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First Year Thursdays are afternoons designed for incoming students who are looking to make friends, increase their knowledge and awareness of local green spaces in the Ann Arbor area, and grow a connection with nature while recreating outdoors.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in several types of outdoor recreation activities, biking some of the best cycling routes in the area, and will include a camp-cooked dinner.

All food, gear, and bikes are provided. Simply show up in weather-appropriate gear. One of our awesome student trip leaders will contact you before the event, and then it’s time to kick off your college experience with thrills and outdoor fun!

Cost: $25

Questions: Call 734-764-3967 or email us at [email protected]

Register Here!

First Year Fridays are afternoons designed for incoming students who are looking to make friends, increase their knowledge and awareness of local green spaces in the Ann Arbor area, and grow a connection with nature while recreating outdoors.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in several types of outdoor recreation activities, like hiking Matthaei Botanical Gardens trails and climbing at the Adventure Education Center, and the program will include a camp-cooked dinner.

No experience necessary—beginners are welcome! All food, gear, and transportation is provided. Simply show up in weather-appropriate gear. One of our awesome student trip leaders will contact you before the event, and then it’s time to kick off your college experience with thrills and outdoor fun!

Cost: $25

Questions: Call 734-764-3967 or email us at [email protected]

Register Here

First Year Overnights are camping programs designed for incoming students who are looking to make friends, increase their knowledge and awareness of local green spaces in the Ann Arbor area, and grow a connection with nature while recreating outdoors.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in several types of outdoor recreation activities, like making s’mores and glow-in-the-dark zip lining at the Adventure Education Center.

No experience necessary—beginners are welcome! All food, gear, and transportation is provided. Simply show up with your weather-appropriate clothing. One of our awesome student trip leaders will contact you before the event, and then it’s time to kick off your college experience with thrills and outdoor fun!

Cost: $40

Questions: Call 734-764-3967 or email us at [email protected]

Register Here!

Leave your studies behind, and join your classmates for a breath of fresh air along the pristine and picturesque Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Explore beaches, waterfalls, and forests, with stunning views of the deepest Great Lake as your backdrop. Most of the hike follows the coastline atop sandstone cliffs that erupt 200 feet out of the vast Lake Superior. This hike is truly a midwest gem.

All food, gear, and transportation is provided.

Cost: $450

Questions: Call 734-764-3967 or email us at [email protected]

Is it a sport? An art? A balancing act? Let Adventure Leadership staff introduce your group to slacklining –  a fun and safely socially distant outdoor activity! Become aware of your body and mind while trying something new, and discover a new way to hang around with friends outside.

Available Locations

• Grove outside of the CCRB
• An alternative wooded location

Backpacking is the perfect way to immerse yourself in nature for a weekend or longer. Come join us for a hands-on session of the basics: tents and shelter, clothing, cooking, water treatment, navigating, first aid, Leave No Trace principles. Anywhere from one to three hours, depending on how deep and detailed you want to get.

Available Location

• Adventure Leadership Rental Center

Options include a bike tour around and through campus to the Nichols Arboretum, where we will hike down to the river then back to our bikes for the return ride. A perfect way to spend a couple hours away from screens, enjoying campus and nature.

For a longer ride we can start the day with a relaxed 45-minute bike ride through campus, past the hospital, along the Huron River and to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Almost the entire route is on car-free bike paths, with the final stretch on a newly paved award-winning nature trail. Once there we will enjoy a bag lunch and explore for about an hour with a hike through woods and fields, including trails along Fleming Creek. We will then re-mount our bikes and ride back.

Trip leaders and bikes are included, although you’re welcome to ride your own bike. Please bring a bike, helmet, bike lock (or use one of ours), weather-appropriate clothing, and a small daypack.

All bike tours start at the Adventure Leadership Rental Center.

What more do we need to say? We provide fire, graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. You get to find sticks in the woods for roasting. Trip leaders will provide tips on how to create a perfect golden-brown marshmallow, or a completely burnt marshmallow, if you are into that sort of thing.

Available Location

• Adventure Education Center

Cooking while camping ranges from minimalist to gourmet. We’ll teach you the basics, including how to use three different camp stoves, and then you’ll get to try your hand at preparing some food. Sessions at the AEC may include cooking over a fire.

Available Locations

• Adventure Leadership Rental Center
• Adventure Education Center

If we have snow (at least 4”), we can ski! A basic lesson and try-out on Elbel Field at the Adventure Leadership Rental Center, or a few hours out at the Adventure Education Center (hot chocolate included!). Nothing beats the peacefulness of a snow-covered landscape, and nothing beats Seasonal Affective Disorder like outdoor exercise.

Available Locations

• Adventure Leadership Rental Center
• Adventure Education Center

Let nature tell you a story! Learn about the plants, animals, and other ecological features that make up the Great Lakes region.

Available Locations

• Adventure Education Center
• Nichols Arboretum
• Or an alternative location!

The best times to take a night hike are during a full moon, when the night world is bathed in ethereal, faint white and grey, or the new moon, when stars are most visible. Join us for a unique walk in the woods and fields of the Nichols Arboretum or the Adventure Education Center. Even if it’s cloudy, walking through the woods at night is a great experience. Headlamps provided. Time frame is generally between 8:30pm and 10:30pm.

Available Locations

• Adventure Education Center
• Nichols Arboretum

Take your team building in a new direction by learning to navigate without a GPS unit or cell phones. Discover the parts of a compass, measure your pace, and try triangulation. Once you’ve gotten your bearings, complete a practice course to solidify your skills and work collaboratively with your team to solve a puzzle!

Available Locations

• Adventure Education Center
• Nichols Arboretum

Engage all of your senses while connecting your body and mind with nature. Allow yourself to break away from daily distractions and pressures to live in the present moment. Join us for an opportunity to practice mindfulness and learn body regulation skills at our beautiful wooded facility at the Adventure Education Center, or any other quiet outdoor location of your group’s choice.

Available Locations

• Adventure Education Center
• Nichols Arboretum
• Or an alternative location!

The most important aspect of survival is to be prepared – both with appropriate supplies and the ability to work with your environment in critical situations. Increase your knowledge of fire and shelter building, practice cooperation and team decision-making skills, and expand your capacity for resourcefulness in the outdoors.

Available Locations

• Adventure Education Center