Voyageur Program

Our program introduces a challenging, appropriate risk-taking setting for students that introduces them to environmental issues and to leadership opportunities, while also teaching them sound practices of wilderness conservation.  Our students gain technical expertise in a teamwork atmosphere and engage in exploration by practicing lifetime sports in this program, such as hiking, backpacking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, indoor and outdoor rock climbing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.  Fifth and Sixth Graders are introduced to climbing and paddling as part of their standard P.E. rotations. Beginning in Middle School, the program shifts to a coordinate schedule, where NCS and STA students can satisfy their athletic requirements together, building on those earlier foundations.

In the Upper School, Voyageur athletes from both schools further hone their skillsets on the cliffs at Carderock in the fall; on the Moshovitis Lach Climbing Tower, NCS's 50-foot freestanding climbing spire, in the winter; and out on the nearby Potomac River every afternoon in the spring.

Students in Upper School also have the opportunity to participate in the Voyageur Spring Break Expedition each year. 

This trip offers our students a chance to experience all that the program has to offer. The group typically spends eight days exploring some of the most beautiful and remote wildernesses of the United States and abroad. 

Students navigate new surroundings, making decisions as a group. Most trips involve backpacking or travel by canoe or kayak, and all are self-sustained. Past expeditions have included Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande, Everglades National Park, the Buffalo National River, Shenandoah National Park, Arches and Canyonlands National Park, Zion National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, and the San Juan River!

Alumna Reviews

“The reason I find Voyageur so important is that it really shows you who you are as a person. There’s something about pushing your limits that reveals to you how powerful you can be and how much you can accomplish.” 

“You just learn so much about yourself, your classmates, the environment, how to cook, how to stay warm, first aid, and how to read a map. It’s so far beyond what you get in a classroom or on a standard athletic team.” 

“We learned how to live with the wilderness, not how to conquer it. We became better campers, more imaginative cooks, competent cross-country skiers, and probably most important of all, while we started off the trip as eleven separate individuals, we ended the trip as a group.”