Experience

There are so many beautiful places around here to go and get lost for a while

"Instantly I knew—I want to do that," says Ellsworth Ferris, a graduate student majoring in outdoor education, about hearing of a student-led Adventure Outings trip for caving in Lava Beds National Monument.

“There are so many beautiful places around here to go and get lost for a while, from hiking Lassen to skiing in Tahoe to North Coast surfing,” says Ellsworth, now a student coordinator at Adventure Outings.

Caving is still one of his favorite trips to lead. “Something about crawling around in tight spaces really takes people out of their comfort zones,” he says. “It’s fun, and they come away knowing something new about themselves.”

Ellsworth himself learned that he loved developing his leadership skills by teaching wilderness skills—so much so that he decided to get a master’s degree in recreation administration.

“We are so lucky here,” says Adventure Outings coordinator Ann Marie Redente. “A couple hours’ drive and you have skiing and mountain biking and white-water rafting and rock climbing—pretty much everything.”

And don’t forget the 3,618-acre Bidwell Park, located right in the center of town, only a few minutes’ stroll from campus. Or the Forebay Aquatics Center, with kayaking, sailing, and wakeboarding 20 miles south of town.

If you prefer swimming laps to shooting rapids, check out the new 109,000-square-foot Wildcat Recreation Center, open six a.m. to midnight to all students. It has a lap pool, indoor track, climbing wall, yoga and spin classes, weight and cardio machines, and more.

And for those with a competitive streak, there are 24 recreational or competitive sports clubs on campus—from ballroom dance, fencing, and underwater hockey, to lacrosse, wakeboarding, and ultimate Frisbee.