Wilderness Survival Schools

Pick out which wild mushrooms are edible. Know if that snake in your path is poisonous. Set up a rain shelter to avoid hypothermia in a thunderstorm. By eyeing the sun's position in the sky, determine the direction in which you are walking. Premier schools and institutes teach these and many other vital wilderness survival skills.

  1. Boulder Outdoor Survival School

    • Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) claims the prestige of being the oldest and largest skills and survival school in the world. Unlike youth-oriented programs, such as the National Outdoor Leadership School or Outward Bound, BOSS focuses on mature students who want a challenging curriculum that will push them to the limits of survival. BOSS offers courses such as day and overnight trips, wilderness medical certification and field trips where students go into nature with little more than a blanket, a poncho and a knife.

      Boulder Outdoor Survival School
      P.O. Box 1590
      Boulder, CO 80306
      (303) 444-9779
      boss-inc.com

    Wilderness Awareness School

    • This school runs its camps and courses out of Duvall, Washington. It offers youth camp experiences, outdoor leadership programs and more hardcore adult wilderness survival courses. There are also special classes for home-schoolers and teens. The Wilderness Awareness School highlights humanity's kinship with nature and promotes a mentoring approach to survival skills training.

      Wilderness Awareness School
      P.O. Box 219
      PMB 137
      Duvall, WA 98019
      (425) 788-1301
      wildernessawareness.org

    Alderleaf Wilderness College

    • Headquartered in Monroe, Washington, Alderleaf's main attraction is a 10-month certification program. This course is dedicated to teaching sustainable living in the wild, wildlife tracking, comprehensive survival skills, ethnobotany (identification of edible and medicinal vegetation) and the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Alderleaf also encourages ecological education and respect for the wilderness environment in which students learn to survive.

      Alderleaf Wilderness College
      18715 299th Ave. SE
      Monroe, WA 98272
      (360) 793-8709
      wildernesscollege.com

    Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Survival School

    • Mountain Shepherd invites people from all walks of life---outdoor enthusiasts, families and even businesses---to participate in its wilderness survival experience. Teaching vital skills such as compass reading, foraging, forestry and camping, Mountain Shepherd helps students overcome their fears and anxieties concerning wilderness survival. The facility is based in Catawba, Virginia; the Appalachian Trail runs right through the training compound.

      Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Survival School
      57 Hemlock Ridge Lane
      Catawba, VA 24070
      (434) 238-3718
      mountainshepherd.com