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WOOT Testimonials
We are busy putting the final touches on WOOT 2026. Check back here on May 1st at 8am for final route info and to sign up/register.
In the meantime read below for more info.
IS WOOT RIGHT FOR ME?
Are you an incoming student? Then WOOT is right for you! Regardless of your prior outdoor experience or physical abilities, WOOT is designed for ALL levels of ability.
WOOT provides a unique opportunity for first-year students to spend a week adventuring in the Pacific Northwest with a group of fellow students prior to their first quarter at WWU. Harnessing the transformative power of the outdoors, WOOT offers an enhanced orientation experience in which students forge friendships, learn backcountry and outdoor skills, gain mentors, and make incredible memories. WOOT leads to stronger and more meaningful connections that can contribute to an impactful and fulfilling Western experience, boosting students’ academic success.
Example routes from 2025
Blue Lake Backpacking
Description:
On this WOOT Experience you will spend 6 days exploring the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Expect to hike between 5 and 11 miles per day with significant elevations gains (up to 3000ft in one day). Your work will be rewarded with lush old growth forests, alpine meadows and views of Glacier Peak adorning the skyline. Weather in the alpine can be unpredictable, so be ready for snow one day and sun the next! The trail begins along the North Fork of the Sauk River before gaining elevation along switchbacks where you will eventually meet the Pacific Crest Trail. Find your way to Upper Blue Lake before heading back to the trailhead. Evenings are spent playing games, exploring backcountry skills and marveling at the natural world surrounding you.
Rainbow Lake Backpacking
Description:
On this WOOT experience, you’ll spend six days backpacking in the North Cascades National Park. Expect to hike between 3 to 7 miles each day, with moderate elevation gain. The trail passes the refreshing waters of Rainbow Lake and McAlester Lake, not to mention plenty of mountain streams. Highlights include scenic vistas and lush alpine meadows. Evenings are usually spent playing games, watching the sunset over alpine vistas, perfecting the art of backcountry cooking, and getting to know your fellow WOOT-ers.
Dishpan Gap Backpacking
Description
: Enjoy 6 days of backpacking in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, hiking between 3 and 6 miles each day. This is a lovely trail that starts off with 2 days of hiking along the North Fork of the Skykomish River. The loop then ascends 2 thousand feet over 4.2 miles on the PCT past Skykomish peak. You will have a restful layover day at THE Dishpan Gap, where you will have a day to rest and take in the beautiful mountain views! This layover day will also have an optional 3.6 mile day hike 1000 ft up to Upper Blue lake. The final 2 days will be spent descending the north fork Skykomish Trail back to the Quartz Creek trailhead.
Backpacking Ross Lake
Level of Difficulty:
Less Strenuous
Description:
On this WOOT experience, you will spend 6 days backpacking in the North Cascades National Park along the East Bank of Ross Lake. This is an incredible out and back trip that offers most campsites right along the shore of the Lake. Expect to hike 2-6 miles per day with moderate elevation gain and lots of opportunites to swim. There are incredible lake, creek and peak views throughout this entire experience! And those who are up to the challenge, mid way through the trip there is an optional day hike to Devils Dome where students will be rewarded with splendid views of all the North Cascades.
Sea Kayaking the San Juan Islands
Level of Difficulty:
Moderate
Description:
On this WOOT! experience, you will spend six days in the Salish Sea with your fellow WOOT-ers exploring the San Juan Islands via kayak. We will begin our adventrue on Lopez Island and, depending on weather we will travel and camp on Blind, Jones and Turn Islands. We will look for all sorts of incredible wildlife, seals, porpoise, crabs, sea stars, whales. In addition, there may be an optional night paddle to experience the magic of bioluminescent algae that summer in the islands is known for! Join us for an incredibly unique way to explore the Pacific Northwest.
Registration FAQs
Arrival day is Sunday, September 13th. The program concludes on Saturday, September 19th with all groups returning to campus in the afternoon/evening.
WOOT 2026 will be between $950 and $1050
Please be aware that choosing to move into the dorms early will require payment to WWU Housing.
Registration will open May 1st 2026.
Unfortunately, no. The programs run at the same time. Please be sure you do not have any conflicting programs prior to registering for WOOT.
You can! However, registering should always be done with the student present. The questions that we ask help us determine the best trip for your student. It is important that together you are answering the questions as accurately as possible to help us in assigning the appropriate trip for your student. While we know many parents wish for their student to participate, we strongly encourage the final decision to take part in WOOT to be that of the student who will be on the trip.
Trip Difficulty Level Classification
Every trip involves a certain level of physical demand as students are responsible for carrying their own equipment and food on our wilderness backpacking and sea kayaking trips. With regular physical activity leading up to the trip, you should have no problem thriving during your WOOT experience. With that said, they are a bit more than your average walk in the park.
Less Strenuous
These WOOT trips are ideal for someone who is seeking an opportunity to become comfortable outdoors. They are designed to introduce the foundational outdoor skills and expose students to new activities.
For backpacking, this means hiking 2-6 miles over the course of each day with low or moderate elevation gain, and lots of emphasis towards sharing fundamental backpacking knowledge.
Moderate
These WOOT trips are ideal for someone who is wishing to expand their technical skills outdoors. It is a great opportunity to challenge yourself if you are an avid hiker and camper, but have limited backpacking or sea kayaking experience.
For the backpacking sessions, you will carry a 30-50lb pack and hike around 4 to 10 miles a day with low to moderate elevation gain.
For kayak sessions, you will paddle for 3-6 hours a day, setting up camp on different islands.
More Strenuous
These WOOT trips are for those who are very experienced in the outdoors, including experience with elevation, familiarity with technical skills for backpacking, and have a high level of comfort with long days and strenuous exercise. For the backpacking sessions, you are expected to carry close to 50 lb packs and hike 5 to 12 miles a day with substantial elevation gain.
Medical Forms and Physician's Assessment FAQs
The WOOT experience can be both mentally and physically strenuous as students engage in outdoor activities in remote environments. Given the nature of the program we require each student to complete a comprehensive physical and mental evaluation through a primary care doctor or physician before participating in the WOOT program. A complete medical evaluation and questionnaire will be sent out in your welcome packet with further instructions. Please ensure this packet is completed in full and submitted to the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
by AUGUST 20th to ensure proper planning and preparation time for our staff.
There are two easy ways to submit the medical assessment included in your welcome pack. The first is after your physician or primary care doctor completes the form to scan the document and email it to the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
. The second is to request the office or doctor administering the exam to send the completed packet to the same email address above.
Please complete the packet in full and submit to the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
on or before Aug 20th, 2026
. This ensures there is adequate time for our staff to review the form and ensure that we can provide the proper level of safety and care for you on the WOOT trip. If you anticipate not being able to meet this deadline please reach out to the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
and special accommodations can be made.
If, for whatever reason, you confirm your spot on a WOOT trip after August 20th, the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
will work with you to ensure the medical packet is filled out in a timely manner.
Unfortunately not. We ask that the physical and mental evaluation be completed by someone outside of the family. We suggest that students reach out to their Primary Care doctors to have the packet completed.
Housing FAQs
WOOT students can begin to move into their Fall on-campus housing assignment on Sunday, September 14th. They will check-in at 9am before heading to meet the Outdoor Center crew in early afternoon.
Please note that you will be billed a nightly rate. For more billing information:
Please contact
Housing@wwu.edu
with any questions, comments, or concerns.
It is possible to ship your belongings to your residence hall prior to move-in. Please visit
for more information. Please note that packages are accepted a maximum of seven days prior to your arrival; any packages sent more than seven days in advance, may be returned to sender. You may also contact University Residences for more information.
If you wish to be on the same trip as your assigned roommate it is up to you to coordinate what trip you will sign up for! When your register, in the additional comments, please state who your roommate will be and we will do the best we can to accommodate you!
Physical Conditioning FAQs
No worries! Your trip leaders will teach you all the basic skills you will need to know to be comfortable in the outdoors, whether on land or in the water. Based on your responses to the registration questionnaire, your trip leaders will be able to provide the best support for you to succeed on your trip.
The trips vary in difficulty and based on your fitness level. Please read our "Difficulty Levels" category above.
Backpacking:
We will be physically active for 6 days, hiking with a 30-50 lb backpack therefore conditioning before your trip will improve your experience.
Sea Kayaking:
We will be physically active for 6 days. The days will consist of sea kayaking which requires primarily upper body and core strength. We will also do short day hikes on various islands. With basic physical conditioning and regular activity, you should have no problem sea kayaking.
Equipment FAQs
The Outdoor Center will provide all the group camping equipment.  The essentials that you will need to bring include a backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, headlamp, and personal clothing. After registration you will receive a detailed equipment list outlining every item that we will provide as well as personal items that you will need for that trip.
The Outdoor Center has a limited number of rental items. We ask that if you currently own any of the required items that you please provide them yourself to ensure that those who need the gear have access to it!
If you require rental equipment, you can reserve it once you are registered for your trip.
Nope! We don't bring any modern technology. But there is no need to worry, you will have a great time in the outdoors connecting with your amazing WOOT crew!
Certainly! One of the best parts about your WOOT experience is being able to share your memories with family and friends. Given the variability in weather, we do not recommend bringing anything fancy that may be damaged.
Trip Assignments, Payment, Refunds FAQs
While some of the trips do vary in difficulty we do our best to meet your desired outcomes from the questionnaire. Most of our trips include at least one layover day and none of them are designed for students to fail. We want all students to succeed on their WOOT Experience and we do our best to make sure the level of challenge is appropriate for you. It is important that you review our "Difficulty Levels" section above prior to signing up. If you have questions about specific routes please feel free to reach out to the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation.
Full payment
is
required at the time of registration. If you are not able to make the full payment at the time of registration, please contact the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
for more information about fee waivers.
The Outdoor Center recognizes that the cost of WOOT will be a barrier to some students who are interested in participating in our program. To try and reduce those barriers, spots on each WOOT trip will be reserved for students with demonstrated financial need. Please contact the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
for more information about fee waivers.
Due to the planning and preparation that goes into the WOOT Experience, full refunds will only be granted 1 month prior to the arrival day.
Full Refund- 1 Month prior to arrival day
¾ Refund- 3 Weeks prior to arrival day
No Refund-2 Weeks or less prior to arrival day
Arriving for WOOT FAQs
Dorm move-in begins at 9 a.m., and WOOT participants will meet on Old Main Lawn at 12:30 p.m.
Bellingham International Airport
There are no regular transit services to/from Bellingham International Airport and Western Washington University. Taxi fare from Bellingham Airport to WWU runs about $20-$25. Connection to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is provided by
Airporter Shuttle
, and connection to Vancouver International Airport is provided by
Quick Shuttle.
Seattle Tacoma International Airport
SEA-TAC Airport can be reached from Bellingham using a variety of transit options:
Airporter Shuttle
(most direct service)
FlixBus
Greyhound
Amtrak
can be used with a transfer to Link Light Rail
Dietary Needs FAQs
We can and have modified our menus for a wide variety of dietary needs. Whether it is peanut allergies, gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, or other, this information will be collected at the time of registration.
Please be sure to let us know if any special dietary needs so we can provide the best option for you.
In Case of Emergency
For any emergencies, all our Trip Leaders possess a minimum Wilderness First Aid Certification with at least one leader having a Wilderness First Responder Certification on every trip. If outside help is needed all our trips carry Delorme InReach emergency communication devices with them that allows for contact for outside help.
For families who need to get in contact with students while they are away, all communication can be directed to the
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor Recreation
who can contact all groups in the field.
General Inquiry/Equipment Needs:
WWU Outdoor Center Equipment Shop
360-650-3112
oc.equipment@wwu.edu
Program Specific Questions:
Assistant Director of Viking Outdoor
Stu Montgomery
360-650-7579
montgos7@wwu.edu
WOOT Participant Testimonials
"This was an extremely worthwhile experience that I would recommend to anyone coming into college, regardless of whether they have an interest in outdoor activities. The focus was on group bonding rather than outdoor skills, and allowed our group to become a cohesive whole, accepting and supporting one another. Our friendships have translated well to college and allowed me to feel that I had friends and a support group when I first came here when I otherwise would have known no one. I still feel that I know and trust people from my outdoor orientation trip better than most anyone else on campus."
"Going on a WOOT Trip was incredibly valuable start to my Western experience. The trip helped me meet people and step outside my comfort zone and try things I normally wouldn't have. I also got to meet a diverse group of people, many of whom I probably wouldn't have met without going on the WOOT trip."
"WOOT has definitely eased my nerves about starting college... and I feel safe because I will always have a strong base of friends at school who will be there for me... I loved our laughs and I love these people. I love WOOT! And I will be on many more trips with the Outdoor Center. I don't know what could be better."
"I think WOOT has given me not only a new group of friends before school even starts, but also the confidence and sense of self-worth that will help me make new friends and have a successful experience at Western."
"I feel so lucky to have had this experience…Walking away from WOOT, I have new friends, a desire to explore the Bellingham outdoors, a stronger love for the outdoors, a confidence going into my freshman year, and a plan to get more involved with the Outdoor Center"
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