Outdoor Education Program (OEP)

The Outdoor Education Program is a group of Stanford students with extensive wilderness experience. We are part of Stanford Outdoors, an umbrella organization, which includes many other outdoor related student groups.

Backcountry Teaching

The Outdoor Education Program (OEP) exists to teach Stanford students and community members the skills necessary to travel and live safely in the wilderness. Every quarter, our experienced instructors teach a one-unit class (GES7, in the Geological and Environmental Sciences Department) involving multiple trips and classroom sessions. We also organize Back Country Workshops (BCWs), which focus on teaching a specialized skill or skill set, and usually involve 1-3 trips and 1-3 classroom sessions.

Depending on the instructor group any given quarter, we will teach some combination of backpacking, backcountry skiing, and snow camping. We also emphasize safe wilderness travel and minimum impact camping methods. Through our trips and BCWs, you'll learn a ton and have an incredible time! Check out our Photo Gallery to get an idea of the amazing things we do in our classes and workshops.

Wilderness Lecture Series

OEP started to open up selected GES7 classroom lectures to the public (Wilderness Lecture Series) to reach a larger community of people who are interested in the outdoors and learning about the wilderness and wilderness skills. In the past lectures included an introduction to California's ecosystem and an overview of wilderness area in California.

Who We Are

OEP is a community of instructors at Stanford University who volunteer their time to share their knowledge and expertise. We are undergraduates, grad students, and community members with significant wilderness experience who develop leadership and teaching skills in the context of outdoor education. We provide training and resources for Stanford University students to develop outdoor and leadership skills in a supportive and safe educational environment.