Outdoorsy liberal arts schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

[Anonymous]

Why do people not understand that an outdoorsy 18 year old is not the same as an old fart who thinks a mosey through an arboretum in the Great Plains is hiking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

These people aren't discussing in good faith. Not sure what got them so snarly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

I haven’t seen a claim to the contrary. The thread is titled “outdoorsy liberal arts colleges.” There’s quite a bit to outdoorsy life beyond rock climbing. That would certainly involve a road trip if starting from Northfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

I haven’t seen a claim to the contrary. The thread is titled “outdoorsy liberal arts colleges.” There’s quite a bit to outdoorsy life beyond rock climbing. That would certainly involve a road trip if starting from Northfield.

Did you read the OP or just the title?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

I haven’t seen a claim to the contrary. The thread is titled “outdoorsy liberal arts colleges.” There’s quite a bit to outdoorsy life beyond rock climbing. That would certainly involve a road trip if starting from Northfield.

Did you read the OP or just the title?

Sure did. That’s why I pointed out kayaking and not rock climbing as being available right on campus (unless you consider the indoor wall in the rec center!). There’s a lot of space between “Carleton has everything an outdoors lover could ever want right on campus” (which I never said) and “the coasts are where this student needs to go” (which someone else actually did say); unsurprisingly, reality is somewhere in between the extreme statement that wasn’t made and the extreme one that was. OP’s description of their kid sounded like our own, and they loved their time in Minnesota as many other avid outdoorsy types do. That seems more relevant to the thread than people who have never been blathering about how boring their narrowly imagined version of life there is. I think OP’s kid might like it there and a number of other places too. Ok?

[Anonymous]

Bowdoin. Here is info on the outing club.

https://www.bowdoin.edu/outing/index.html

[Anonymous]

Colorado College, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Sewanee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people not understand that an outdoorsy 18 year old is not the same as an old fart who thinks a mosey through an arboretum in the Great Plains is hiking?

This made me laugh. But this thread has got way too serious and heated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin. Here is info on the outing club.

https://www.bowdoin.edu/outing/index.html

Maine is mostly flat with nothing to do. Do NOT follow this advice OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

I haven’t seen a claim to the contrary. The thread is titled “outdoorsy liberal arts colleges.” There’s quite a bit to outdoorsy life beyond rock climbing. That would certainly involve a road trip if starting from Northfield.

Did you read the OP or just the title?

Cool your jets, Janice. Over invested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student who’s really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

That’s funny, cause our very hardcore outdoorsy CA kid who in high school enjoyed things like hiking the tallest mountain in the continental US, multi-day bike trips, skiing, surfing, rafting, and trips to the desert found the outdoors scene at Carleton so alluring they considered moving to Minnesota. Having an immersive 800 acre arboretum, river, and lakes at your dorm’s doorstep is rare. Some outdoorsy types want nature every day, not just on road trips.

That’s just a few bodies of water. It’s like calling uchicago outdoorsy, since the lake is only a few blocks away. There’s a ton of schools with a lot more nature that aren’t “road trips” away. You’re literally from California (must not be SoCal with this bizarre opinion) and don’t understand that?

Yes, SoCal. Across both our kids we visited about 30 schools and felt Carleton had the most nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

I haven’t seen a claim to the contrary. The thread is titled “outdoorsy liberal arts colleges.” There’s quite a bit to outdoorsy life beyond rock climbing. That would certainly involve a road trip if starting from Northfield.

Did you read the OP or just the title?

Sure did. That’s why I pointed out kayaking and not rock climbing as being available right on campus (unless you consider the indoor wall in the rec center!). There’s a lot of space between “Carleton has everything an outdoors lover could ever want right on campus” (which I never said) and “the coasts are where this student needs to go” (which someone else actually did say); unsurprisingly, reality is somewhere in between the extreme statement that wasn’t made and the extreme one that was. OP’s description of their kid sounded like our own, and they loved their time in Minnesota as many other avid outdoorsy types do. That seems more relevant to the thread than people who have never been blathering about how boring their narrowly imagined version of life there is. I think OP’s kid might like it there and a number of other places too. Ok?

Good post. (And there is rock climbing in southern Minnesota for those that want it.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people not understand that an outdoorsy 18 year old is not the same as an old fart who thinks a mosey through an arboretum in the Great Plains is hiking?

There are many trails and micro-terrains in their arboretum. Some trails you would be better off wearing boots even in warmer months but in the winter snow obviously it’s more of a workout. In my experience the sort of student who enjoys kayaking and rock climbing would enjoy hiking (or walking with hiking boots if you prefer), jogging, or biking in their arboretum.

[Anonymous]

Many responses have not been paying attention to the climbing part of OP’s interests. Id highly recommend Sewanee- you can climb steps away from campus and there’s so many creeks and falls near campus that allow for kayaking. This is basically the perfect student for Sewanee!