Outdoor Leaders create the magic at Wilderness Inquiry—leading life changing outdoor experiences for people of all backgrounds and abilities!
Wilderness Inquiry’s mission is to connect people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to each other and the natural world through shared outdoor adventures. Inspiring personal growth, enhanced awareness of the environment, and community integration, Wilderness Inquiry adventures such as Canoemobile, Affinity Trips, and Families Integrating Together encourage people to open themselves to new possibilities and opportunities—and to each other!
You don't have to be outdoorsy to work for Wilderness Inquiry! Wilderness Inquiry staff are dedicated professionals who share a common goal of making sure everyone belongs in the outdoors. As we continue to grow and learn more about what it means to make the outdoors truly inclusive, we acknowledge that representation matters. We are dedicating ourselves to continued cultural and operational improvements to make our workplace welcoming to applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities.
Employment Overview + Featured Jobs
Whether you're an expert or beginner in outdoor recreation and education (or not particularly outdoorsy at all!) there is a place for you at Wilderness Inquiry. Like participants, staff come from all backgrounds, skillsets, and interests, with one thing in common: they are all passionate about making the outdoors a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible community for all. With various program trip models, staff can enjoy working on extended trips across the country or spend their days working locally and returning to their own homes every night.
2025 Seasonal Outdoor Leader Openings Outdoor Leader seasonal positions are available from March through November (or portions within that time frame), with various staff training dates during the spring, summer and fall. A typical week for a full-time Leader consists of guiding a one or two day trip on a Monday or Tuesday, packing out and leading and extended trip Wednesday through Sunday, then resetting for the following week.
Canoemobile Outdoor Leaders Canoemobile Outdoor Leaders are dynamic facilitators who share their excitement for exploration and learning, while building community with Wilderness Inquiry’s youth participants. Canoemobile experiences include mostly day trips within the Twin Cities Metro area and also include extended camping trips (2-12 days) as well as extended national tours (2-12 weeks). Activities range from canoeing, hiking, environmental education facilitation, and leadership and team-building activities. During the spring and fall Canoemobile travels city-to-city with Wilderness Inquiry’s 24-foot Voyageur canoes to facilitate introductory and accessible experiences that connect youth and communities to their local waterways and green spaces. Canoemobile national tours are made up of 6-8 Outdoor Leaders and all equipment necessary to facilitate programming for an extended period of time.
Wonder what it's like to be on a Canoemobile tour? Check out a day-in-the-life highlight of a Canoemobile leader.Positions filled for 2024.
Primary Outdoor Leaders
In addition to ensuring successful, engaging, and welcoming outdoor experiences for participants, Primary Outdoor Leaders are responsible for managing and coaching teams of 1-14+ Outdoor Co-Leaders through in-person programs. Responsibilities extend beyond individual programming events to include pre-trip and post-trip support work and acting as a main liaison between Wilderness Inquiry Trip Directors, Outdoor Leader crews, and program contacts from partnering organizations. Daily life can be fun, exciting, and incredibly rewarding, but it is also a tremendous amount of responsibility that involves hard and challenging work.Positions filled for 2024.
Extended Trip Outdoor Leaders Extended Trip Outdoor Leaders predominantly guide trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Voyageurs National Park, Superior Hiking Trail, and the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers in Wisconsin. These destinations are almost all located in a backcountry setting and require significant outdoor expertise to ensure safety and quality of programming. Most extended trips are 3-12 days in duration.Positions filled for 2024.
Little Sand Bay Sea Kayak Outdoor Leaders Sea Kayak staff lead 1-5 day, front and/or backcountry kayaking adventures in the Apostle Islands out of the base camp near Bayfield, Wisconsin. Some staff choose to live at the base camp during the season, while others will be based out of the Twin Cities and commute for each trip. Lodging at Little Sand Bay is free for Outdoor Leaders.Positions filled for 2024.
Photography Outdoor Leaders Photography Outdoor Leaders (Photo OLs) are uniquely trained to work as Co-Leaders on day and extended programs, delivering the WI mission on trail while also having the opportunity to capture the moments that make each mission special. In addition to co-leading and photographing trips, Photo OLs will have an opportunity to spend time in the office executing administrative duties related to photo cataloging and editing. This mix of field and office work gives Photo OLs hands-on experience in outdoor photography while also supporting the Wilderness Inquiry mission working alongside fellow Outdoor Leaders and the marketing and communications team, helping to tell compelling stories through visual media. This Photography Outdoor Leader role is ideal for students and others who wish to build a portfolio of outdoor photography, portraits, or video.Positions filled for 2024.
Fellowships Fellows will spend a large portion of the summer working alongside Outdoor Leaders on single and multi-day canoeing, camping, and hiking trips providing wilderness travel experiences for participants from a wide diversity of backgrounds, abilities, and identities. Fellows will have time for self-reflection on trips to document their experiences while on trail. In addition, Fellows will have opportunities to participate in outdoor and wilderness skills training, engage with networking opportunities and partner events, and support headquarters operations. Fellows will collaborate with Wilderness Inquiry office staff to plan and host an end of year community event throughout the summer to build skills of interest and showcase their journey in the fellowship. Fellows will be compensated at $18/hour ($172/day on multi-day trips). Fellowships run from May 17th to August 16th, 2024 with potential to extend end date into the fall (time commitment flexible for individual needs).Positions filled for 2024.
American Sign Language Communication Facilitator (ASLCF) Fellowships offer a unique, accessible, introductory-level professional skill-building opportunity tailored for individuals currently enrolled in higher education degree programs and pursuing careers in ASL interpretation. This position offers ASL professionals an opportunity to explore interpretation within experiential Wilderness Inquiry outdoor programming. Individuals in this role will support Deaf/Deafblind/Hard-of-Hearing (DDBHH) program participants and Wilderness Inquiry staff on single and multi-day canoeing, camping, and hiking trips, contributing to wilderness travel experiences for participants from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and identities, including ASL user. Fellows will be compensated at $18/hour ($172/day on multi-day trips). ASLCF Fellowships run from May 17th through August, 2024.Positions filled for 2024.
Internships
Whether you’re interested in gaining hands-on experience with backcountry guiding, place-based education, adaptive recreation, non-profit management, gear & equipment operations and logistics—or more, there is an intern opportunity at Wilderness Inquiry for you! Tell us what you want to do, and we’ll work with you to figure out how to meet your needs. Part/Full-Time from May thrugh October.Positions filled for 2024.
Playground
Take a virtual tour of the Apostle Islands Base Camp!
With a home base in St. Paul, Minnesota, Wilderness Inquiry sits right on the bank of the Mississippi River. From this main office and warehouse location, staff are sent to countless locations across Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as throughout the U.S., including popular National Parks such as Yellowstone and Glacier. The sea kayaking base camp in Little Sand Bay, Wisconsin takes kayakers throughout the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior's South Shore—known for its red sandstone sea caves, sandy beaches, picturesque lighthouses, and historic shipwrecks. Both locations offer lots to see and do during your off time!
If you're one of our Guides, safety is number one. We have to make sure our guests stay safe so they get that trip of a lifetime experience. Safety and customer service fall into the same boat in our minds. Guides also need to be able to deliver a lot of knowledge of the areas they are guiding in a way that keeps guests engaged. If you don't have a ton of knowledge in the areas we offer yet, don't worry, we'll set you up. We just need you to be astute at soaking the information in and being able to share it well with your passengers.
Compensation & Perks
Wages
Compensation ranges from $18-$21/hour for day programs and $172-$202/day for overnights/extended tours (plus additional full day of pay for pre-trip preparation work).
Housing & Meals
Most seasonal staff are eligible for free housing in a yurt at the Little Sand Bay Basecamp in the Apostle Islands, WI. Meals on extended trips and tours are provided for all staff.
Training
Whether or not you're a wilderness expert, never camped in your life, or just interested in leading land-based local daily activities, Wilderness Inquiry will prepare you for the work you will do—including skills in leadership, risk management, camping, and disability awareness. All Outdoor Leaders, regardless of position/experience, are compensated at $18/hour and/or $172/day for training.
Professional Certification Stipends
As the cost of obtaining and maintaining certifications required for professionals in the outdoor field can be a financial burden, Wilderness Inquiry provides a $300 stipend for Leaders who work 55 trail days while holding valid certifications.
With headquarters and free staff housing located in the Twin Cities, MN, working for Wilderness Inquiry can be rewarding to the avid backcountry adventurer, the weekend glamper, the metro-based leader, or someone interested in all-of-the-above!
Community & Values
Our shared values include: We believe in seeking the exceptional — in people, adventure, work, and life. We aren’t perfect, but we push ourselves to new heights through creativity, grit, and a commitment to one another. Seeking the exceptional, we look to be better, do better, and grow into tomorrow. We are a community of individuals—by paddling together, our strengths are magnified and our weaknesses balanced. We move forward with cohesion, a shared goal, and a unified purpose. Paddling together, our load is lighter and our boat travels farther. We are people who persevere, a tenacious group in finding a way, we strive for solutions and roll up our sleeves for the work. Challenge? Accepted. We’ll use the tools we have to fashion a fix. Finding a way, an obstacle in the path becomes the next hill to climb.
Application & Connections
If you're looking for a place to make friends, participate in cool experiences, get paid to spend time outside, and work with a crew of amazing individuals where you feel like you truly belong and make a difference, learn more about the Wilderness Inquiry community, explore all of your job options, and apply online.
Join Wilderness Inquiry in 2025! Wilderness Inquiry has finished hiring for the 2024 season. Stay tuned as they begin accepting applications for all 2025 positions beginning in late fall!
