Who We Are
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About The Women's Wilderness InstituteSince 1998, The Women's Wilderness Institute has offered wilderness experiences and outdoor adventures for women and teen girls in the Rocky Mountains and the deserts of the Southwest. Whether you're seeking a rejuvenating week of backpacking, the skills to build your own top-rope anchor, or the determination to make a major change in your life, we hope you'll join us for an unforgettable experience that will increase your wilderness skills, refresh your spirit, and bring you the joy of a wilderness adventure in the company of women.
What to expect
What makes us different
About The Girls' Wilderness and Community Programs
What you can expect on a Women's Wilderness course.Our programs are designed to meet the unique needs and learning styles of women and girls while providing solid instruction in wilderness living, outdoor skills and backcountry safety. On all TWWI courses you will find:
- Solid education in backcountry skills and knowledge.
- Mature, professional staff.
- An atmosphere of mutual empowerment.
- Respect for differences, diversity, and the right to individual choices.
- Time to build friendships and enjoy the wilderness environment.
- A balance of support, challenge, and fun!
What makes The Women's Wilderness Institute different.The Women's Wilderness Institute has created a new model of choice-based, women-specific wilderness education that effectively teaches skills crucial to building self-sufficiency, confidence and personal strength. Our courses are real-life, women-only adventures, and the excitingly unpredictable nature of an outdoor experience makes every course different. Unlike a guided "adventure travel vacation," participants take an active role in the flow of their adventure, learning new skills, cooking meals, navigating, setting up camp and meeting as a group to plan and organize each day.
Women and girls tell us they haven't laughed so hard in years and nearly everyone brings home solid skills, new friendships and a lasting glow. As one of our Green River Yoga participants described her feeling at the end of the trip, "I feel like I have come home to myself."
About The Girls' Wilderness and Community Programs A portion of the fees from Women's trips support our summer wilderness courses for teenage girls. We are incredibly proud that in our eleven years of exceptional programming, we have never turned a girl away for financial reasons. Our Girls' Wilderness Program is the heart of the Institute's mission, providing four- to twelve-day adventures for teen girls in a supportive ‘girl-positive' environment.
In 2008, we added Community Programs with Girls on the Rise, an innovative after-school program specifically designed help 8th grade girls navigate their transition to high school. This seven-month program combines psycho-educational work and media literacy with expressive arts and outdoor activities to guide girls towards developing a strong sense of self and tools they need to succeed in high school and beyond.
To learn more about our impacting work with middle school and teenage girls, please visit:
Girls' Wilderness Program
Community Programs