So, you would like to begin the process of planning an expedition with Deer Hill? Here’s how to get started…

• Looking at the information on these pages, think about what activities you would be interested in, and what would suit your group.
• Gather some information. We will need to know your group size, ages of participants, an approximate start date, and how many days you would like to spend on your expedition – including arrival and departure days.
• Call us! Our number is 970-533-7492. We can answer all your questions, talk through the different activities, and suggest some itineraries.
• We will then prepare a custom proposal for you, containing information about your chosen activities, a detailed itinerary, maybe a couple options, and pricing per participant. This will take us a few days to prepare.
• Review this document and then get back in touch. It usually takes some further discussion to nail down all the details of an expedition.
• Once you are decided on your itinerary, we will send you a contract. When we receive the signed contract, and a 20% deposit, your trip is reserved and we will begin the planning process and acquiring the necessary permits.
• Keep in touch! This may be your first trip of this kind, but do not be concerned. We have guided many, many groups through the process of preparing for their expedition. We are here for you!

Trip Ideas

We have provided the following sample spring and fall trip outlines to give you an idea of the kind of program we can arrange for your group. Bear in mind that our programs are custom-designed, and that there are many possible combinations of activities and locations.

Please note: We require a minimum duration of 5 days, including your arrival and departure days. Our minimum group size is 8, and we arrange trips for up to 140 participants!We can meet your group at either Durango-La Plata airport in Southwest Colorado, or from the Amtrak “Southwest Chief”, or “California Flyer” overnight train services. We pick up from Amtrak stations in Gallup, New Mexico, and Green River, Utah. Other arrival points are possible. Travel arrangements to the starting point are the responsibility of the school.

Sample Trip 1: Upper San Juan River and Navajo Service Project

Key themes: Wilderness Living and Leave No Trace, Reading the River, Desert Ecology, Navajo Culture and Arts

Suggested duration: 10 days (minimum 8 days)

Best Time of Year: April – June

Program Description: Begin your trip with a rafting expedition on the beautiful San Juan River in Southeastern Utah. The San Juan flows out of some of the highest mountains in the West and has carved a deep red rock canyon through some fascinating and varied geological features. Along the river there are many Ancestral Puebloan sites to explore, and a couple great hikes to enjoy. We float through this pristine wilderness in rafts and inflatable kayaks, enjoying the scenery, learning to read the river, and enjoying some fun class II rapids. At night we camp on sandy beaches and enjoy “camp gourmet” meals. Pitch a tent, or sleep out under an amazing star show.

Your service project takes place on the Navajo Nation, where you stay with a welcoming family, or community, working alongside them on a project that supports their traditional lifeways. The group will camp on the family’s land, and as you share your labor and time, you learn much about their way of life. Projects we have done in the past include: setting up a traditional tipi; building corrals, fences, barns and erosion control dams; constructing a “hogan” to shelter lambs; helping local elders by, for example, gathering firewood. If there is time, the group can participate in a Navajo arts workshop, taking a hands-on lesson in sand painting, weaving, or pottery. This is a wonderful way to really get in touch with Navajo tradition.

Sample Trip 2: Green River Whitewater Rafting and Rock Climbing trip

Key Themes: Wilderness Living and Leave No Trace, Reading the River, Leadership, Rock climbing, Desert Ecology

Suggested Duration: 9 days (minimum 7 days)

Best Time of Year: May-June, September-October

Description: The Green River is one of the premier river adventures in the U.S. This is a real expedition: 7 days, 85 miles, over 60 rapids. You float through a canyon that is, in places, deeper than the Grand Canyon. The pace and excitement builds throughout the trip, and you will learn much about the river, as you navigate class I-III rapids in oar rigs and paddle rafts. We will encounter mysterious ancestral dwelling places, explore frontier history, and make our camps in picturesque cottonwood groves alongside the river. You will float through Desolation and Gray Canyons, whose forbidding names belie their wild beauty. Bighorn sheep, blue heron, cougar and black bear roam this land, once home to Uintah and Ouray Indians – not to mention outlaws looking for a place to hide. On and off the river, you work as a team to make this trip a success, learning the importance of “expedition behavior”. In the middle of the trip, take a layover day to learn some climbing skills on a convenient face close to the river. On a range of climbs, students will learn to belay, rappel, and skillfully overcome the challenges of the rock face.

Sample Trip 3: Service Project in the Hopi Nation

Key Themes: Hopi Culture and Traditions, Native Arts, Front-country Camping, Desert Ecology

Suggested Duration: 6 days (minimum 5 days)

Description: The Hopi are a fascinating tribe, one of the few who have never been resettled. For this reason, the small villages they inhabit are some of the most ancient settlements in North America. They have a deep spiritual heritage that they maintain through a ceremonial cycle of prayer rituals and traditional dance ceremonies, many of which Deer Hill participants have been privileged to attend. We will set up a comfortable camp on the property of our host, or stay indoors in a community building. Together with our hosts, we work on projects that they identify as important to their way of life. In past Hopi projects, we have maintained the trails that lead to their vital springs; repaired or built traditional stone houses; worked on rock and mud bread ovens; irrigated and weeded elders’ cornfields and fruit trees; helped villages prepare for their annual home dance; and helped elderly residents with home chores and yard work. Plans can include each student completing an individual art project (either silversmithing or basketweaving). These mementos will remind your students of the time spent with these wonderful people.

Sample Trip 4: Moab Adventure Basecamp and Conservation Service Project

Key Themes: Adventure Activities (hiking, rock-climbing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting), Conservation and Public Lands, Desert Ecology, Frontier History, Front-country camping

Suggested Duration: 9 days (minimum 8 days)

Best Time of Year: March-May, September-October

Description: Your trip begins close to Moab, Utah, along the banks of the mighty Colorado River. This otherworldly redrock landscape is the gateway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, the Colorado River and the beautiful La Sal Mountains. You soak up the beautiful surroundings as we partake in several of the adventure activities for which Moab is a “mecca”. We can mountain bike on the world-famous “slickrock” trails, hike through a mysterious canyon to a swimming hole, run the rapids of the Colorado River in a paddle raft, and rock climb in an incredible sandstone amphitheater. The group will camp in a comfortable front-country site with toilet facilities, enjoying the great camp food that Deer Hill is famous for. We will make time to explore the eclectic and historic town of Moab.

The trip is broken up with 1-2 days working on an important conservation service project with rangers from the BLM. It is rewarding to work together on a project that helps to preserve the beauty and integrity of this area. Possible tasks include: mitigating social trails in backcountry areas; trail-building and signage; removal of invasive vegetation; making a campsite or other facility accessible to the less able, or cleaning up the river banks.

Sample Trip 5: Lower San Juan River, Canyon Backpacking, and Archeological Service Project in the Ute Tribal Park

Key Themes: Wilderness Living and Leave No Trace, Reading the River, Leadership, Canyon Backpacking and Navigation, Desert Ecology, Southwestern Archeology and Anthropology, Ute Traditions and Culture

Suggested Duration: 12 days (minimum 10 days)

Best Time of Year: April-June, September

Description: This itinerary begins with an incredible multi-activity traverse of the Colorado Plateau. First, raft the unspoiled lower section of the San Juan River, and then leave your boats behind at the mouth of remote Grand Gulch to backpack through the dramatic canyons of Cedar Mesa, Utah. Floating the lower San Juan is a true wilderness experience, with some spectacular scenery, including the famous Goosenecks, where the river snakes through twisted cliffs a thousand feet high. You take a break from the boats to hike up to the canyon rim on the amazing Honaker Trail, and explore Slickhorn Canyon, where we find clear swimming holes to dive into.  At night we work together to make a comfortable camp, sharing the cooking and cleaning duties, while learning to minimize our impact on this delicate environment. At Grand Gulch, we leave our boats for a Deer Hill team to pick up, and shoulder our backpacks for a hike through one of the richest archeological areas in the world. By day, we travel through the land of bighorn sheep, of strange wind-sculpted rock formations, and hidden cliff houses where potsherds, corncobs and other relics sit as though the inhabitants have just left. At night we cook in small groups and enjoy the peace and quiet, watching bats and owls fly overhead. We fall asleep under a blanket of stars.

A Deer Hill team picks us up at the end of our backpack with fresh food and cold drinks. We then head to the Ute Tribal Park, also known as “the other Mesa Verde”. The Park contains many beautifully preserved cliff houses and other ruins, and is proudly maintained by the Ute Mountain Ute, who consider the Ancestral Puebloans to be their forebears. This is not your typical, sterilized and rehabilitated archeological site. For the most part, the Ute people have left the area in an untouched state. We will work on a project that helps to sustain the park, while learning much about the lives of the people that lived here 1000 years before. The Ute guides who work with us are passionate about this place, and their presentations are inspiring and thought-provoking.