Back to School with WTA: A Guide for Busy Educators Planning Outdoor Adventures

A new year or semester is the ultimate planning season. From setting up curricula to stocking up for the year ahead, educators have a lot on their plates to ensure youth have an incredible year. If you hope to create outdoor experiences for students this year, Washington Trails Association can help you get a jump on everything from camping reservations for June 2026 to outfitting your students with gear. (If you teach 4th graders, it's also a good time to get your students free parks passes.)

Our Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) program gets school-age youth outside by empowering teachers and other educators with the skills and resources they need to lead safe and fun outdoor experiences. Our program is especially well-suited for organizations serving youth who attend schools where 40 percent or more of the students qualify for free or reduced price lunch and/or schools that have a student body with at least 40 percent students of color.

Below are a few ways we can help you turn ideas into reality with training, gear for your youth, and tips on how where to go and how to make reservations right now for a group camping trip in the spring.

Workshops for educators

Sign up for a workshop now

Outdoor Leadership Training workshops focus on introductory activities and share skills for trip planning and preparation. Everyone in a workshop has an opportunity to practice leading a hike. Along the way, WTA workshop facilitators lead activities and discussions about leadership, trail etiquette, food, managing risk and emergencies. The facilitators and participants also share their favorite games and activities to lead with young people outdoors. With this experiential, discussion-based format, everyone gets a chance to share, lead, reflect, learn and think about how to apply workshop topics to their future trips.

Experiential learning is at the heart of our Outdoor Leadership Training workshop for educators. Plus spending the day outside with your peers is a great way to build new friendships and networks. Photo by Maryjo "MJ" Sampang.

• Sign up for a Hiking Workshop
• Tolt MacDonald Park, Saturday, October 18 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. $40 per person, scholarships available. 
  
  

• Register now

• Scholarship application

If you plan to co-lead outdoor youth trips with other adults from your school or organization, we encourage as many co-leaders to attend as possible. It will help you to have another person thinking about trip logistics and how to apply them to your group's situation, especially if you will be co-leading a new type of program for you or your group.

If you are interested in training more than 5 people from your program, check out our Custom Workshops to have specialized training for your group.

Professional development with a view: on a 2024 backpacking workshop, educators debriefed at the end of their day. Photo by Maryjo "MJ" Sampang.

Gear lending library

• Path to Borrowing Gear
• 1. Register for a free, online gear orientation.
  
  
• 2. Sign up for a workshop.
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  3. Submit a gear request.
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  4. Take your group outdoors!
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  5. Let us know how it went.

Our two gear lending libraries are for schools and community-based organizations who want to borrow outdoor gear for hiking, snowshoeing, camping and backpacking trips with school-aged youth and have attended a workshop and a gear library orientation.

Trip leaders can borrow gear for safe and fun outdoor experiences, including boots, raincoats, tents or snowshoes.

Boots and tents at the gear library. Photo by Scott Kranz.

Community support

In addition to learning about trip planning on a workshop, our team is happy to answer your trip planning questions and connect you with other community organizations. Our bimonthly newsletter will deliver seasonal resources and planning tips throughout the year, loaded with safety tips, activity and destination ideas as well as community information to augment your trip budget.

• Four gear tips for family and group camping
• Hiking Games: Pass the time on trail or in camp
• Field-Tested Favorites: Mealtime experiences and recipes from WTA Outdoor Leadership Training Leaders
• Winter Safety Tips
• Washington State Park's Everyone Outdoor Program
• King County's Community Van Program
• King County Search & Rescue Winter Tips

Funding assistance

Workshop graduates who work with our program’s priority audience will be able to apply for funding assistance for 2025 trips. Funding assistance can be used to help mitigate trip expenses or reimburse for direct costs such as food, transportation, permits and reservations. Funding can also support staff leadership development opportunities such as wilderness first aid, risk management and outdoor skill building.

The WTA Outdoor Leadership staff are always happy to help you plan or learn more about any aspect of our program. We would love to learn more about your trip plans and help you get registered for a workshop. Just get in touch. Call or email gearlibrary@wta.org.  

Trip planning tips for 2025 to 2026 school year

Participants of WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training workshops will come away with skills and experiences, but also their own workbook to make trip planning easier. Photo by Zyanya Alvarez.

Create a timeline and planning checklist

• When you attend a workshop with Washington Trails Association, you will get a copy of our Outdoor Leadership Training resource binder, which includes and in-depth trip planning timeline. You can also tap the expertise of our staff at anytime. We love answering questions and sharing ideas to make your trip happen.

• Reserve in September
• Washington State Parks are a popular destination for groups to lead camping trips. Most Washington State Parks accept reservations 9 months in advance.
• If you would like to host an end-of-year camping trip in June those reservations open in September.

Plan your goals

• At the beginning stages of planning your trip, it is important to reflect upon your goals for leading an outdoor trip and how this trip will positively impact your youth. Ask yourself questions like:
  
  • How do your youth and families perceive hiking?
  • How can you create outdoor experiences that align with their perspective and your program goals and promote time outside in a safe, fun and positive way? 
    
    

Start planning early

• Include your organization’s administration in the planning process. Notify your organization's leadership of your intent to lead a trip before you have promoted the program with youth. Your organization will likely have policies and procedures that will need to be adapted into an outdoor space, such as youth-to-adult ratios, available funds or resources and organizational policies. Involving your organization’s leadership in the early stages of planning allows you to plan a trip within the context of organizational rules.

 Apply for funding

• Some funding programs include:
  
  • NCLI & Outdoor Learning Grants
  • NF Community Recreation Fund 
  • King County Parks Grants
  • Kids to Park Grant

Scout your location

• Once you select a location for your trip, take time to scout the location before promoting your trip. You may find that a trail you imagined may not meet your trip goals. Giving yourself time to readjust and select a new location is an important part of the trip planning process. 
  
  

Involve students in planning

• Think about and decide how you can incorporate youth leadership opportunities into your trip-planning process. This helps your students take ownership of their experience. At each step of the process (including planning) how can you let the youth lead? Some examples:
  
  • Selecting the location or planning the route
  • Checking and reporting the weather the week before your trip
  • Creating and leading activities 
  • Carrying additional leader gear (ex: tarps and ropes)
  • Planning and preparing food for lunch or snacks

Students practice setting up tents before their outing. Photo by Zyanya Alvarez