Wilderness Inquiry

Centered around our core belief that everyone belongs in the outdoors, Wilderness Inquiry programs break down barriers to outdoor education, recreation, and careers while building community through engagement with the natural world. We meet participants and partners where they are and offer nature-based experiences that build confidence, connection, and tangible skills. Our programs—which range from single-day introductory activities and multi-day wilderness adventures to leadership and career pathways—offer deepening levels of engagement and experience. We call this progression of repeated and reinforced outdoor experiences our “Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement”, and we welcome participants of any age and level of outdoor experience when supporting individuals on their own journey into the outdoors. 

Since 1978, Wilderness Inquiry has broken down barriers to outdoor participation for more than 600,000 individuals, including more than 41,000 people in 2024. Through our programs for youth, adults, and families, we provide inclusive outdoor exploration and educational opportunities while addressing the underlying barriers that prevent access to the outdoors. These barriers include lack of access to gear and adaptive equipment, a lack of peer role models in outdoor activities and careers, prohibitive costs of activities, unequal access to transportation, and challenges related to inaccessibility. Wilderness Inquiry provides transportation, highly-trained staff and supportive volunteers, adaptive equipment and specialized gear, and other supports needed to ensure safe and enriching outdoor experiences. 

Services Offered

Wilderness Inquiry offers a continuum of outdoor education and recreation experiences that follows our Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement. These include public, guided adventures that anyone can participate in.

• Day & Multi-Day Programs offer an introduction to nature-based activities that build outdoor skills, increase confidence in outdoor settings, and expose participants to the physical, mental, and social-emotional benefits of time spent in nature. Single- and multi-day experiences are designed for participants of all ages and abilities, and enriched with land-based learning activities such as STEM exploration, cultural and geographic history, and environmental stewardship. These programs include Canoemobile—a “floating classroom” that serves more than 35,000 youth and families in more than 80 communities nationally—in addition to overnight camping trips, virtual programs, and Outdoor Credit Recovery. The latter supports students in earning academic credit through hands-on, immersive outdoor learning.
• Near-Nature & Extended Overnight Adventures provide deeper, immersive outdoor engagement through supported group experiences that build community and connect participants to public lands, waterways, wilderness areas, national parks and forests, and international destinations. Adventures last 2-15 days and engage youth, adults, and families in ways to safely explore the outdoors.
• Leadership & Career Pathways provide connections to community, and support well-being, belonging, and lifelong engagement in the outdoors. These include leadership development, educational and professional opportunities to experience outdoor careers, paid fellowships and internships with Wilderness Inquiry and partner organizations, and training, credentialing, and skills development.

The Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement itself can be viewed here.

Contact Erika Rivers, Executive Director erika@wildernessinquiry.org (612) 676-9403 Wilderness Inquiry

Populations Served
Wilderness Inquiry serves people of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and abilities. Seeking to break down barriers to outdoor participation and create inclusive spaces for all, our programs specifically engage youth (Canoemobile, Credit Recovery) and families (Military Families Outdoors), as well as a long history of including people with disabilities on trail. 

Cost to Participate
Wilderness Inquiry has an earned revenue model, where proceeds from trip sales directly support programs and our mission of inclusion in the outdoors—we call this “Travel with a Purpose”. Costs for different programs and adventures are included on our website at https://www.wildernessinquiry.org/. 

We also offer scholarships to individuals and groups that may have financial need, and we work closely with partners to develop government and philanthropic support to fund programs for youth, adults, and families. 

Staff Composition
Wilderness Inquiry has 33 full-time staff and hires 100+ seasonal Outdoor Leaders who guide our programs and adventures each year. We also engage more than 400 volunteers annually. 

Evaluation & Impact

In collaboration with Hello Insight, Wilderness Inquiry has measured Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) growth and nature connectedness among youth participants since 2021. Evaluation data and reports can be found here: www.wildernessinquiry.org/uwca-evaluations.

Wilderness Inquiry also has measured the level of social integration of participants living with a disability when participating in integrated outdoor experiences. Evaluation results and reports can be found here: www.wildernessinquiry.org/research-results/index. 

In 2024, Wilderness Inquiry partnered with Wilder Research to conduct a Ripple Effect Mapping evaluation with a group of high school students who progressed through our Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement. Results showed an increased sense of belonging, social capital, self-confidence, relationship development, and self-motivation. Results will be shared on the Wilderness Inquiry website in summer 2025. 

Furthermore, Wilderness Inquiry works closely with Blue Star Families and Texas A&M's Center for Health & Nature to evaluate the impact of our supported outdoor programs for military families, with a focus on their physical and mental health and feelings of well-being and belonging.