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Program Overview

Location
Mid Atlantic
Seasons
Summer
Start Location
Philadelphia
End Location
Philadelphia
Program
Middle School
Length
8 Days
Price
$2,900
Expeditions
Canoeing
Leadership Intensive
Activities
Ropes Course

Skills

Technical
  • Basic First Aid
  • Basic Paddle Strokes
  • Campcraft
  • Food Preparation and Cooking
  • Knots
  • Map and Compass
  • Navigation
  • Safety and Risk Management
  • Self Care
Interpersonal
  • Camaraderie
  • Character
  • Communication
  • Empathy
  • Leadership
  • Resilience
  • Responsibility
  • Self Confidence
  • Service

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Water Gap Canoeing & Leadership

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Adventure awaits on this eight-day canoeing course – your chance to explore the Delaware Water Gap from the hull of a two-person canoe.

You and your group will be moving to a new campsite every night and travel with all the food and equipment you need as you paddle along your expedition route. Sharpen your leadership skills and learn to inspire others as you take on new and exciting challenges with your crew.

Request a call from a course specialist

Program Overview

Location
Mid Atlantic
Seasons
Summer
Start Location
Philadelphia
End Location
Philadelphia
Program
Middle School
Length
8 Days
Price
$2,900
See More Details
Expeditions
Canoeing
Leadership Intensive
Activities
Ropes Course

Skills

Technical
  • Basic First Aid
  • Basic Paddle Strokes
  • Campcraft
  • Food Preparation and Cooking
  • Knots
  • Map and Compass
  • Navigation
  • Safety and Risk Management
  • Self Care
Interpersonal
  • Camaraderie
  • Character
  • Communication
  • Empathy
  • Leadership
  • Resilience
  • Responsibility
  • Self Confidence
  • Service
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UPCOMING COURSES

Course # PPMC-2521

Age 12 - 14

Days 8

Cost $2,900

Dates 8/12/2025 - 8/19/2025

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APPLY NOW

This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.

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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.

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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.

This course starts in . Are you sure you would like to proceed?

Sample Itinerary
DAY1
Course start and flatwater paddle school
DAY2-5
Canoeing (Introductory lessons to canoeing, camp craft, rescue skills, river navigation and back country cooking)
DAY6
Canoeing and potential Solo experience
DAY7
High ropes course
DAY8
Course end graduation celebration & crew BBQ
Classic Courses

Make new friends, sleep under the stars, and learn skills for outdoor adventure. Outward Bound’s Classic expeditions are designed to empower middle and high school students with the tools and confidence they need to navigate life’s ever-changing tides. By taking on challenges outdoors, students discover their strengths, make meaningful connections and return home with the skills needed to embark on bold futures. 

  • Develop Connections. Bond with your crew by having fun and engaging in meaningful conversations.  
  • Learn Outdoor Skills. Cook delicious meals outside, navigate with a map, and build a backcountry campsite.  
  • Practice Leadership and Teamwork. Learn to be both a leader and team player.  
  • Build Confidence that Lasts a Lifetime. Discover your unique strengths. 
Canoeing
Two people paddle a canoe on calm water. The sun is low in the sky behind them. The water is framed by trees.
A person wearing a life jacket holds a paddle and smiles for the photo. They are in a boat. There are green trees lining the shore in the background.
A young person carries gear away from a shore. There are canoes beached behind them.
Photo courtesy of Ben Goodman
A person wearing a life jacket smiles while holding a paddle in a red canoe
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
A young person stands on the shore of a river holding a paddle. There is a canoe floating nearby.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Two people each sit in two red canoes floating close together on calm water
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
A person wearing a life jacket sits in a canoe writing something. There is a tree-lined shore in the background.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
A person wearing a life jacket sits in a canoe in fog.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Two people each paddle two red canoes away from the camera. They are wearing yellow life jackets.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Two people each paddle two red canoes toward from the camera. They are wearing life jackets and there is a tree-lined shore in the background.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Two people stand at a campsite in a wooded area. One of them holds several paddles.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Two people paddle a red canoe on calm water
Photo courtesy of Ben Goodman
A person wearing a life jacket paddles a green canoe. There is a green shoreline in the background.
Photo courtesy of Kenja Griffin
Two people wearing life jackets sit in a red canoe and hold their paddles in the air.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Several canoes holding two people each float near each other on a body of water framed by green trees.
In the foreground, two people wearing life jackets sitting in a red canoe give the camera peace signs. There are people in other canoes in the background.
Several canoes holding two people each float near each other on a body of water framed by green trees. The people in the canoes are wearing life jackets and smile for the photo.

Be prepared to canoe 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 basic outdoor skills like Leave-No-Trace Principles, wilderness hygiene, and backcountry cooking techniques 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.

High Ropes
Two hands hold a taut rope
Photo courtesy of Rebecca Hesselink
A person wearing safety gear is attached by ropes as they smile.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
Three people wearing helmets smile.
Photo courtesy of Rebecca Hesselink
Two people wearing safety gear are attached to ropes as they navigate a high ropes course.
Photo courtesy of Rebecca Hesselink
From the ground looking up, a person wearing safety gear is secured by ropes as they navigate a high ropes course in the trees.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Harris
A group of people wearing safety gear are attached by ropes on the obstacle of a high ropes course.

Students will finish their expedition at our base camp at The Discovery Center – a serene, urban oasis and nature-based learning facility located in the heart of Philadelphia. Here students will have the opportunity to go outside of their comfort zone atop the Aerial Teams Challenge Course and gain greater confidence in their skills and abilities.

Outcomes

On shorter courses for middle schoolers, participants will challenge themselves as they learn the skills to live and travel with their crew mates on the river. Participants will have the opportunity to become proficient paddlers and practice river navigation and rescue skills as they learn to work as a team to maneuver down Delaware River.

Course Area

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.

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Getting Started

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 Customer Success Specialists (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. 

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