Excursions
What are OC Excursions?
Excursions offer a fun, accessible, and affordable way for WWU students to get outside and connect with themselves and others. Emphasis is placed on group involvement, developing and refining skills, responsible environmental practices, fostering diversity, enriching the academic experience, and promoting life-long learning.
Spring 2025 Excursions
Scroll to see the great variety of trips we're leading this quarter... we've got some new adventures AND some well-loved classics!
All excursions are created and led by student trip leaders who are certified and educated in safe + smart outdoor recreation practices. This also means that we love to provide a variety of trips based on what our trip leaders are passionate about passing on to students! No two quarters will be the same!
Want to see us lead a specific trip (or have another excursions-related question)? Email our Excursions Coordinators, Noa and Dieder, with your suggestion!
First Half
Sign Ups open here on April 1st at 5PM
Sign up by clicking the link associated with the title of the trip you are interested in! It will redirect you to the payment site.
Wild Foods Walk
- Wednesday, April 23rd, 3-6PM
- Let's explore natural spaces around Bellingham and become acquainted with the basics of identifying and foraging for edible plants right in our backyard!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to walk on a mostly flat gravel path for about 2 hours
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Kite Flying at Zuanich Park - National Park Trust
- Wednesday, April 30th, 3-6PM
- Learn how to fly a kite and enjoy an afternoon outside of soaking in all the joy of kite flying!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to hold a kite and move around on sometimes uneven surfaces
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Learn To Mountain Bike
- Wednesday, April 9th, 3-6PM
- Wednesday, April 16th, 3-6PM
- Sunday, April 20th
- Have you ever wanted to learn to Mountain Bike? Here's your chance! Join us for a 3-part series, focusing on building foundations of Mountain Biking. No mountain biking experience needed!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to ride a bike and willingness to try biking on uneven terrain, and off pavement.
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Springtime on the Skagit Rafting!
- Saturday, May 3rd
- Required Pre-Trip Meeting: Tuesday, April 29th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM
- It's springtime on the Skagit! Come see the beautiful flora and fauna of the North Cascades as we raft our way down the amazing Skagit River! All skill levels are welcomed!
- Essential Eligibility: Be able to sit comfortably and paddle in a raft. Be comfortable around water, watercrafts, and able to swim
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Is the trip you want to join full already? Join the waitlist here!
Second Half
Sign Ups open here on April 21st at 5PM
Spring Semiahmoo Seabird Spotting!
- Wednesday, May 21st, 3-6PM
- Nothing says springtime quite like the chirping of birds, ammiright? Come join us for an afternoon seeing what birds Semiahmoo Spit has to offer!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to be mobile on a flat, concrete path for about 2 hours
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Paddleboard and Watercolor Party
- Wednesday, May 28th, 3-6PM
- Come have a blast paddleboarding with us on Lake Whatcom and relax by water coloring at the same time! Life jackets will be provided.
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to swim and maintain balance on a paddleboard, but no experience necessary
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Learn to Kayak
- Wednesday, May 7th, 3-6PM
- Wednesday, May 14th, 3-6PM
- Sunday, May 18th
- Have you ever wanted to learn to kayak? Here's your chance! Join us for a 3-part series, focusing on building kayaking foundations. No prior kayaking experience is necessary, we will teach you everything you need to know!
- Essential Eligibility: Be able to sit comfortably and use arms to paddle. Be comfortable around water, watercrafts, and ability to swim
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Backpacking
- Saturday, May 10th – Sunday, May 11th
- Required Pre-Trip Meeting: Tuesday, May 6th from 5:00-7:00 PM
- Come spend the weekend sleeping next to a lake and hiking along the beautiful Baker Lake Trail! This trip is for anyone who identifies as trans, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming! Enjoy being in the woods with other genderqueer folks, with a focus on creating an environment of safety and trans joy!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to carry 35+lb backpack for 3-5 miles on a mostly flat trail.
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
- Food included!
Backpacking and Bouldering!
- Saturday, May 31st – Sunday, June 1st
- Required Pre-Trip Meeting: Tuesday, May 27th from 5:00-7:00 PM
- Join us for a multi-sport adventure! We will monkey around on some sandstone boulders, camp, and climb again! Climbing shoes are provided, and all skill levels are welcome!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to carry 35+lb backpack. Ability to climb comfortably with the support of knowledgeable staff, and some experience bouldering.
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Food included!
Intro to Rock Climbing at Vantage
- Saturday, May 24th – Monday, May 26th
- Required Pre-Trip Meeting: Tuesday, May 20th from 5:00-7:00 PM
- Want to learn outdoor rock-climbing skills and gain more confidence with climbing gear? Come spend the long weekend with us in Vantage, WA learning how to climb!
- Essential Eligibility: Ability to grip rocks and balance with feet to climb with the support of knowledgeable staff, no previous experience needed! Ability to walk on an uneven trail for short distances.
- Difficulty Level: Beginner
- Food included!
Fee Waivers and Trip Costs
The Outdoor Center recognizes that the cost of Trips will be a barrier to some students who are interested in participating in our trips and events. To try and reduce those barriers, 3 spots on each trip will be reserved for students who are experiencing financial insecurity.
This scholarship is intended for, but not limited to students who are: Pell eligible, first gen, experiencing financial difficulties, of the Global Majority or experience marginalization in another form that leads to financial difficulty.
To receive a spot please email Assistant Director of VOR at montgos7@wwu.edu with your name, phone number, address and desired trip. No other information is required, and we trust your experience is valid. Spots will be reserved the first 2 weeks of the quarter and then opened to the general student body if not used.
Disability Accommodations
For disability accommodations, questions, or requests please email our Outdoor Center Excursions Coordinators, Noa and Dieder, or call 360-650-7677 at least two weeks before the trip.
Difficulty Ratings
Informed consent is critical, and we want you to be aware of the activity you are signing up for. Each trip has a difficulty level listed in the description: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Below you will find a detailed description of what that entails. Please reach out to your student Excursions Coordinators, Noa and Dieder with any questions.
Beginner Excursions cater to those individuals who are interested in trying something new! Generally, these introductory experiences are designed to be more laid back and not too strenuous. Most importantly they are created for those who do not have prior experience in the activity. Activities may range from educational experiences to artistic activities and anything in between. These excursions are great if you are looking to learn new skills, gain exposure to new activities, foster community, and have a great time outside!
Intermediate Excursions are a great option for those who would like to explore new challenges and build upon past skills. If you are looking to explore more difficult trails or embark on longer, more strenuous adventures, this activity category is for you! These Excursions are designed to safely instruct participants on more technical skills, and to dive deeper into the activity at hand. Outings often include less introductory material, but still ensure that participants are fully informed on the activity at hand! These are a great option if you are looking to step outside of your comfort zone, continue to explore these awesome activities, and meet new people!
Advanced Excursions are designed to build upon prior experience and solidify technical skills in outdoor recreation. Participants must have experience in the associated activity and feel competent, but still open to growth in their individual skill sets. Designed to explore more challenging recreational activities, expect a higher level of potential difficulty on these Excursions. These are great if you are looking to build upon past experiences and use old skills in new ways. Come explore new aspects of your favorite activities, and of course have a great (and safe) time!
FAQs
1 full-day/weekend/3-day trip per quarter! We have limited number of spots available on each trip and hope to serve as many students as possible.
You may sign up for as many Adventure Break trips as you would like!
Once a trip is full you may register for our waitlist, which can be found at the bottom of the trip sign-up link. If a spot becomes available on a trip you will receive a text from the Outdoor Center.
You will receive a text from the Outdoor Center if a trip becomes available. You must respond to that text within 1 hour to confirm your spot. You will then need to come into the Outdoor Center to complete trip registration.
Nope! Please have your friend sign up individually.
You can cancel from a trip via the Outdoor Center Front Desk (VU 150).
If you have already been on an Excursion through the Outdoor Center, consider giving other folks the opportunity for the same experience that you had.
All excursions are created and led by our student trip leaders, so the trip list will change every quarter! Sometimes this will depend on the season (ex: more skiing and snowshoeing in the winter), and some of it depends on what our trip leaders are interested in leading. We tend to repeat trips that students are excited about and consistently attend, but we also try to mix things up and provide new activities/sports each quarter.
Partnerships
Are you an organization or on-campus club/program/department interested in creating a trip for your community? Fill out this form to get in touch so that we can work together to create an event that is best suited for your community!
Past Partnerships
WWU
- Environmental Science Department
- International Students Program
- Black Affinity Housing
- Honors College
- Native American Student Union
- Black Student Coalition
- WWU Transportation
- Multi-Cultural Center
- Counseling and Wellness Center
- Outdoor Wellness Peer Mentoring
- LGBTQ+ Western
- Western Success Scholars
- Black and Brown Male Success Collective
- Arab Student Association
Non-WWU organizations
- Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition (WMBC)
- Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation of Whatcom County (AIROW)
- Shifting Gears
- Transition Bikes
- National Park Trust
Photo Gallery
Click the link above to look through pictures of WWU students and trip leaders in action!
