The Marshall University Recreation Center is offering multiple outdoor adventure trips for students during the 2016-17 school year.

Trips are frequent, with approximately 20 national trips and four local trips taken throughout the year. Local trips allow students to participate in outdoor activities such as backpacking, rock climbing, white water rafting, etc. at the New River and Red River gorges. The national trips can venture further away to the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountain National Park.

There will be four national trips for the 2016-17 year. This year’s national trips include backpacking and camping trips in the Smokey Mountains in November, Cumberland Islands, Georgia for spring break, Rocky Mountain National Park in May and Acadia National Park in August.

“We design these trips as beginner and intermediate experiences that include students looking to gain more adventure-rec experience. We offer a lot of local outings and we mix in a few bigger, nationally recognized locations,” said Chad Steen, assistant director of adventure recreation.

The trips are available for Marshall students primarily, however, non-students are welcome. All of the trips come with fees. For local trips, fees can be up to $50, while national trips can be up to $500.

“These trips are all-inclusive. We’re providing you with your equipment, food and we teach cooking and other skills you’d need to use in the back country,” said Steen.

In 2016 from May 21-26, the Rec Center hosted a national trip to the Grand Canyon. The trip included a 30-hour road trip from Huntington to the Grand Canyon. During the visit to the canyon, the group hiked and camped in the Grand Canyon for about three days.

“We spent about four hours looking around the canyon and the visitor area,” said Kris Black, team leader of Adventure Recreation. “I, for one, have never seen a more majestic and picturesque scene in my life. It was almost unreal.”

Rick Farlow can be contacted at [email protected].