Wilderness First Responder

Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training is the hands-on medical course that is the industry standard for backcountry rangers, river guides, outdoor guides, as well as NOLS and Outward Bound instructors. The course includes engaging classroom sessions and outdoor scenarios taught by medical professionals from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

All College Outdoors Trip Leaders and Assistant Leaders are required to be WFR certified in order to lead off-campus trips. College Outdoors at Lewis & Clark College has sponsoring Wilderness First Responder courses for LC students and the broader community since 1996.

Learn more at the NOLS website.

Courses Sponsored by Lewis & Clark College

Wilderness First Responder

Unfortunately, Covid-19 restrictions on campus won’t let us offer anything to the general public before Winter of 2021.  We typically offer an 80-hour Wilderness First Responder course at Lewis & Clark College each May immediately following the end of Spring Semester, and each January immediately prior to Spring Semester. We also offer a course in Florida each January, immediately prior to Spring Semester. Registration for the both the Florida and on-campus Wilderness First Responder course begins on Friday, September 10th outside our office in Templeton and will stay open until all the spots are filled.

Wilderness First Responder Hybrid Recertification

Covid-19 restrictions on campus won’t let us offer anything to the public at this time. We typically offer recertification for WFR each November and May. We offer the hybrid format recertification, which includes roughly 4 hours of online pre-work followed by 2 days of in-person instruction and scenario practice. If you are a Lewis and Clark Student and you are interested in completing the recertification course, please contact our College Outdoors office by emailing outdoors@lclark.edu.

Upcoming Events

We are offering one WFR course in Florida and one WFR course on the Lewis & Clark College Campus in January of 2022. Due to Covid-19, Spring WFR course is tentative.  Due to Covid-19, this trip is only open to Lewis and Clark students cleared to be on campus. 

Florida WFR: 

• Location: Wekiwa State Park, Orlando, FL
• Dates: Wed. January 5th through Friday, January 14th, 2022
• Price: $695 (course price) plus $18/day for food or $180 for the whole course

On-campus WFR:

• Location: Lewis & Clark Campus
• Dates: Thursday, January 6th to Saturday, January 15th, 2022
• Price: $695 (course price), housing and food is not included in price, but students living on campus in Spring 2022 can stay on campus for an additional cost.