This is a place for those of us who need to get our hands dirty in order to understand the majestic lands of the Southwest. Since 1926, Cottonwood Gulch has been leading summer expeditions to explore the wilderness, culture, and ecology of this beautiful landscape.
Our expeditions vary in duration and activities, and there is a group out there for anyone between the ages of 10 and 19. Our younger Trekkers (ages 10-13) spend a majority of their time at our Base Camp, a 540-acre nature preserve in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico, while our older trekkers (ages 13-18) will spend most of their time traveling around the Four Corners area. But they all have the same goals:
Explore the Wilderness of the Southwest
This is an adventure—a true expedition—through the Wild Lands of New Mexico. Backpacking, hiking, river trips, and rock climbing are at the core of everything we do.
Discover the Culture of the Southwest
We take you on world-class backpacking excursions, but the Gulch is much more than that—we also use our hands to explore Southwestern art, archaeology, reptiles, dinosaur bones, and the Native American culture that makes this land so unique.
Create your own Legacy
What sets the Gulch apart from other adventure programs (in addition to our setting in glorious New Mexico) is that we give you the chance to CREATE your own legacy project. Our professional staff will help you silversmith your own turquoise bracelet, make a star chart of the night sky, restore burrowing owl habitat on our prairies, reconstruct an 800-year-old pot with our archaeologist, or build a new chicken coop for our organic farm.
Please give us a call or shoot us an email with any questions, even if you just want to know about a good hike in the area. We love what we do, and we hope to show you how great a summer at the Gulch can be!
