Click on the title to see our Activities Description with gallery images included.


Whitewater Rafting, Canoeing, & Inflatable Kayaking
The San Juan, Colorado, Green and Dolores Rivers flow out of the highest mountains in the West and have carved deep redrock canyons in Utah and Colorado. Depending on the time of year, we can float in inflatable kayaks, canoes, or rafts. There are side canyons to explore where we find ancient pueblo dwellings and mysterious petroglyphs etched long ago into the towering canyon walls by prehistoric cultures.


Rapids range anywhere from Class I (gentle riffles) to Class IV (requires precise maneuvering). You will learn to "read" the rapids, gaining confidence as each day's excitement develops into real skills. We camp on clean, sandy beaches under the stars and prepare fresh foods in a wilderness kitchen using "Leave No Trace" techniques to minimize the impacts of our presence. Enjoy swimming in crystal clear waters of side canyons or rolling in the canyon mud. Marvel at the thundering rapids, and the sheer solitude and primitive nature of this wild land.


Mountaineering & Mountain Backpacking
The San Juan Mountains, the Wilsons, and La Platas are all part of the Southern Rocky Mountains and contain some of the highest peaks in the lower 48 states. The Weminuche is the largest wilderness area in Colorado. These are the settings for our mountaineering expeditions. Multi-day expeditions vary in difficulty, but all of them offer an exhilarating adventure into the high country. This alpine environment is home to deer, elk and mountain goats. Meadows at treeline are carpeted with wildflowers.


Learn to use a map and compass, cook and bake delicious meals two miles above sea level, climb peaks, gauge mountain weather, and set camp in the valleys of giants. You learn to depend on yourself, but you are also an essential member of a group, living and working together. You practice the skills needed to choose routes and travel comfortably through the backcountry in all kinds of weather. Wherever we go, we always practice "Leave No Trace" techniques that allow us to enjoy, but also respect these pristine lands.



Rock Climbing (Top rope climbing only)
Climbing offers you new challenges. Feel the exhilaration from scaling a wall of granite. There's nothing like it! In climbing camp, we hold a comprehensive class in the fundamentals of rope systems, movement on rock, and safety. You learn to climb, belay, and rappel. Your instructors then set the ropes on progressively more challenging rock. You find the handholds and footholds to ascend a rift in the wall. But, you are not doing this alone. It requires communication and teamwork with your belayer (person feeding the rope from below). As you move up the rock, you also strengthen your bonds of trust and understanding with your group members.



Mountain Biking
Mountain biking is a great way to travel the trails and backroads of the San Juan Mountains and the canyon lands of the southwest. A vehicle supports the expedition. You carry only what you need to travel light and fast, so you have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery. At the end of the day, your gear meets you at your campsite where you set up camp, and help prepare a wonderful meal for yourself and your hungry companions.


Only moderate previous experience is necessary, as we guide you, giving helpful tips along the way. The route gets more challenging as the days progress. We want you to have fun and be challenged, yet exhilarated. There are some uphill sections, but you'll be rewarded with exciting downhill rides!



Canyoneering & Desert Backpacking
There are few places on Earth like the canyon country of the Colorado Plateau. Wind and water have eroded rock into dramatic landscapes of rich colors and shapes. Alcoves cradle the remnants of prehistoric cultures dating back thousands of years. 1000-foot cliffs tower above you as you explore this pristine wilderness with everything you need in your backpack. On multi-day backpacking expeditions in the redrock country of southeastern Utah, you learn to navigate through winding canyons, rappel into hidden side canyons, live simply, and leave no trace of your passing.


The call of the canyon wren and the buzzing of the cicada remind us that this is home to many creatures beside ourselves. At night, the stars seem to burst from the raven-black sky. Backpacking into these canyons gives you an intimate sense of a realm rarely visited. You come to understand the ecology of the desert and its influence on the people who live there.



Service Projects and Native Cultures
Service means making a difference, in a hands-on way, one day at a time. When you work on a conservation project in the backcountry, you develop a sense of ownership of the lands through which you travel. When you work with a Native American family, you gain insight into a native culture and the individuals who live in these wild and rural lands. Here in the Southwest, the people and the land are inextricably linked together. Service is your link to the land and the people who call this part of the world "home." Currently, there is an increased desire to volunteer in the United States. We think that's great! But, Deer Hill participants have been serving others since 1989! It's part of our mission. We ask, "How can you appreciate what you've got, if you haven't helped someone else in need or helped care for the Earth?" Service is hard work and a challenge, but it is personally very rewarding.


Service in the Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, and Ute Nations begins by building the foundations for a positive cultural experience. You learn about the contemporary culture and political systems of the people. We take time to discuss appropriate etiquette, and talk about our thoughts and views on service and Native Americans. In small groups of 10 or fewer participants, we live with individual families on their homesteads and farms. Working alongside these people on their land, we learn a great deal about their life and culture. We bring our own food, shelter, and tools out of consideration for our hosts.


Together, we work on projects that our hosts identify as important to their way of life. In the past, we have helped with projects such as painting sheds; setting up a traditional tipi; building corrals, fences, barns, and erosion control dams; preparing a ceremonial sweat lodge; irrigating and weeding a cornfield and fruit trees; tending animals; and helping elderly residents with home chores and yard work.


Our work schedule is flexible so we can join in local events such as volleyball games with community youth, a fair or rodeo, or a ceremonial dance. We can play with Native American children, share food with our hosts, and meet their extended families and neighbors, while living in one of America's most spectacular landscapes. We help our friends with our labor. In turn, they enrich our lives by openly sharing their culture and friendship. We leave with a greater appreciation of our own lives and of the world's diversity.



Conservation Service
Deer Hill programs travel through some of the most beautiful canyons and mountains in the world. Conservation service projects help preserve these lands. Since 1989, Deer Hill has worked in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to conserve and protect the natural, historic, and community resources of our public lands. We have improved hiking trails with water diversion bars built of stone and logs, maintained footbridges, constructed pole fences, improved native fisheries, and restored historic structures. Recently, we restored a public campground. Set amid aspens and wildflowers, Transfer Campground is one of the first barrier-free facilities in Western Colorado. Conservation service projects continue in the tradition of giving back to the lands that give us so much.