Serving people with developmental disabilities and other cognitive impairments.

Wilderness Inquiry (WI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the outdoors with others. We provide all kinds of outdoor adventures for a wide variety of people. We offer canoe, kayak, hiking, horse pack, and dogsled throughout North America and the world. Each year we conduct over 300 events serving more than 10,000 people.

Our trips are designed for everyone from novices to seasoned outdoor veterans. Over the years, we have found that attitude is far more important than experience or ability. By their very nature, WI experiences open hearts and minds and change participants lives for the better.  Our staff are specially trained to include everyone in the experience in ways that make trips more meaningful and enriching for all. 

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, WI is run with 10 full-time staff, 60 part-time staff, and 15 volunteers on the board of directors. For a directory of our staff click here.  We partner with many organizations, and our trip participants come from all 50 states and many countries around the world.

Our passion is making high-quality outdoor experiences accessible for everyone, including those who do not typically get out and enjoy the wilderness. In addition to trips, we have a variety of programs and activities that help fulfill our mission--Gateway to Adventure being one of them. We provide training for other organizations and outdoor skills workshops at community events. We also raise money to provide scholarships to make our programs financially accessible to everyone.

We hope you will share the adventure with us!

Want to know more? 

• History & Mission
• Join our Mailing List
• Read more  about Wilderness Inquiry and our other programs.