Wildland Trekking

A US guided hiking company with its own guides

Wildland Trekking is a US company that runs its own guided hiking and backpacking trips, day hikes and inn-based tours, with its own guides. Its Our Story page says it was started in 2005 by Steve Cundy, Scott Cundy and Brad Ball, two of whom met as New Mexico state foresters, and that the business grew from Flagstaff, Arizona, where it "would eventually be based". It began with trips in the Grand Canyon, Utah and Yellowstone, and the same page says it now operates "in 9 states and 31 national parks and wilderness areas in the USA, as well as 11 countries internationally". The homepage names international trips to Kilimanjaro, Iceland, the Alps, Peru and Patagonia, and the destination menu adds Canada, the Balkans, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, the Pyrenees, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Nepal and New Zealand. In February 2022 the company merged with Intrepid Travel, which the page describes as a global tour operator and the world's largest travel B Corporation, and the About page says Wildland is now a Certified B Corp itself.

The founding story on that page is told in some detail: in 2001 two of the founders hiked over 600 miles from central Wyoming to Glacier National Park on a self-designed route, more than 200 miles of it off-trail, before the three started the company together.

In the US, the menu covers Alaska (Denali, the Kenai Peninsula), Arizona (Grand Canyon, Sedona, Aravaipa Canyon), California (Yosemite, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, the High Sierra, the John Muir Trail), Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, Maine's Acadia, the Tetons, Wind River Range and Yellowstone, New Hampshire's White Mountains, and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Trip styles

The homepage describes the choice clearly. Backpacking trips go deepest into the backcountry for guests who want a challenge. Horse, llama or porter supported trips reach the backcountry without heavy packs, and the Our Story page notes a separate Wildland Llamas brand run with a co-owner. Inn-based and basecamp tours are multi-day hiking vacations showing an area's best hikes, and the site recommends them for families, couples and solo travelers. Day hikes, hut-to-hut treks and ski and snowshoe tours round out the list. Trips are also grouped by season, as women's adventure trips, family trips, beginner backpacking trips and guides' choice trips, and by national park.

On timing, the homepage advises spring, fall and winter for desert parks such as Joshua Tree and Death Valley, late spring to early fall for mountain destinations like Yellowstone, Iceland, the Pacific Northwest and the Alps, and year-round hiking in places such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona, the Smoky Mountains, Yosemite and Peru. It calls winter the most underrated season.

What is included, and group size

The trips are all-inclusive. The homepage says Wildland provides "all gear, meals, transportation, professional guides, permits, fees and much more", and the About page adds that local transportation is included "with a few exceptions" along with natural and cultural history interpretation. Groups are small: the homepage says "typically 4-12 people per trip", and the About page says backcountry trips often have a maximum of 5 or 6 guests, and at most 12. The About page says the company prefers to take groups away from roads and crowds and, when possible, off trails altogether, and describes itself as 100% focused on trekking rather than running many sports. It also describes the guide's job as part wilderness expert, part leader, teacher, chef and more.

On guides, the About page says the company hires career-minded guides with wilderness experience, hard skills and certifications, and the mission page says many guides spend 150+ nights a year in the backcountry. According to the mission page, a guide takes over communication with guests about 10 days before a trip (45 days on global trips), and a 24-hour on-call line supports guides and guests during trips. The homepage frames the benefits of a guide around safety, local knowledge and not having to buy gear for a single trip; those are the company's reasons, and each trip page carries the details on difficulty.

Booking and support

Trips are booked online, with a trip calendar, or through the Adventure Consultant team on 800-715-HIKE (4453), open 9 to 4:30 Mountain Time every day. The footer links to a Cancellation, Transfer & Refund Policy, trip insurance, gift cards and private hiking tours. Discounted trips, often departing soon, can save 15-25% according to the homepage. At registration, guests can choose to donate $25 to a conservation partner working in the area they will visit. Current promotions on the homepage include a photo contest with a free trip as the prize and a $20,000 donation match to help the Grand Canyon rebuild.

The company says it hosts around 10,000 guests a year, with 98% "Excellent" post-trip evaluations, and the About page says it has hosted more than 100,000 guests since 2005, built a team of over 200 staff and donated over half a million dollars to conservation. Its stated aims include contributing to the health of local communities in international destinations such as Nepal, Peru and Tanzania, and its mission page commits to conserving both natural and human communities.

What the pages leave open, and who it suits

Prices, deposits and the refund terms are not on these overview pages; the Cancellation, Transfer & Refund Policy and each trip page are the places to check. The Our Story page sets a goal of reaching 15,000 guests a year, up from roughly 10,000 today, and of adding destinations such as New Zealand and Norway. The international trips are listed and operated under the Wildland name, but the overview pages give less detail on them than on the US parks.

Wildland suits hikers who want a guided, fully equipped trip in a US national park, whether a demanding Grand Canyon backpack, a llama-supported trek or a comfortable inn-based week, and travelers who would rather not buy gear or arrange permits themselves. Its small groups and all-inclusive model are its core strengths. Hikers who prefer to go self-guided will find the model more structured than they need.