Spend a month with other 14- and 15-year-olds learning two amazing ways to travel in the backcountry—hiking Idaho’s rugged peaks and rafting down the legendary Salmon River. You’ll learn to navigate rapids, hike high ridges, cook your own meals, and even fly fish, developing as a leader and making new friends as you do.

During the 19-day backpacking section, you’ll hike 50-70 miles through elevations from 5,000 to 11,000 feet through Idaho’s Lemhi or Beaverhead Range. During the 9-day river section, you’ll travel 80 miles through one of the most remote and wild sections of the United States. Traveling by raft, oar rig, and inflatable kayak, you’ll learn basic river skills like scouting, paddle strokes, hazard evaluation, and rigging boats. You’ll also spend time learning and practicing river rescue techniques.

Leadership is woven into every day. As you build competence, you’ll gradually take on more responsibility. You may travel in student-led groups without instructors for up to a day. Your course may include a service project with the U.S. Forest Service, giving back to the wilderness you’ll explore.

You’ll return with the skills and confidence to lead in the outdoors, at school, and in your community. If you’re looking for an experience to grow and make new friends while you learn about river and mountain travel, then this is the course for you.

Information for Parents: The NOLS Difference

At 14-15, your teen’s brain is in a critical rewiring phase—where experiences now become traits later. While camps keep teens comfortable, a NOLS course gives them tools to navigate an uncertain world. Spending a month learning to read whitewater, navigate Idaho’s rugged backcountry, and work as a team through both mountains and rapids teaches them that the world is big, beautiful, and not revolving around them. We teach through natural consequences: if the tent isn’t set up right, they get wet. No nagging, just feedback that builds responsibility and judgment. You’re investing in the adult you want to send into the world.

*The Salmon River is one of the original rivers protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.