St. Croix River National Wild and Scenic Riverway, Minnesota and Wisconsin

The St. Croix River system was one of the initial 8 rivers to be designated as a National Wild and Scenic River in 1968. With 200-miles of canoe routes lined by an ever changing landscape of dense forest, towering rock walls and oak savannah, the St. Croix River provides a wonderful introduction to paddling.

Multiple different rivers, including the St. Croix River’s largest tributary, the Namekagon River in Wisconsin, converge to eventually become the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. This section of protected river concludes near Minnesota’s Interstate State Park. Interstate State Park contains some of the most outstanding and unique geological features to be found anywhere in the world, including 10 different lava flows that allow for excellent rock climbing.

Canoeing St Croix – Each section of the St. Croix River is a beautiful introductory experience to canoeing. Students travel in two-person canoes and learn to maneuver through Class I or II rapids. Students learn to steer their canoes with confidence by using the “J,” “Pry,” and “Sweep” strokes while communicating with their paddling partners. After learning daily travel routines and canoe strokes, students continue to develop their skills by learning how to recognize river current, anticipate obstacles, scout rapids, and work as an effective team to negotiate more challenging sections of the river.

In addition to paddling, students gain a basic understanding of river and forest ecology, river hydrology, swimming in moving water, fire building, camp craft, and expeditionary travel. Each night, the group will make camp, pitch tents, and cook over an open fire while debriefing their day.

Course End – All courses end with a shower, graduation ceremony and celebration dinner. Shower facilities are available at the basecamp or final campground location.

Solo – Weather and time permitting, an Outward Bound Solo experience provides an important break from the rigors of the expedition and gives students the opportunity to reflect on their Outward Bound experience. The duration of Solo depends on the course length and type as well as the competency and preparedness of the student group. Students on a 1-2 week course typically spend 2 hours to half-a-day on Solo. All students receive sufficient food, water, and shelter to keep them safe and healthy during Solo. Instructors choose Solo sites to offer as much solitude as possible while retaining some proximity to the whole group. While students spend the majority of their Solo time alone, Instructors do check on each student as often as needed, usually 1-2 times, to ensure that each student feels safe and comfortable. Instructors work with each student individually to structure a successful, unique Solo experience that meets their specific needs. Solo is purposefully scheduled near the end of the expedition so students have plenty of time to acclimate to their new environments beforehand.

Students often have mixed feelings leading up to Solo. Inevitably, students feel some nervousness and hesitation but are also excited to rest, reflect and test their new skills after spending many days in the wilderness. Students often find that Solo provokes profound and powerful learning in a short period of time and Solo often becomes one of the most memorable parts of their Outward Bound experience.

The following is an example of what your course itinerary may look like. Your actual itinerary will vary according to weather, student skills and abilities, and instructor preferences.

Wilderness Leadership Expeditions

Theory of Change: 

Learning > Leadership > Responsibility

On Expedition, each participant learns and executes a specific role each day to support safe and successful group wilderness travel and survival, activating peer and personal leadership through trust and vulnerability. Participants develop character and community together-- more resilient and compassionate people, for a more resilient and compassionate world.

The Leadership Expedition develops key social-emotional skills across four Domains of Thriving, leading to vital character outcomes for success. Outward Bound promotes belonging, strength and purpose for developing leaders through hands-on intra and inter-personal skill development. 

Domains of Thriving:

Belonging,  Courage,  Physical Engagement,  Reflection

Character Outcomes:

• Teamwork
• Self-Awareness
• Social Responsibility
• Assertiveness
• Perseverance
• Physical Confidence
• Self-Regulation
• Group Relationships

Minnesota’s weather can be unpredictable with a wide range of temperatures.  In the summer the temperature tends to stay between 60 and 85 degrees. Summer brings occasional thunderstorms and rain showers. Expect cooler evenings, misty mornings, occasional rainstorms, and hot days perfect for swimming.

Over the last two years, VOBS has worked tirelessly to responsibly run our programming in the age of COVID-19. As the scientific knowledge of COVID-19 has increased, we have continually evolved our COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Practices. 

We are committed to responsibly running programming in the age of COVID-19, and we are asking all students and families to help us make this possible by following the requirements listed below. These requirements are designed with several goals in mind:

• To keep students and staff healthy
• To prevent the unintentional spread of communicable disease
• To keep our local community healthy
• To allow students to experience an Outward Bound course with the same outcomes as they would have had before the pandemic.

COVID protocols on your course will likely include masking indoors and when physical distancing cannot be maintained, physical distancing, and testing on Day 1 of the course. 

Please utilize the resource below to physically and mentally prepare for your course. The more preparation you do, the better your experience will be! 

VOBS Course Preparation Guide