During spring break, the Dartmouth Outing Club will host 10 trips across the United States, with options ranging from whitewater kayaking in North Carolina to backcountry skiing in Colorado. The trips will be led by members of the DOC’s sub-clubs, including the Ledyard Canoe Club, Winter Sports Club and Flora and Fauna, among others.
The DOC runs trips for the broader campus during breaks between terms, according to the Dartmouth Outdoors webpage. Former DOC vice president Marina Wang ’25 said trip activities and locations are decided by student leaders based on their personal interests.
“One of the great things about break trips is that they’re so flexible that student leaders really get the opportunity to choose a location and design their own break trip where they can look at past break trips that have been in the area and design their own,” she said.
Planning for break trips begins two or three weeks before the start of the preceding term, Wang explained. Potential leaders for spring break trips — chosen based on previous DOC involvement and trip-leading experience — received an email in December suggesting they brainstorm trip ideas and co-leads. After deciding on a co-leader, selected trip leaders decided on their location and received an allotted subsidy based on financial aid, which is provided by the DOC and ranges from 30% to 50% of the trip’s cost, Wang said.
According to the DOC’s list of break trips, participating in a 2025 spring break trip costs $50 to $250, in addition to travel costs. To participate, students must fill out an application form created by the trip’s leaders, who select participants after evaluating questions about physical fitness, personality and previous participation within their sub-club.
For many trip leaders, part of the excitement of leading a trip is making new connections. Benjamin Southworth ’26, who is co-leading Ledyard’s whitewater kayaking trip in Asheville, N.C., said he is looking forward to meeting new people on the trip. Southworth previously led a whitewater kayaking trip in Ecuador over winter break in 2023 and a trip to the Grand Canyon last winterim.
“You bring in a bunch of new people that don’t really know each other together, which is also always the best and scariest part of any great trip as a leader,” Southworth said. “Obviously, you [read] all these applications and you have pictures of these people, but you have no real idea if the dynamic will work.”
While Southworth noted that break trips can seem intimidating because of the “black box” application process, he said the trips are ultimately “so fun” and a “great opportunity” to meet new people.
“I’m definitely most excited for the people,” Southworth said. “It sounds very cliche, but a lot of other co-leaders are some of my best friends and I’ve gotten to know so many people on break trips. I’m so excited to get to know new people and really share kayaking, which is something that I love.”
Winter Sports Club leader Dara Casey ’25, who is participating in the sub-club’s backcountry skiing and splitboarding trip in Leadville, Colo., said she applied for the backcountry skiing trip multiple times in the past but had not been accepted. While this is her first time joining the backcountry skiing option, she has participated in other trips over past breaks — this past winterim, for example, she attended the Viva Hardigg Outdoors Club and Dartmouth Mountaineering Club rock climbing trip in Mount Lemmon, Ariz. Casey has also led “some beginner and intermediate trips” in the past.
“The leaders [of the backcountry skiing trip this year] are super awesome, and I’ve co-led trips with them before so I’m definitely feeling excited about it,” Casey said.
Kaitlyn Peng ’25, who will participate in the whitewater kayaking trip in Asheville this year, said she has “never done anything serious with the DOC” before and expects to find kayaking challenging because she has no previous experience.
“I honestly haven’t been a beginner at something in a long time, and I’ve not done a break trip before,” Peng said. “I feel like it’s an interesting mindset to be like, ‘I’m putting myself in these uncomfortable new situations, but I trust that I will learn and it’ll be a good time with good people.’”
While the trips provide an opportunity to socialize, they also challenge students to navigate the outdoors. Naya Lunney ’25, who is co-leading an intermediate backpacking trip for VHOC in Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park in Utah, said she expects challenges such as carrying water in the desert climate and planning where to drop and collect water along the way.
“Water is always a challenge in desert climates, so we’re definitely planning ahead for that, always having more than we need but not too much,” Lunney said. “Climate is up in the air for spring, so we’re planning for the worst but hoping for nice temperatures.”
Although break trips may put participants in uncomfortable situations — such as carrying heavy loads or not having access to showers — Lunney said she encourages trip participants to “embrace” the experience.
“Meeting new people is probably the best part of break trips — being able to make those relationships out in the field and bringing that back to campus,” Lunney said.
