their Adventure Treks experience was one of the most influential and defining experiences of their lives. Almost every student writes about Adventure Treks as the subject of their college essay.
College counselors consistently tell us that the confidence, maturity and leadership skills that students gain through their Adventure Treks experiences significantly helps their college application.
We are always impressed but never surprised by the wonderful colleges and Universities our students attend. View a list of colleges that Adventure Treks students currently attend.
We hope you will view a summer with Adventure Treks as an investment in both your child’s education and future. Valuable life skills, such as becoming part of a close-knit community, working with a group to achieve collective goals, adapting to new environments, and finding the self-determination and confidence to face new challenges, are not found in textbooks. However, these skills will prove invaluable to your child when venturing to college and the world beyond.
Students will also develop outdoor skills and learn how to enjoy the wilderness for years to come. We teach and practice Leave No Trace ethics to preserve the wilderness for others.
