Take Your Gap Year Outside

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Accredited Gap Year Expeditions with Outward Bound

Outward Bound is an experiential education program that uses the outdoors as our classroom. Our accredited expeditions offer a challenging, formative adventure for those seeking to broaden their worldview while developing confidence, leadership, and communication skills. Each journey is unique, marked not only by miles of mountain, river, desert, or ocean, but also by pivotal personal growth.

Find an expedition near you

PATHFINDER EXPEDITIONS

SEMESTER EXPEDITIONS

ADULT EXPEDITIONS

Canada Outward Bound Training Academy

PATHFINDER EXPEDITIONS

SEMESTER EXPEDITIONS

ADULT EXPEDITIONS

STUDENTS' EXPEDITION STORIES

This is real life connectivity...

This is real life connectivity, not through a screen or liking each other's Instagram posts. You're out there learning about what drives people, what motivates them, what makes them happy. Facing challenges together as a team, no outside influences or worries about opinions of you.

— Gwen Outward Bound Alum

I dedicate my new-found work ethic, confidence and ability to deal with difficult situations to Outward Bound...

In the three months that I was on course, I was challenged and pushed harder than ever before in my young adult life. Through crossing a glacier in Argentina, to paddling for 24 hours straight in the Everglades, to rock climbing and white water canoeing in the mountains of North Carolina, I was pushed out of my comfort zone every day. I became extremely close with my ten crew mates, and every Instructor I had on course. Now as I am adjusting back into life not living in the woods, I notice changes within myself on a daily basis, from the way I approach conflict, to the way I think about myself. I have a lot to thank Outward Bound for, but in particular I dedicate my new-found work ethic, confidence and ability to deal with difficult situations to Outward Bound and will never forget the endless memories I made while on course.

— Sierra Semester Alum

I found my voice...

The most challenging aspect of the Outdoor Educator course for me was learning how to speak up and assert my ideas when I felt they were valid. Our Instructors did a phenomenal job asking us as individuals to step outside of stereotypical gender roles and intentionally make space for each other to speak. As one of the quieter and timid members of the group, it took a lot of patience and encouragement from my peers, but eventually I found my voice and recognized that one need not be loud in volume to be a good facilitator. What weighs much more heavily is confidence in your words.

— Miah Outdoor Educator Alum

I could probably write a book on the things I’ve learned during these 30 days!

I entered this course with the hope that I would grow and learn but had very little idea how. I hoped that I would gain confidence and courage, I hoped that I’d find my way. But this course was hard. I was uncomfortable. And that was the greatest gift Outward Bound could have given me. There is little room for growth within your comfort zone and miles and miles and miles of growth out there, in the wilderness. And out there you also find lessons about concepts you never even thought of. I could probably write a book on the things I’ve learned during these 30 days!

— Danielle Pathfinder Alum

I gained so much from this program, and cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Maine to Bahamas Semester was an incredible experience for me. I am studying environmental and marine sciences in college, so this program was right up my alley. Perhaps more impactful however, was the team-like atmosphere and sense of togetherness that Outward Bound intrinsically creates. There is something about sleeping together in tents or sleeping under the stars in the middle of the ocean that brings people together. While on course, I learned how to be accountable, and how to look out for the people standing next to me. I gained so much from this program, and cannot recommend it highly enough.

— Jack Semester Alum

The most genuine self-confidence boost and reality check.

— Addie Outdoor Educator Alum

I don’t think I realized how much I needed an experience like this.

— Sara Outward Bound Alum

Now I can say without hesitation: Outward Bound changed my life.

Now I can say without hesitation: Outward Bound changed my life. It humbled me, yes. But in doing so it ultimately empowered me. It filtered out distraction and the hum of routine life so I could focus on what really matters. Maybe it was when we hiked a boulder field in a foot of snow. Or when we huddled under a tarp in a downpour. But at some point I reconnected with myself. And I took a long, hard look at what’s important to me. So much of that journey had to do with my course mates. I was the oldest by far. But in getting to know these young, dynamic people, I opened myself to a collective bonding like nothing I’d experienced before. It’s a camaraderie one remembers long after Outward Bound is over. One where you take care of each other and wish for each other’s well-being as much as your own. In the snow. In the rain. In the wilderness with all comforts stripped away.

— Jenny Outdoor Educator Alum

FEATURED COURSES

Patagonia to Florida & Blue Ridge Mountains International Leadership Semester

Embark on a journey like no other as you explore the awe-inspiring summit peaks of Patagonia, navigate through the verdant, canopied forests and scenic barrier islands of Florida by river, and culminate the expedition with exciting rock climbing and whitewater paddling in the picturesque mountains and valleys of Western North Carolina.

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