The University of North Georgia’s Outdoor Adventures Program, previously known as “Outdoor Pursuits,” provides students with rentable camping resources, climbing instruction and planned adventure trips and events.

Junior and Student Staff member, Sam Estes, got involved with Outdoor Adventures as a freshman. “I honestly was not super into climbing yet, but I thought I’d try out the climbing wall in the rec center and after going once or twice, I really fell in love with the community.”

At UNG’s Dahlonega Rec Center, students have access to both a Top Rope climbing, which is “done utilizing a safety rope that is connected to an anchor point at the top of the climb” and Bouldering, which is “climbing at a level low enough to the ground as to reduce the chances of getting hurt in the event of a fall” as stated on the UNG Outdoor Adventures website.

Outdoor Adventures staff are trained to provide instruction and safe climbing operations for climbers of all levels.

During his time with Outdoor Adventures, Estes says “I have rented camping gear several times, like backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, chairs for personal use.” These resources are available to all students through the Equipment Rental and Resource Library.

Outdoor Adventures offers students a variety of trips and experiences throughout the semester, including tubing, backpacking and overnight camping.

“I attended the paddle boarding clinic at Lake Zwerner near campus.” says Estes, “It was really cool too because we all had different experience levels, and when we someone stood up for the first time or something like that, we would encourage each other.”

“Outdoor Adventure trips are all about getting outdoors and learning and experiencing new things, so it doesn’t really matter what your experience level is,” and “there will always be Outdoor Adventure staff specifically trained for what you will be doing.” says Estes.

For more information about these resources, you can visit the UNG Outdoor Adventures website.