Nicolet College Launches Summer Outdoor Adventure Season!

Anyone interested in exploring the outdoors and learning new skills is invited to attend any of the 30-plus offerings in the upcoming Outdoor Adventure program at Nicolet College.  

“The Outdoor Adventure program is all about creating that pathway for people to get outside, enjoy new experiences, and learn new skills,” said Terry Rutlin, Outdoor Adventure coordinator at Nicolet College. 

“Over the past couple of years we’ve seen an increasing number of people in classes and it’s exciting to see so many new faces and see the enjoyment they experience on any number of adventures.” 

As is customary, the upcoming slate of classes will feature several new offerings as well as traditional, longtime favorites. 

New classes include a multi-day fly fishing adventure to the scenic Bois Brule River in northwestern Wisconsin, how to train retriever bird hunting dogs, primitive fire starting with a bow drill, and wild rice processing, among others. 

Long-time favorites include the popular Loon Paddle on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage with loon experts Terry Daulton and Jeff Wilson, the Kayak/Canoe Cookout on the Willow Flowage, and the assortment of instructional kayak, paddleboard, canoe, and mountain bike classes that increase the skill level of individuals interested in these activities. 

A growing trend in recent years has been the popularity of foraging-oriented classes. One of those is On the Hunt for Wild Mushrooms, which was first held three years ago. 

“Back then if someone would have told me mushroom hunting would be as popular as it is, I think I would have had a hard time believing them,” Rutlin said. “But every time we’ve offered it the class has filled. We’ve also added a second class and that’s always filled as well. People clearly are interested in wild mushrooms and want to learn as much as they can about them and also identify which mushrooms are safe to eat and which ones need to be avoided.” 

Building on that popularity, the college is also offering a class that teaches individuals how to grow their own shiitake and oyster mushrooms. 

Other related offerings include Foraging in the Northwoods, which provides broad-based instruction on general foraging, and Fall Wild Cranberry Foraging, where students learn about wild cranberries and also visit an area sphagnum bog to collect a bounty of berries. 

New this is year is the Wild Rice Processing class, which will teach individuals how to properly prepare their rice after it has been harvested. 

Outdoor photography classes include an afternoon workshop on the shores of Lake Superior with noted photographer and writer Jeff Rennicke, as well as a general outdoor photography class and another that focuses specifically on fall photography. 

Click here to view the full list of classes, the details of each, and to register.

To have a paper catalog sent to you, call the college at (715) 365-4544.