Your Next Adventure is Waiting.

Beginner backpacking course and guided tours in Yosemite and

California’s epic Coastal ranges

Come enjoy majestic ocean views and breathtaking summit campsites you can only experience when backpacking in Yosemite National Park, Big Sur California, and Point Reyes National Seashore —don’t know where to start?

Start here.

Stunning sunset view from the summit in Big Sur

Disconnect from our modern lives and reconnect with our natural state of existence. Backpacking is the ultimate reset button, allowing you to carry all of life’s essentials on your back, setting you free to explore and experience places you can only reach on foot.

We at Summit Backpacking Adventures believe that keeping our group sizes very small will help everyone receive an optimal backcountry experience.

Invest in your well-being by ensuring your first trip is a success, and avoid the novice mistakes that could make your first trip a misery.

  • nutritious trail food, water disinfection

  • trail safety and etiquette

  • trail orientation & mapping

  • camp sanitation & safety

  • local flora, fauna and native American history

  • a love for a brand new passion

What you will learn

Summit Backpacking Adventures is perfect for…

  • for people who want to have a one-on-one teaching experience with our guides. Our retreat sizes are of 10 or fewer so spaces are limited. This also ensures you have a quieter more meaningful experience.

  • anyone wanting to try backpacking for the first time

  • an adventure that family, friends, and young adults will enjoy

  • for adventurous people who want to experience the beauty of Yosemite and Northern and Central Coasts like a local

Select your adventure!

FAQs

  • We would love to have your dogs but having 8 dogs or more on trial can be quite a lot of work. But Yes, to service dogs. We also welcome ages 12 to 65 (And if older than 65, doctors note is required). I found my love for backpacking as a child, and it’s been a pleasure passing this along to my children as well. In fact, my son will often accompany us on tours.

  • I have extra gear related to cooking and water sanitation. For additional charge we can provide a tent, backpack, synthetic sleeping, trekking poles and an insulated sleeping pad (Sleeping bags are professionally washed after every use). For additional items check out gear checklist here. And click here for a food item list. Rei also has basic gear for rent Rei Rentals

  • It is important, of course, that all S.S.B.A trip participants arrive in good enough condition to successfully complete and enjoy their backpacking vacation. Depending upon the trip and your body size, you’ll be carrying a backpack that weighs between 20 to 30 pounds at the beginning of a trip. Most modern backpacks are quite comfortable to carry, provided that they properly fit.

    The vast majority of our clients do just fine, even on their first backpack trip. Nonetheless, backpacking is for active, not sedentary people, and in most situations, folks who are seriously overweight or who regularly smoke cigarettes are going to have a tough time and will likely be putting themselves and others in jeopardy.

    We Require a doctor’s note for anyone that takes medication or the over the age of 65. If you have any doubts about your physical capability to trek in the backcountry, or if you’re going on your first backpack trip, please see your physician. This is especially important for the elderly and for folks who have any known or suspected physical ailments that might compromise their safety (and group safety) on a backpack adventure.

  • We put safety at the forefront of every trip. Emergency procedures are put in place to ensure that you are protected during the duration of our tour. Our tours are led by professional guides, who have grown up in the California mountains. Our guides carry GPS locators are certified Wilderness First Responders.