Give Us Feedback
Outdoor Adventure needs your feedback! We would like to hear what you think of the program and what trips you might like to see in the future. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so we can improve our programming.
Outdoor Adventure at Montclair State University gives our campus community new opportunities to explore the beauty and splendor of New Jersey and the surrounding areas. We offer a wide range of trips including canoeing, hiking, camping and tubing. Space is limited, and registration begins the first day of classes each semester. If you have any questions, ideas or would like to see other programs in this new area of Campus Recreation, feel free to get in contact with Alex Sperling at sperlinga@dos5.net.
Our Outdoor Adventure trips have limited spots available and many trips fill up quickly. If a trip does fill, we will maintain a wait-list for anyone interested. There is no fee for putting your name on the wait list. Like stand-by for flying, we highly encourage interested individuals to be at the Student Recreation Center prior to the trip departure and we will accept individuals for open spots first in the order of the wait-list, and next in the order of the time they sign in that morning. Payment for the trip occurs only if you get to participate.
Register Online:
All students have a Fusion account to register for Campus Recreation Trips/Events. To account, login through the Student/Staff portal using your netID.
The Winter Variety Trip
Join us for the Winter Variety Trip to Lake Placid from January 6-10, 2025! Enjoy downhill skiing, snowshoe hiking, and more for just $175. Registration opens November 15 at 10 a.m!
Where and when?
Trip Cost
Itinerary:
Cancelled due to NJ Fire Restrictions
Hang out with your friends on Friday night around the fire pit! Free snacks, such as s’mores and iced tea, will be provided. Lawn games, hammocks, and other items will also be available FREE via Equipment Checkout.
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
Get ready for a gorgeous day of frolicking through fields of flowers as we take you to Holland Ridge Farms, famous for their seasonal flower picking fields. As the HRF fall flower festival gets started, join us for a day of fun including petting zoo areas with farm animals, photo taking attractions, food trucks, and a complimentary shuttle around the farm. Flower picking costs $1for each flower picked!
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring:
Potential Hazards: Poisonous plants/allergies, insect bites, unpredictable weather changes, sunburn/heat exhaustion, dehydration, and injuries, including sprains/strains, abrasions, lacerations and fractures.
Coordinating with the release of the dam in the Lehigh River, this whitewater rafting trip is sure to be a blast. Perfect for all skill levels. This is a great way to GET YOUR FEET WET!
How do I Sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Lunch, water, snacks, towel, a change of clothes and sandals with a heel strap, old sneakers, or water shoes. Flip-flops or slides are not allowed. For warmer days, wear a swim suit or quick-drying shorts/shirt; for cooler days, bring extra layers, but no cotton. Wetsuits are included for those that want them.
Half/full wetsuits can be rented from the organization. Half is $6, full is $12, jacket is $4.
Potential Hazards: Unpredictable weather changes, sunburn/heat exhaustion, limited vision, dehydration, allergic reactions/poisonous plants, insect bites and injury by running, including sprains, lacerations, abrasions and fractures.
A strenuous 2.9 mile hike up Wawayanda Mountain, be prepared for a rocky and steep hike with scenic views of the surrounding area. This is a great trail for advanced hikers who want to see a beautiful view from the top of a mountain.
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Water, lunch, weather appropriate clothing, boots or sneakers? and sunscreen.
Explore Stony Hill Farm, a fully operational, working farm:
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring:
Potential Hazards: Poisonous plants/allergies, insect bites, unpredictable weather changes, sunburn/heat exhaustion, dehydration, and injuries, including sprains/strains, abrasions, lacerations and fractures.
Come with Outdoor Adventure to Watchung Reservation for an easy hike! We’ll take you around hiking trails through an abandoned village in Watchung Reservation, so wear comfortable sneakers or hiking shoes and bring a water bottle!
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Water, lunch, weather appropriate clothing, boots or sneakers, and sunscreen.
Potential Hazards: Poisonous plants/allergies; insect bites; unpredictable weather changes; sunburn/heat exhaustion; dehydration; steep, rocky and/or slippery terrain; rolling or falling rocks; snakes and large animals; and injuries including sprains/strains, abrasions, lacerations and fractures.
We will enjoy a ½ mile nature walk in Columbia, NJ to a preserve, where we will be invited into an observation area surrounded by 4 packs of wolves! We will also get the opportunity to observe Lakota’s foxes, bobcat, and lynx!
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Water, lunch, long pants, sneakers, and sunscreen.
Potential Hazards: Unpredictable weather changes, sunburn/heat exhaustion, dehydration, allergic reactions/poisonous plants, insect bites and injury by running, including sprains, lacerations, abrasions and fractures.
Get ready for some outdoor adventuring in some beautiful fall foliage by the Delaware Water Gap! This advanced hike takes adventurers up Mount Tammany with beautiful views of the full surrounding area, particularly enchanting with the trees in their fall colors.
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Water, lunch, weather appropriate clothing, hiking boots or sneakers and sunscreen.
Potential Hazards: Poisonous plants/allergies; insect bites; unpredictable weather changes; sunburn/heat exhaustion; dehydration; steep, rocky and/or slippery terrain; rolling or falling rocks; snakes and large animals; and injuries including sprains/strains, abrasions, lacerations and fractures.
Join Outdoor Adventure for our hikes this semester! We’ll take you through various hikes in the greater tri-state area on different trails suited for all athletic abilities with lots of views and fun! Wear comfortable sneakers or hiking shoes and bring a water bottle.
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Water, lunch, weather appropriate clothing, boots or sneakers, and sunscreen.
Potential Hazards: Poisonous plants/allergies; insect bites; unpredictable weather changes; sunburn/heat exhaustion; dehydration; steep, rocky and/or slippery terrain; rolling or falling rocks; snakes and large animals; and injuries including sprains/strains, abrasions, lacerations and fractures.
A perfect trip for all levels of climber — novice to expert! A pressure-free, safe indoor rock climbing experience at the New Jersey Rock Gym in Fairfield, NJ. Dress to Move! Rental shoes are included in the price.
How do I sign-up?
Where and when?
What to bring: Water, long pants, sneakers.
Potential Hazards: Injuries caused by a fall from a height including abrasions, strains/sprains, and fractures.
Planning a trip, but don’t have all the gear? Try Equipment Lending! Designed with students in mind, it’s perfect if you want to try out new activities but don’t want to spend a lot of money. We offer various packages including Sports, Barbecue, Beach, Camping and Backpacking. The program is free to students and open all year.
Build your own package. Choose items from all of our available packages (please choose three).
Bagg-O/Cornhole
Croquet
Frisbee
Football
KanJam
Knock Hockey
Ladder Golf
Paddle Ball
Soccer (with pop-up nets)
Washers game
Small grill
Chimney charcoal starter
Grilling utensils (brush, spatula, tongs, fork)
Rolling cooler
Choose two games
Four beach chairs
Beach table & carrier
Beach umbrella
Rolling cooler
Choose two games
Camp stove and propane
Electric LED lantern
Headlamp
First Aid kit
Rain ponchos (one per person)
Sleeping bags (one per person)
Ground covers (one per person)
Tents (one for every two people)
Portable stove and fuel bottle
Solo cooks set
Microfilter
Headlamp
First Aid kit
Solo tent
One sleeping bag
One mattress pad
One rain poncho
Cathole trowel
One large backpack
Two-person picnic bag
Large blanket
Choose two games
Ask about our trail maps and guide books to various outdoor activities and locations around New Jersey and New York – from the NJ coast up to the Adirondacks; these are available to lend as well.
As the weather gets warmer take some trips and explore nature while practicing social distancing! Here are tips for staying safe, top 10 trails in New Jersey, virtual tours of national parks and trails and tips and tricks for your hike!
NJ Division of Parks and Forestry
SafeHome.org 2021 Outdoor Safety Tips
Everyone who participates in Outdoor Adventure trips through the Student Recreation Center or engages in outdoor activities on their own should always practice bear safety when out enjoying the wilderness. A few things to be aware of:
Never feed or approach a bear!
Remain calm if you encounter a bear.
Make the bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping your hands or making other noises.
Avoid direct eye contact, which may be perceived by a bear a challenge. Never run from a bear. Instead slowly back away.
Black bears attacks are extremely rare. If a black bear does attack, fight back.
You can find more safety tips for bear encounters at the National Park Service’s Staying Safe Around Bears.
No vaccine exists to prevent Zika virus disease (Zika).
Prevent Zika by avoiding mosquito bites (see below).
Mosquitoes that spread Zika virus bite mostly during the daytime.
Mosquitoes that spread Zika virus also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses.
Prevent sexual transmission of Zika by using condoms or not having sex.
When traveling to countries where Zika virus or other viruses spread by mosquitoes, take the following steps:
Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
Stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside.
Sleep under a mosquito bed net if you are overseas or outside and are not able to protect yourself from mosquito bites.
Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered insect repellents. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Always follow the product label instructions.
Reapply insect repellent as directed.
Do not spray repellent on the skin under clothing.
If you are also using sunscreen, apply sunscreen before applying insect repellent.
You’ll be a happier camper if you know how to pack your sack strategically for both comfort and convenience. Your heaviest items should be placed on top of your sleeping bag and close to your spine. Usually these items will be your food stash, water supply, cooking kit and stove.
Share the weight of large communal items (e.g. tent) with others in your group. You carry the main body, for example, and your friend can carry the poles and rainfly.
Compression straps: tighten all compression straps to limit load-shifting.
Read the REI article about “10 Essentials.”
Know where to expect ticks.
Ticks live in moist and humid environments, particularly in or near wooded or grassy areas. You may come into contact with ticks when walking through leaf litter or near shrubs. Always walk in the center of trails in order to avoid contact with ticks.
Use a repellent with DEET on skin.
Repellents containing 20% or more DEET can protect up to several hours.
Blisters are caused by friction and amplified by moist environments. Wear wool socks which wick moisture.
Should You Pop?
To pop or not to pop is the big and hotly debated question. Even the experts disagree about when to drain a blister. If you do end up popping the blister make sure it is as sterile as possible in order to prevent infection.
Comply with all local laws and regulations. Many municipalities have laws governing burnings including time of day, time of year and what substance can be burned.
Check the weather. It is never a good idea to engage in any type of burning if there are high winds. Wind can act as both an accelerant and can spread the fire.
Only use easily controlled locations for burning. Make sure all campfires occur in fully surrounded fire pits and limit the size of all fires. No matter how something is being burned, it is important to do it in a controlled area.
Reduce Trash. Be thoughtful about food portions when cooking. Good meal planning helps reduce trash, pack weight and dependence upon campfires.
Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species. Don’t bring soil, plants of any kind (other than dead vegetables) or firewood(this can be purchased nearby). Clean and inspect clothing, gear and containers for weeds and other “hitchhikers” before you leave.
Stay on the trail and avoid unplanned shoot-off trails. Try to keep impact to flora minimal by staying on the trail. Avoid venturing off into areas where damage is just beginning, such as impromptu trails created by other hikers stepping off trail.
Resource: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Make space for others on the trails
To protect yourself and other park visitors while on trails, visitors should warn other users of their presence when passing by. As others pass, step aside for them.
Go solo or with immediate family.
Please visit parks with family members from your household or for solo activities such as dog-walking or biking. Follow carry-in/carry-out guidelines by cleaning up after your pet and taking home with you any trash.
Give yourself and others space
Do not gather in groups of 10 or more and maintain a six-foot distance from others at all times. If the recommended distance is not possible, go to another area of the park or visit the park another time.
Drop your line, keep your distance
As warmer weather and the spring trout fishing season approaches, anglers are reminded that the six-foot distance rule remains in effect. If the required distance cannot be maintained, find another area to fish.
Go before you go
As park restrooms are closed, please use the restroom before visiting a park. Do not attempt to open bathroom or other facility doors, which are locked.
Stay away from playground equipment and parks facilities
All playground equipment and all park buildings such as nature centers, bathrooms, offices and historic buildings are closed. Events have been canceled and all upcoming camping reservations through Thursday, April 30 have been canceled. Camping reservations will be refunded in full and new camping reservations will not be accepted.
Follow CDC and state health recommendations
Visit cdc.gov and covid19.nj.gov for the most recent recommendations to protect yourself and others from spreading COVID-19.
Outdoor Adventure needs your feedback! We would like to hear what you think of the program and what trips you might like to see in the future. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so we can improve our programming.