Backpack, canoe and rock climb in and around the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on this expedition.
Explore the picturesque Appalachian Mountains as you backpack and canoe through the Delaware Water Gap National Reserve. Improve your leadership and teamwork skills, as you take on new and exciting challenges with your crew. Discover the lifelong benefits and perspective that only wilderness travel with Outward Bound can offer.
This is an “Expedition-style” course, meaning you will leave the Philadelphia base on the first day of course, travel the backcountry by foot or canoe daily, and return to base camp on the last day of the course. You and your group will be moving to a new campsite every night as you travel along your expedition route. This means no showers (perhaps some swimming), no cell phones, no television, nor any other modern luxuries to which you may be accustomed. Although it may take some getting used to, you’ll learn to appreciate time away from technology, with the sun on your shoulders, wind at your back and your crew by your side. Come to your course prepared for, and excited about, devoting all of your time and energy to your expedition, your crew and your Outward Bound experience!
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Course # PPM7-2531
Age
12 - 14
Days
10
Cost
$3,550
Dates 6/18/2025 - 6/27/2025
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APPLY NOW
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For detailed information on course availability statuses and what they mean,
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Course # PPM7-2532
Age
12 - 14
Days
12
Cost
$3,950
Dates 6/18/2025 - 6/29/2025
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APPLY NOW
APPLY NOW
This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.
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For detailed information on course availability statuses and what they mean,
click here.
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Thank you for your interest in Outward Bound!
This course starts within the next week. Please call us at 866-467-7651 to assess the possibility of applying for this course!
APPLY NOW This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.
APPLY NOW – Almost Full This means there are three or fewer currently available spots left on a course. To secure your spot click Apply Now to begin an application!
JOIN WAITLIST Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist positions become available. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. A $500 deposit is required. This $500 deposit includes a $150 non-refundable application fee and a $350 tuition payment. The $350 tuition payment is refundable only if you cancel your waitlist application or if an open position does not become available. If a position does become available, the applicant will be applied to the open position and the Application and Cancellation Policies of the Regional Outward Bound School will be followed, including forfeiture of the $500 deposit if you cancel 90 days or less prior to the course start date.
Waitlist applicants are encouraged to complete all required admissions documents while awaiting an open position. Positions may become available up to two weeks prior to the course start date. Applicants may only apply to one course. We recommend applying to a course with open positions instead of a course that is accepting waitlist applications. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.
CALL TO APPLY This means a course is very close to its start date. Although it is unlikely to secure a spot this late, you can call the National Admissions office at 866-467-7651 to discuss your options.
COURSE IS FULL When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.
CLOSED As a course nears its start date, the availability status may read “Closed.” In this event, a course roster has been finalized and applications are no longer being accepted or processed.
Sample Itinerary
*A short Solo Experience may occur during the expedition.
10-Day Course
DAY1
Course start and transport to trail
DAY2-3
Backpacking along the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY4
Rock Climbing
DAY5
Resupply and transport to the river to begin canoeing
DAY6-9
Canoeing on the Delaware River in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY10
Transport back to Philadelphia for Graduation and crew BBQ Celebration
12-Day Course
DAY1
Course start and transport to trail
DAY2-4
Backpacking along the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY5
Rock climbing
DAY6
Resupply & transport to the river to begin canoeing
DAY7-11
Canoeing on the Delaware River in the Delaware Water Gap
DAY12
Transport back to Philadelphia for graduation and crew BBQ celebration
You have unlocked his potential and it is a wonder to me how a 12 day course can be such a bridge from adolescent into young adult. I thank you for all you have done and how you have lead our son along his path.
It’s time to make your own adventure. Outward Bound’s Classic expeditions for middle and high school students are built with you in mind. Make new friends, sleep under the stars, and learn skills like backcountry navigation and how to cook a delicious meal no matter where you are. You’ve got this! Whether you’re in a raft or on a mountainside, you’ll learn what you’re made of – and you’ll see first-hand how far teamwork can take you. Join us for an unforgettable challenge and discover a whole new way to get outside.
Build skills, form connections: Learn and practice wilderness, teamwork and leadership skills. Find connections with your crewmates based on support and respect (and fun too!), and in the thick of challenges, discover there is more in you than you know.
Value strengths and strengthen values: Uncover your unique character strengths, develop your leadership abilities and learn how to let compassion in to everyday life by pushing your own limits and working alongside your peers.
Demonstrate mastery: As you gain confidence in new skills, take on more decision-making responsibilities. Work together to achieve team goals, solve problems and succeed both as individuals and as a group.
What you’ll learn: Your connections matter – working together to navigate challenges will quickly turn your crewmates into friends. Together, you’ll find opportunities to carry more weight (literally and figuratively) and make impactful decisions with accompanying consequences. It’s all about confidence, communication, and independence.
After you come home, many of the character, leadership and service traits you uncovered on your expedition stay with you, helping you navigate your daily life with more resilience and success.
As you hike along the Appalachian Trail with your crew, you’ll learn how to work together and discover the commitment and effort it takes to truly work as a team. You’ll travel with all the food and equipment you need to conduct your expedition such as tarp shelters, stoves, maps, emergency equipment and much more. You and your fellow crew members will learn basic outdoor skills like Leave-No-Trace principles, appropriate packing techniques, wilderness hygiene, backcountry cooking and tarp sleeping systems, in order to successfully live, work and eat together. This process will not only hone your communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills, but take you on a journey unlike anything you’ve ever imagined.
Be prepared to canoe in the Delaware Water Gap where each section of the river is different and has its own personality. If you want secluded, wide water with lots of wildlife, the stretch that flows through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area from Matamoras to Kittatinny Point offers it all. In addition to learning valuable paddling techniques in a tandem canoe, you and your fellow crew members will learn to use technical equipment, tie knots, paddle and develop your campcraft, all while Instructors provide expert supervision.
One portion of the expedition includes the opportunity to develop rock climbing experience guided by Outward Bound experts. Students will learn skills to tie knots and be exposed to climbing fundamentals. They will learn safety, climbing and belay techniques and have opportunities to use climbing equipment. Students do not need prior climbing or backpacking experience for this course. Outward Bound Instructors are climbing specialists and will teach students the skills necessary to be successful on this incredible adventure.
Service to people and to the environment are core values of Outward Bound and they are integrated into each course. Participants follow Leave No Trace ethics as part of their service to the environment. Students develop an ingrained appreciation of service, seeing the impact of their actions firsthand, by multiple small acts of service with and for their crewmates while leading and supporting each other throughout the journey.
Students will engage in Solo, a period of solitude, as a way to take a break from the physical nature of the expedition and experience time for quiet self-reflection and introspection. Instructors set the tone for the Solo experience and help students prepare for this unique opportunity to spend time away from their crew and process their experiences on a more personal level. While on Solo, students will have food, drinking water, appropriate clothes, a tarp for shelter, sleeping bag, journal, as well as a whistle with which they may alert their Instructors in the unlikely event of an emergency. Instructors also conduct periodic check-ins with each student. For many students, Solo is the highlight of their expedition. It allows students to take a deeper dive into their thoughts and consider how they may apply the lessons from course to their daily lives.
On our multi-element backpacking and canoeing courses, participants have the opportunity to become proficient in both backpacking and canoeing. The course allows for a deeper level of self-discovery and ability to hone their leadership skills. On this longer course, participants gain an understanding of the value of teamwork and learn what it takes to be a compassionate leader while having fun and building strong relationships with their teammates.
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. From the southern end of the park, you can view the S-shaped chasm of the Delaware Water Gap, where the river cuts a twisting path through 1,400-foot Kittatinny Ridge. Within the river watershed, you'll discover steep wooded-and-rock slopes, bountiful rhododendron, dark hallows, tinsel-like ravines and tumbling waterfalls.
These regions are the ancestral lands of the Lənape Haki-nk (Lenni-Lenape) and Munsee Lenape nations.
Course Stories
You have unlocked his potential
You have unlocked his potential and it is a wonder to me how a 12 day course can be such a bridge from adolescent into young adult. I thank you for all you have done and how you have lead our son along his path.
If you are ready to enroll on a course click the enroll button next to the course you wish to select or you can enroll over the phone by speaking with one of our Admissions Advisors (toll-free) at 866-467-7651.
To secure your spot on a course you must submit an enrollment form and $500 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee.