Our programs take root in a range of environments that help participants build confidence, teamwork, and resilience. At our two Philadelphia locations – The Discovery Center and Wissahickon Park – students and adults dive into day programs that blend challenge, communication, and hands-on learning close to home. Farther afield, multi-day expeditions in the Delaware Water Gap and along the Appalachian Trail immerse crews in true wilderness, where they learn to work together, adapt, and grow.
POBS LOCATIONS
Located at the edge of Fairmount Park’s Strawberry Mansion Reservoir, the Discovery Center serves as the Philadelphia Outward Bound School’s headquarters and a vibrant home for outdoor learning, challenge, and community engagement.
POBS Locations
Tucked into the woods of Wissahickon Valley Park, the Philadelphia Outward Bound School’s original course site at 726 Wigard Avenue offers a quiet, immersive nature experience in the northwest corner of the city.
Course Areas
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. From the southern end of the park, you can view the S-shaped chasm of the Delaware Water Gap, where the river cuts a twisting path through 1,400-foot Kittatinny Ridge. Within the river watershed, travelers discover steep wooded-and-rock slopes, bountiful rhododendron, dark hallows, tinsel-like ravines and tumbling waterfalls.
Course Areas
The Appalachians, which include the Allegheny, Blue Ridge, and Pocono Mountains, are some of the oldest mountains in the world and offer a diverse terrain. Undoubtedly America’s most famous hiking path, the Appalachian Trail (AT) extends 2,174-miles from from Georgia to Maine. Our courses take place in areas considered among the best sections of the AT in the southcentral region of Pennsylvania. Students will enjoy rock outcrops with amazing views, creeks, ponds, and beautiful wildlife while passing through multiple state forest and park lands including Michaux State forest and Pine Grove State Park.
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