Northwest Nature Guided Hikes

Explorer of Air artwork used with permission and copyright Joanna Colbert gaiantarot.com

The Wolf College offers “Northwest Nature” Guided Hikes and backpacking trips with goals of physical conditioning, naturalist study, and experiencing the emotional and spiritual nourishment of our mountains, forests, canyons and seashores. They are held at locations throughout Washington & Oregon and led by Wolf College co-directors Kim & Chris Chisholm and other Wolf College Faculty.

For more information and to register for any of the hikes listed below, call 425-248-0253 with a credit card or RSVP below with PayPal.

CUSTOM TRIP IDEAS

BACKPACK BY REQUEST: Potholes Sand Dunes Backpacking Trip in the driest spot in Washington State, with amazing plants, birds and animal tracks!

SAGEBRUSH CANYONLANDS HIKE BY REQUEST:  Umtanum Canyon Geology, Plants, Tracks & Birds located about 15 minutes south of Ellensburg.

NORTH SOUND HIKE BY REQUEST:  Wallace Falls 264 Foot Drop Navigation & Plants Hike located about 45 minutes NE of Seattle. * Washington State Discover Pass is required on all vehicles ($30/annual) and must be purchased in advance.

NORTH SOUND HIKE BY REQUEST: Deception Pass Sand Dunes, Seashore Life & Plants Hike from 1:00-5:00 about an hour and a half north of Seattle, with a focus on geology, shore plants and intertidal life. Washington State Discover Pass required on all vehicles and would have to be purchased in advance ($30/annual).

SEATTLE AREA HIKE BY REQUEST: Tiger Mountain Natural Resource Conservation Area Hike located about 20 minutes east of Seattle.

TACOMA AREA HIKE BY REQUEST: Clark’s Creek Park in Puyallup.

OLYMPIA AREA HIKE BY REQUEST: Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge between Tacoma & Olympia WA. * Accessible Hike.

OLYMPIA AREA HIKE BY REQUEST: Mima Mounds Mystery, Prairie Wildflowers & Waterfalls Hike through the Capital Forest about half-way between Seattle and Portland, with a focus on natural history and navigation starting at the mysterious Mima Mounds Natural Area. * Washington State Discover Pass is required on all vehicles ($30/annual) and must be purchased in advance.

SOUTH SOUND HIKE BY REQUEST: Pack Forest Old Growth located about 30 minutes south of Tacoma.

MT RAINIER AREA HIKE BY REQUEST: Elk Country Hike located about 45 minutes south of Tacoma and east of Olympia.

MT ST HELENS HIKE BY REQUEST: Mt. St. Helens Observatory Hike about an hour and a half north of Portland, or 2 hours south of Seattle, with a focus on geology. * Accessible Hike.

PORTLAND AREA HIKE BY REQUEST: Battle Ground Lake near Battle Ground WA about a half hour NE of Portland. * Accessible Hike. * Washington State Discover Pass is required on all vehicles ($30/annual) and must be purchased in advance.

PORTLAND AREADX HIKE BY REQUEST:Kings Mountain – Wilson River Edible & Medicinal Plants Hike focusing on plants and navigational skills about 45 minutes west of Portland in the coastal mountains.

PORTLAND AREA HIKE BY REQUEST:North Oregon Coast Naturalist Hike near Seaside, about an hour west of Kelso/Longview WA and/or Portland OR, or 2 hours south of Olympia WA.

Register

$15 non-refundable deposits are required to reserve your space, with the balance due before we start the hike. The non-refundable deposit is designed to be high enough to cover our administrative expenses and make sure almost all the people who register do show up, but low enough for you to absorb in case you can’t or don’t want to attend due to weather, illness, transportation problems, etc.

Check/Mail Registration Option: Send a $15 per person non-refundable check deposit payable to the Wolf College, 1026 14th St. SW, Puyallup WA 98371 with participant name(s), phone number, email address, age of any minors, and any allergies or health restrictions we should know about. Balances are due at the start of the hike.

Credit/Debit Card Registration Option: Just call us at 425-248-0253 and we will run your card deposit securely over the phone.

Saturday Moderate-Difficult Hikes

Saturday Moderate-Difficult Guided Hikes are open to adults and youth old enough to keep pace, normally meeting at carpooling rendezvous locations at 9:00 a.m., beginning at a trailhead at 10:00 a.m., and ending at approximately 5:00 p.m. Cost for all-day Saturday hikes is normally $65 per adult, and $45 per accompanied youth, but click on descriptions for exact details and to register, or just call us at 425-248-0253 to register for any 2014 springtime hike at the youth rate! Click on the link above for Saturday hikes, or see below for a full list of hikes.

Sunday Afternoon Easy-Moderate Hikes

Sunday Afternoon Easy-Moderate Guided Hikes are open to adults as well as accompanied youth, normally meeting at carpooling rendezvous locations at 12:00 noon, beginning at a trailhead at 1:00 p.m., and ending at approximately 5:00 p.m. Cost for Sunday afternoon hikes is normally $45 per adult, and $30 per accompanied youth, but click on descriptions for exact details and to register, or just call us at 425-248-0253 to register for any 2014 springtime hike at the youth rate! Click on the link above for Sunday afternoon hikes, or see below for a full list of hikes.

Weekday Nature Guided Hikes

Weekday Nature Guided Hikes are open to seniors, homeschool families, swing shift and weekend workers, normally meeting at carpooling rendezvous locations at 10:00 a.m., beginning at a trailhead at 11:00 a.m., and ending at 2:00 p.m. Cost for weekday nature hikes is normally $35 per adult, and $25 per accompanied youth, but click on descriptions for exact details and to register, or just call us at 425-248-0253 to register for any 2014 springtime hike at the youth rate! Click the link above for weekday hikes, or see below for a full list of hikes.

All Weekend Backpacking Trips

Weekend Guided Backpacking Trips are open to adults as well as accompanied teens able to backpack at a moderate pace, normally meeting at a campground location on Friday between 6-7 p.m. where backcountry navigation and camping/backpacking preparation takes place; we’ll share camp breakfast in the morning and hike Saturday to a backcountry location where we’ll experience backcountry cooking and a night in the wilderness; then we’ll do a wilderness day hike on Sunday morning before backpacking out to our vehicles in the afternoon, but click on descriptions for exact details. Cost is $245 per adult, and $225 per accompanied teen, but click on descriptions for exact details, or just call us at 425-248-0253. Or click here to schedule a custom designed backpacking trip anywhere in the US

Differently Abled & Custom Hikes

Click Here for a schedule of Differently-Abled Hikes & Classes which are available to everyone. In addition, call us at 425-248-0253 with ideas and we’ll let you know which hikes can accommodate your needs (such as at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge for example) or we can help you set a time and location for a custom hike.