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Adventure Leadership
Our trips can take you anywhere: dogsledding in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, spelunking in North Carolina, backpacking the Grand Canyon, paddling the Huron River, and more. Whether you want to take off for a couple of hours, a day or a week, let us handle the details—like food, transportation, logistics, trip leaders, and outdoor equipment—while you take in the great outdoors.
Embark on a journey of self-discovery and adventure with Adventure Leadership at the University of Michigan! Our expertly guided trips offer students the chance to explore the State of Michigan, build lifelong friendships, and develop essential leadership skills. Join us to push your boundaries, connect with nature, and create unforgettable experiences. Discover your next adventure and find your trip with Adventure Leadership today!
Explore the stunning beauty of Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio for an unforgettable outdoor adventure! Canoe the lovely Hocking River and zipline over rolling hills! This four-day getaway promises a perfect blend of engaging adrenaline-pumping activities and exploring the area through serene nature hikes. Visit Old Man’s Cave, and then return to our campsite each night to sleep under the stars. No outdoor experience required!
Escape your studies for three days of canoeing down the Manistee River and hiking along the North Country Trail! You get to take in the incredible views of the famous North Country Trail, ranging from pine to deciduous trees to cedar swamps. Enjoy the most beautiful month of northern Michigan weather and a wide variety of native wildlife. Get ready to immerse yourself in a peaceful weekend of paddling, rustic camping, and backcountry skill development – the Manistee will take your breath away!
Ever been confused by a Michigander pointing to a spot on their hand to say where they’re from? Wonder no more! Join Adventure Leadership on a journey around Michigan’s lower peninsula. We’ll head west from Ann Arbor and trace the outline of the state, starting on Lake Michigan’s coast with Ludington and famous Sleeping Bear Dunes, then spending a day at the iconic Mackinac Island, traveling through some lesser known gems in Rockport, and spending our last day at a true Michigan gem in “the thumb”: Caseville’s Cheeseburger festival. We’ll even drive through Lansing and Detroit to get a full sense of the state! Each night will be a new camping spot, filled with cozy campfires, sparkling stars, and the company of a new group of Michiganders
Welcome, Wolverines! The University of Michigan community is excited that you’re beginning your next educational journey on our beautiful campuses. Before you begin classes, join your fellow students August 18-22, 2025 for a five-day, four-night adventure to some of the most amazing parts of our beautiful state.
There are two trips scheduled: One for incoming, first-year undergraduate students, and the other for incoming first-year graduate students.
This year, Adventure Leadership’s First Ascent journeys to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, South Manitou Island, and the shipwrecked shoreline of Lake Huron. You’ll enjoy day hikes, campfires, and camaraderie with other trip participants and two trip leaders. Signing up for this trip means getting to make new friends and experiencing the Great Lakes State with outdoor experts.
If you are staying in campus housing, we’ve arranged with M Housing for you to drop off your stuff in your room and then meet up at our Adventure Leadership Resource Center on main campus to begin your Michigan experience!
No experience necessary. The trip cost includes transportation, group meals and all camping/hiking gear.
Get ready for an adventure to discover Michigan’s breathtaking landscapes with Adventure Leadership as your guide! If you find the great outdoors to be a bit overwhelming, let us introduce you to the Michigan Outdoor Leadership Education Series (MOLES).
MOLES is designed to empower you with the skills and confidence required for your outdoor journey. Our experienced workshop leaders will serve as your companions, leading you through immersive experiences that not only fuel your passion for exploration but also unveil the authentic stories of the public lands we cherish.
Forget about the gear – we’ve got that covered. All you need to do is show up, eager to participate. No prior outdoor experience is necessary; whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to enhance existing skills, we welcome you. Each workshop will delve into essential outdoor competencies, including navigation, backpack packing, campsite cooking, and embracing Leave No Trace principles. Your Michigan adventure begins here – join us on the path to outdoor discovery!
Do you have an employee group, department or organization that’s looking to get outside and learn a new skill? Whether you’re looking to relax around a campfire with s’mores or work up a sweat cross country skiing, we’re certain our unique activities will help you reconnect and engage together.
Set Up Your Group
Email [email protected] with the outdoor skill(s) you’re interested in, a preferred date, and your group size.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Available Locations for Outdoor Skills
Adventure Leadership Rental Center: Stationed near Elbel field, this location is ideal for a short commute to find a big adventure – and pick up all the gear you need for your excursion!
Nichols Arboretum: A prominent and notable campus feature within walking distance of most student housing and university office spaces.
Adventure Education Center: Our most remote and secluded-feeling location, within a short drive or moderate bike ride from campus.
Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness First Responder courses are designed specifically to meet the needs of wilderness guides, expedition leaders, and anyone traveling in the backcountry with friends or family. This is the industry standard for outdoor professionals and the course you want your friends to take before you travel with them. Using the Wilderness Medicine Training Center’s unique Hybrid Course, participants complete a course of study and tests online (Part 1) prior to the start of the practical on-site training (Part 2).
This training is focused and thorough. The online portion requires serious study and the in-person portion requires commitment and effort. Please allow between 30 and 60 hours to complete the required Part 1 study and testing.
Refunds are not available for those who do not successfully complete the course or to those that are unable to attend the in-person portion.
Please become more familiar with the WFR program expectations and preparation by looking through the this info sheet.
Dates
Registration deadline is May 1, 2025.
In-person May 7 – 11, 2025. Online study and testing must be completed ahead of time.
Note: When you click on the register here link you will be taken to the Wilderness Medicine Training Center website to register for the course. From there, you will be redirected to the Adventure Leadership webpage to finish with payment.
Ignite your passion for adventure! The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour will exhilarate you with amazing big-screen stories when it comes to the Michigan Theater, hosted by Adventure Leadership. Journey to exotic locations, paddle the wildest waters and climb the highest peaks. This local showing is sponsored by Bivouac.
Date
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Location
Michigan Theater @ 603 E Liberty Street, Ann Arbor
Price
In advance: $18 for adults, Student Tickets $14
Day of show: $20 for adults, Student tickets $16
Registration is on a first come, first served basis.
Payment of the total trip fee is required at the time of registration.
Total trip cost includes a non-refundable registration fee.
Participants are eligible for a refund of partial fees paid if the program is able to replace the participant prior to the pre-trip meeting.
A partial refund may be provided if the participant has a documented medical emergency. Appropriate documentation can include a doctor’s note or hospital records.
Adventure Leadership may remove a participant from scheduled activities for any reason. The University shall have no liability or responsibility to participants who are willingly or unwillingly removed from the trip.
The University of Michigan reserves the right to cancel any trip at any time for any reason. Participants may receive a partial to full refund if the University cancels the trip. The University shall have no liability for cancellation of a trip.
Registration is on a first come, first served basis.
Program payment is due in full at registration.
Completed registration requires a two part enrollment:
a. Through the Wilderness Medicine Training Center
b. Through the Adventure Leadership Webstore
Refunds are not available for those who do not successfully complete the wilderness medicine courses, testing, or those that are unable to attend the in-person class.
Registration for all Hybrid WFR programs will close at a minimum of seven calendar days before the first day of the in-person part of the program.
The University of Michigan reserves the right to cancel any offering at any time for any reason. Participants may receive a partial or full refund if the University cancels the program. The University shall have no liability for cancellation.