Dolly Sods Wilderness Backpacking & Potomac River Canoeing
Explore one of the East Coast’s most historically and ecologically significant areas on this 12-day backpacking and canoeing course.
Learn backcountry expedition techniques, leadership skills and navigation as you move through the diverse ecosystems, high mountain ridges and waterfall-laden streams of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. Then head to the Potomac River, where you’ll work with a partner to learn the art of paddling, read a map and compass and navigate a variety of river features. After 12 exhilarating days, return home with a renewed belief in your abilities, an adventure story of a lifetime and bolstered teamwork and leadership skills. Wild, wonderful West Virginia invites students to explore the remote regions of “The Mountain State.” West Virginia is approximately 75% forestland and contains 2,029 miles of named trails.
UPCOMING COURSES
Course # BBMF-2531
Age 12 - 14
Days 12
Cost $4,420
Dates 8/2/2025 - 8/13/2025
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This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.
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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.
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Students must work as a crew to navigate the river, while transporting all their gear from one campsite to the next each day. Instructors will provide instruction on paddling technique, reading the river and other technical canoe skills as they progress through this section of the course.
Students learn how to hike effectively and efficiently as well as how to set up and manage trail campsites each night. As the team overcomes numerous expedition challenges, they develop a greater belief in themselves and trust in one another. Successful completion of this course requires more than the mastery of technical skills. It also requires adaptability, decision making and teamwork.
Service to others and to the environment are core values of Outward Bound and they are integrated into each course. Participants follow Recreate Responsibly 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.
Dolly Sods Wilderness
The 17,371 acre Dolly Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It is located in the Grant, Randolph and Tucker Counties of West Virginia. The Dolly Sods Wilderness contains much of the Red Creek drainage and contains bog and heath eco-types, more commonly typical to southern Canada. Elevations range from 2,500 feet to over 4,700 feet. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Massawomeck nation.
Western Potomac River
The Potomac River is located along the mid-Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States and flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river (main stem and North Branch) is approximately 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles (38,000 km²). In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the United States and the 21st largest in the country. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Massawomeck nation.
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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.