Wilderness programs constitute the central mission of the Castle Rock Institute. We sponsor semester-long study programs for students that combine a range of wilderness adventure activities and college-level courses in the Humanities. This is a unique wilderness programs offering.

The Castle Rock Institute is an wilderness adventure education organization that offers residential wilderness programs for college students. It recognizes that being a college student is not always easy, and that for many students, college life or simply trying to make it on a university campus leads to a whole range of problems. When a student has trouble adjusting to college, is burned out, or perhaps has lost interest in being at school, the Castle Rock programs can offer a real and beneficial alternative. Our programs are designed to address the needs of college students as they face the possibility of dropping out (or flunking out!) because they have had difficulty finding the right school, been distracted by personal or social pressures, or suffered from low academic achievement, poor grades, or performing far below their potential. Through focused interdisciplinary classwork, international student travel and through organized group wilderness programs and activities, the Castle Rock Institute is dedicated to investigating links between ideas in the Humanities and the practical dimensions of human life.

Castle Rock Wilderness Semester

CRI provides college students and their families an opportunity to revive enthusiasm for learning, build inter-personal skills, and live a balanced life of personal, intellectual and physical challenges and rewards. It is for most, a life-changing experience.

Some of our programs take students to Australia and New Zealand for a cross-cultural perspective, thereby providing an experience of international travel as well. Similarly, we have a special program dedicated to the notion of "leadership," and designed to reflect upon and practice principles guiding what it means to be a good leader. All of our programs offer a diversity of experience, but all in service of encouraging students to bring out the best in themselves- finding their real selves, and being proud of their talents and accomplishments. This kind of intimacy, combined with significant time wildernesss, provides a fantastic opportunity for self-reflection and growth. It offers many ways to examine and discuss what assumptions and concerns a student has, and to do so in the context of a caring community of peers.

What is college beyond the partying and the playing around, beyond the classes that seem boring or irrelevant to real life, beyond the meaningless emphasis on how one looks, what car one drives, what grades one makes, or what fraternity or sorority one pledges? What can it be if all this superficial dross is striped away? At the Castle Rock Institute we think college can be living with good friends who care about you, staying physically and intellectual active, participating in a real community, exploring who we are as human beings, becoming closer to nature, learning what it means to be a leader, and finding a grounded sense of self. It's not about "getting a job," or "getting ahead." It's developing and balancing aspects of who we are. It's about making a life.