Women's Wilderness

The Girls’ Programs at Women’s Wilderness are a curriculum-based family of three complementary programs. These programs are all preventative in nature, and help girls build resiliency through a powerful combination of mentorship by strong female role models, authentic challenges that evoke pride and a sense of accomplishment, and teamwork with other girls in a pro-girl environment.
The Girls’ program at Women’s Wilderness currently consists of Girls’ Wilderness Adventures, five- to nine-day backpacking and climbing courses for girls 8 through 18, Girls Lead for Life, an after-school climbing program for girls in 5th through 7th grade, and the Girls' Advisory Board, a year-round program for high school girls. Girls’ Wilderness Adventures serves approximately 90 girls annually, Girls Lead for Life serves 15 girls per 6-month session, with plans to grow to serving 40 girls annually. The Advisory Board serves up to 8 girls, all of whom are alumni of at least one Wilderness Adventures program. These programs are intended to be complementary, increase participant retention, and increase participant depth of learning.
Participants are from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, and the organization actively recruits from Title 1 schools and programs that serve low-income families. Money raised through earned income, grants, and fundraising is used to generate scholarships for girls who would otherwise be unable to participate in a transformational wilderness program. In the organization’s history, no girl has ever been turned away for financial reasons.