Hiring Outdoor Adventure Instructors for Summer 2025!

Want to change young people’s lives? Want to be part of one of the best student and staff communities in the industry? Adventure Treks offers multi-week outdoor adventure travel programs that help teens build life skills for future success—all while making life-long friends, exploring the most stunning landscapes, and having incredible amounts of fun along the way. Being an outdoor instructor at Adventure Treks is an incredible opportunity—seeing students immersed in nature, fostering a community and building their confidence and leadership on the trail! Instructors know the demands of operating on the sun's clock and sleeping in a tent for weeks at a time with peers and students that rely on them. In the highs and lows of a trip, they're always engaged, bringing fun to any situation, staying motivated, and working hard. Instructors are in charge of safety, satisfaction, and success. It's not always easy, but it's so rewarding! At Adventure Treks, instructors are an integral part of the community and make lasting impressions on students and lifelong friends with instructors.

Job Overview

Adventure Treks operates 13- to 30-day wilderness-based programs in British Columbia, Alaska, California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, North Carolina, Scotland, Norway, and Peru. Instructors lead and teach backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, cooking, orienteering, Leave No Trace concepts, and general environmental education. Other specialized skills like whitewater rafting and kayaking will be taught in conjunction with outfitters.

On each program, the four- to six-person instructor team works closely together to coordinate all aspects of the trip, including instruction in all outdoor activities, risk management, driving 15-passenger vans and towing U-Haul trailers, managing group dynamics, planning menus, purchasing food, laundry, coordinating with outfitters, turning in blog and photo updates, maintaining equipment, and handling medical issues. Instructors receive additional ongoing support from the director team.

Dates of Employment 

• Summer: June 9 – August 15, 2025 (includes staff orientation)

Instructor Compensation

We’re pleased to offer a competitive salary with the starting salary for first-year summer season instructors being:

$4,000 – $4,200

Special Benefits

• Up to $500 Travel reimbursements to help get to and from staff orientation
• All-inclusive employment: all accommodations, meals, outfitted activities, group equipment, and transportation to and from the trip’s locations are included while on course
• Pro-deal access to hundreds of outdoor brands
• WFR recertification & other certification reimbursement for returning instructors

Minimum Requirements

• At least 21 years old
• College graduate strongly preferred
• Wilderness first responder and CPR certifications
• Several years experience working with young people
• Several years experience in outdoor education and leading wilderness programs
• Genuine interest in students’ personal growth
• Proficiency in multiple outdoor skills
• Expertise in Leave No Trace principles
• Maintain a clean driving record with no major infractions
• Ability to maintain high energy and a positive mental attitude with little to no time off and limited personal time
• For International Programs – valid passport, experience leading multi-day international student programs and/or extensive personal international travel experience required
• Conversational Spanish language skills strongly preferred for Peru