ARCC Gap: Western U.S. - Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado & Arizona

My son just finished the program and we can’t say enough how amazing it was for him. He loved the adventures, the learning, the instructors, and the friends he made. It was seriously the experience of a lifetime!

The program was both relaxed enough that the kids had a great deal of independence, but structured enough that they were busy every day learning, exploring m, and laughing. My son’s stories are so incredible and the pictures that they took tell the tale of a tightknit group who came together and learned so much. I highly recommend this trip in this program.

This experience was beyond incredible. I made lifelong friends and learned so much about the locations I traveled to. My leaders made sure everyone was happy and satisfied and getting the most out of this opportunity. I truly am a different person after this trip and I wouldn’t change one thing about it. I never thought I would hike 15 miles in a day, get my SCUBA open water diver certification, become a certified Wilderness First Responder, or hike through Glacier National Park and spit a bear and her cub next to the trail. I saw so many new things and places that I would never have been able to see without ARCC. EVERYONE should take a gap year and do a semester long program, it helped me understand exactly what I want to do for this coming fall and opened so many doors for me. Thank you ARCC for an incredible 2 1/2 months.

Amazing trip where you get to see incredible places. Grow like a family within your group and learn all types of new skills. Learn to love camping and everything about the outdoors. Highly recommend anyone to anyone taking a gap year. This trip taught me all about living and interacting with a group, how to be more flexible, and how to act with different people. The instructors are also great mentors who are there to lead, guide and support everyone within our group. Overall a life changing experience.

I never thought I would be doing a gap program and the decision to go on the northwest gap program and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I grew as a person exponentially and I made life-long friendships. I also saw beautiful places that I will probably not see in a very long time. The curriculum was awesome because it was more hands on learning instead of learning in a classroom. The events that were planned were all very interesting and engaging. I really did not have a bad or boring moment on this trip.

I had an amazing trip. We went to incredible locations, met awesome people, created lasting bonds, and made unforgettable memories. It was organized really well! The people on the trip were amazing and our friendships were only strengthened through the places we went. Traveling as a group and camping in nature is a really unique and special experience, and even more special to do it in Northwest United States. Not often in your life will you be able to see a moose in your campsite at 9am, the beautiful teton mountains from your tent, and make such amazing friends.

This program provides a unique opportunity to travel, learn, and develop all whilst in nature. Learning about different parts of the country and seeing first hand a variety of different ways of life truly broadens horizons while also providing an enjoyable travel experience. Through this you grow as a person and leader by working with different types of people and by participating in a variety of work. The opportunity to do all these things while living out of a tent is wonderful. It provides a family aspect and unbreakable bond to the members of the group and to the world itself. Living outside is an incredible experience and allows you to get to know yourself and appreciate more. I highly recommend this program for anyone looking to get out of their comfort zones, explore, learn, have fun, and meet amazing people who will become family.

This program was amazing. I made lifelong friends and memories as well as going through many experiences that resulted in huge personal growth. I also came away from this trip with an amazing appreciation for the outdoors and for the incredible diversity of the natural world within the United States. I have never laughed as hard as I did on this program — I definitely had some of the happiest and most exciting moments of my life. However, if you go on this trip, you have to be ready for changes of plans and long car drives, but honestly, that craziness resulted in many of the most influential moments of the trip. If you want a crazy exciting American road trip, where you see some of the most beautiful nature on earth, go on this semester.

I think this program is amazing for anyone who wishes to see things they’ve never seen before and explore places not many people have visited. We walked in the shadows of the Grand Tetons, through the rainforest in Olympic National Park, and on the sandy shores of Hawaii. This program has adventure had everything I was looking for in a Gap Semester program. I’ve grown into myself during this trip. And I know that anyone else who experiences ARCC Northwest Gap Semester program will be forever changed, just like I was.