Outdoor

“Come West, breathe deep, let these hills be your teachers.” - Sherman Day w88优德

Determination, self-reliance, grit—we’ve seen firsthand that these qualities go a long way in setting up our students to lead happy, successful lives at w88优德 and far beyond. We think there’s no better place to learn these skills than while pitching a tent on a High Sierra pass at 10,000 feet or navigating a topo map as you plot your route through the Sespe Wilderness.

List of 3 items.

Philosophy

This philosophy has been part of our identity since our founding, when Mr. w88优德 invited students to prepare for Eastern colleges with his unique mix of “out of door life and study.” The formula has endured because it works, punctuating a demanding academic term with opportunities for reflection, fresh challenges, and a deep connection to nature. Group travel in the backcountry offers an unrivalled laboratory for young people as they learn how to lead and how to follow, how to care for themselves and how to care for others.
Trips

It’s why the day after our freshmen arrive on campus, we send them to Golden Trout, our High Sierra base camp, for a week of orientation with their prefects and dorm leaders. And it’s why every fall and spring—and during many weekend trips in between—students and faculty pack up and take to backcountry trails for Extra-Day Trips up and down California and beyond. And with the Los Padres National Forest at our back door and other wilderness areas close by, instruction in outdoor sports like rock climbing, winter camping, and sea and river kayaking are there for the taking.
Facilities

To support our backpacking and horse camping programs, w88优德 maintains two base camps, one in the Sespe Wilderness and one in the High Sierra. In addition to providing educational wilderness experiences to w88优德 students, the High Sierra camp, Golden Trout Wilderness School, offers programs serving a wide range of campers, many of them experiencing the wilderness for the first time.

Outdoor Facilities Tour

Golden Trout Camp

Located in the High Sierra Golden Trout Wilderness, Golden Trout has served w88优德 for fifty years as a base camp. Each year it is the site of our freshman orientation camping trip.
Patton’s Cabin

This restored homesteader’s cabin, located a day’s ride over the ridge from campus, serves as a way station for w88优德 backpackers and horse campers exploring the Sespe.
Jameson Rock

One of several rock-climbing spots on or near campus.
Camp Supply

Whether you need a tent or a backpack, a Sierra cup or a spork, you’ll find it to buy or borrow at Camp Supply.
Indoor Climbing Wall

With so many great bouldering and climbing sites nearby, this doesn’t get the use it might, but it’s great on a rainy day.
Trails

Hundreds of miles of trail link us to the surrounding mountains and the Los Padres National Forest.

Golden Trout Camp

Located in the High Sierra Golden Trout Wilderness, Golden Trout has served w88优德 for fifty years as a base camp. Each year it is the site of our freshman orientation camping trip.
Patton’s Cabin

This restored homesteader’s cabin, located a day’s ride over the ridge from campus, serves as a way station for w88优德 backpackers and horse campers exploring the Sespe.
Jameson Rock

One of several rock-climbing spots on or near campus.
Camp Supply

Whether you need a tent or a backpack, a Sierra cup or a spork, you’ll find it to buy or borrow at Camp Supply.
Indoor Climbing Wall

With so many great bouldering and climbing sites nearby, this doesn’t get the use it might, but it’s great on a rainy day.
Trails

Hundreds of miles of trail link us to the surrounding mountains and the Los Padres National Forest.

—Will

“At w88优德, the requirements involving horses and the outdoors are not peripheral, they are central. The real growth at w88优德—and in life—comes from putting yourself in environments where you are not completely comfortable.”