Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center serves its mission of promoting forest stewardship through education by offering a variety of ways for you to visit the Opal Creek Wilderness. Our outdoor school program, which runs mid-March through June and again from September through mid-November, offers classes a chance to spend a night (or two or three!) in Jawbone Flats all the while approaching environmental science in a hands-on, engaging format in the most beautiful classroom imaginable: the Opal Creek forest.
In the summer months, Opal Creek Expeditions offer kids ages 10-16 an opportunity to become a little more intimately acquainted with the environment through week-long backpacking courses that traverse the Opal Creek Wilderness and beyond. Participants see remote reaches only visible to those willing to carry their homes on their backs for a few days.
A variety of workshops, most focused on local flora and fauna, run throughout our season and offer everyone, including little ones, an opportunity to delve into the pristine Opal Creek environment in a hands-on format.
For outdoor and medical professionals and those just wanting to be well prepared for their back-country excursions, Opal Creek hosts
several Wilderness Medicine Institute courses throughout the season. As one of few wilderness hosts for these courses, Opal Creek is uniquely suited to offer students an authentic experience as they tackle the many scenarios throughout their chosen class.
For those just looking to spend a relaxing few days in the tall trees and clear waters of the Opal Creek Wilderness without the structure of a workshop, we rent several of our cabins for private groups throughout the season.
See you in the woods!
