The Department of Outdoor Recreation has released the schedule for the 2023 adventure season. This year they will have trips to New Mexico, Colorado State Park, Enchanted Rock, and more.
The trips vary in length from day trips to Enchanted Rock and near by state parks, to weekend trips, to weeklong trips and extended trips over breaks to places like Big Bend National Park in Terlingua, Texas and all the way to Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.
The outdoor adventures section of campus recreation is responsible for the rental equipment that is seen near Sewell Park, the rock climbing program at the recreation center, trip adventures, and they manage University Camp in Wimberly.
To join along these trips you must register before hand, and after that you will have meetings with the trip leaders to be sure that you are prepared. The amount of gear that is required and food that is not provided depends on the trip. For more information click here.
The outdoor recreation doesn’t only include trips, they also hold classes on outdoor safety like rock climbing, swimming, kayaking, and first aid.
“We offer activities for people of all skill levels and try to be as beginner friendly as possible.” said The Assistant Director of Outdoor Recreation, Andrew Morreale. They are their as guides if needed, but will let you do it all on your own if you have it under control. “When participants come back and tell me how impactful it was for them..” says Morreale. His favorite memory is the trip to Hawaii that a group went on and stayed for a week.
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The last trip they are offered this year was to Big Bend National Park over Thanksgiving break (Nov. 23-Nov.27) and the last classes they are offering are Wilderness First Aid Certification Course (Dec. 3-Apr. 22) and Wilderness First Responder Certification Course (Dec. 6-Oct. 22).
The backpacking trips “average 6-12 students per trip but would love to have a big group of 20” students participate said graduate student and trip leader Meghan Campano.
Campano was the leader of the Spring Break trip in 2022 where they paddled the lower canyons on the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park and has been along on other trips as well. For this trip they paddled nearly 80 miles from one end to the other over the span of several days.
Campano say that her favorite trips are the paddling trips whether that be in the lower canyons, the San Marcos River, and the Guadalupe River.
The Outdoor Center offer indoor and outdoor climbing for all levels of experience. This includes the indoor climbing walls at the Rec Center on the northwest side of campus.
James Kahla is an undergraduate student and another trip leader. He says that his favorite trips are the moonlight paddles and the climbing trips.
“Our resources are here for you” said Kahla. We wanted everyone to know that no matter the experience level, or any other kind of grouping, that everyone is accepted at the Outdoor Center.
Outside of these trips the Outdoor Center offers Certification courses on a variety of things including first aid, CPR, AED, basic life support, water safety and many more.
The outdoor recreation center tries to be as accessible as possible and beginner friendly for all their programs. They are instructional to the extent needed meaning that if you have no idea what you are doing then they will help you, but if you have it all under control, they will focus on other people
One of their main attractions is University Camp in Wimberley, Texas. University Camp is a privately owned ranch with 126 acres. This includes over four miles in hiking, campground, and other activities that is all accessible to the Texas State Students. Reservations are required to enter that camp, but the day passes and camping grounds per night are each under $10.
The Outdoor Center runs Sewell Park which includes the basketball court, the reservable patio, the rental shed, and the volleyball courts(not pictured). Inside the Student Rec Center they run the climbing center which includes a Treadwell, a bouldering wall, and a larger climbing wall.
