The staff of the City of New Haven’s Outdoor Adventure Program, and the New Haven Park Rangers, invite you to experience a unique, new, challenging, safe and fun learning experience for children, youth and adults. Our park rangers utilize environmental activities designed to enhance nature appreciation through exposure to the New Haven Parks system. The goal is to foster an appreciation of local resources by providing truly amazing exposure to bio-diversity and outdoor adventure activities. These activities, specially tailored to the needs and abilities of the participants, will help raise the eco-consciousness as well as the self-confidence levels of the participants.

Our staff-to-participant ratio allows for plenty of personal instruction, as well as careful supervision of all activities with individual attention. By taking on progressively more challenging experiences, participants will learn team building, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Success in many of the Outdoor Adventure activities calls for an understanding of how to operate effectively in teams. Staff will help the teams establish goals that call for planning, group decision-making, task designation, and group action. Furthermore, meetings before and after the activities help to create clear communication channels and cooperation. As the keepers of New Haven Parks, we exemplify a low-impact lifestyle in our city parks. This provides residents with a first-hand understanding of the effects that human activities impose on nature, while we provide instruction in natural history and environmentally responsible choices, in an effort to engender a sense of care for our natural resources.

Following are some of activities that are run by the Outdoor Adventure Coordinator and the Park Rangers, in conjunction with camp counselors, naturalists, interns from local universities, as well as some of the best rafting guides in the country.