EXPERIENCE THE WILDER WORLD
Naturalist-guided backpacking adventures in wild California.
Choose your guided adventure.
Join an expert-led guided backpacking trip or custom hiking tour and learn to confidently explore and connect with wild places.
Guided Backpacking Trips
Immerse yourself in the most spectacular wilderness areas in California. Backpacking trips are designed for beginners just getting started and experienced hikers looking to expand their skill sets or explore more remote areas.
Private or Custom Tours
Book any of our trips as a private adventure — just pick a date and rally your crew. We can also create a customized hiking or backpacking tour anywhere we operate, or plan an unforgettable outing for your team or organization.
Explore wild California.
The locations and itineraries of our guided backpacking trips are carefully designed to showcase the beauty of California’s diverse ecosystems.
California’s northern coastal ecoregion features coastal sage scrub, teeming tide pools, and fog-fed coniferous forests.
California's Sierra Nevada ecoregion brims with glacier-carved granite, ancient pines, and vibrant meadows.
The Wilder Walks experience.
Ultralight Gear
Unlike other hiking tour operators, we use only the highest quality ultralight gear. That means less weight on your back and fewer burdens distracting you from the natural world.
Immersive Experiences
We design the entire program around the goal of deepening your connection with nature. Expect small group sizes, lessons on natural history, and plenty of time for solitude and reflection.
Expert Guidance
Your guide is a highly experienced hiker and backpacker who is professionally trained and certified in wilderness medicine, California natural history, and Leave No Trace ethics.
Positive Impact
We’re committed to being a positive force for people and the planet. Each trip is designed to minimize our environmental impact, and every trip helps fund a backpacking trip for youth from disinvested communities.
Meet your guide.
I’m Alex, and I’ll be your instructor, guide, and campfire companion. I’ve been backpacking for over 25 years, camped hundreds of nights beneath the stars, and hiked thousands of miles of wilderness — including a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. I love watching moonrises over distant mountain ranges, soaking my feet in cold streams, and making new friends out on the trail.
“The one-on-one attention we got from Alex was amazing. He was so knowledgeable and generous with what he knows. There's no way we would have gotten that in a larger group.”
— Zoe from San Francisco, CA