Join us on a journey from the heart of the winter wilderness to the waterways and coastlines of the North East as we intimately follow the seasons from January to June. For 5-months we will traverse northern New England under our own power on a climate forward journey. Kroka’s Full Circle Winter Semester combines two months of backcountry skiing expeditions with homesteading, hand craft, a traditional wilderness canoe journey, and a final bike ride home to Kroka. 

On the heels of the hottest summers on record and unprecedented natural disasters impacting our local communities, Kroka is committing to a Winter Semester that traverses the mysterious and beautiful wildernesses of the Northeast without the use of private vehicles. We will weave together deep observation with action, the past with the present and future, and academic studies with active hope. You will develop sound judgment for healthy risk-taking and competency in technical adventure sports of backcountry skiing, whitewater canoeing, mountain bikepacking, and marine navigation. You will engage in a rigorous experiential curriculum encompassing the humanities and natural sciences. You will emerge from the program empowered and inspired to transform what you have learned in nature and community into altruistic action. Join our expedition team!

Early Decision Deadline: May 15, 2025 (Acceptances offered no later than May 29, 2025). We will offer 6 spots on our program to applicants this May. If you are not accepted, your application will be added to the regular decision pool.

Snow has melted, flowers are blooming, and that means that it is time to go on expedition! Join us for cooking over open fires, stargazing, and creating a feeling of home wherever we go. We will strive together as a community to take care of each other and the land around us as we travel under our own power with trees above and soil below.

Come join us for an adventure among tall cliffs and deep waters as we live in community within nature! Summer is approaching, waves crash on the sandy shores and our paddles dip rhythmically to the song of the wind. Paddling and rock climbing with adventures along the way, we make our homes beneath stunning forests that overlook the water, pebble beaches and ancient boulders.

Welcome to your first Kroka Experience.  Join us as we live a simple life in Kroka Village, learn to paddle a canoe, climb a steep rock face, carve, practice earth navigation skills, and cook over the open fire!  Your adventure is just around the corner and we can't wait to have you here. 

Welcome to Kroka! 

Congratulations 5th graders for your final year at Stoddard Elementary.  We are thrilled to be a part of your celebratory class trip.  We can't wait to paddle Highland Lake with you this June.  

Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime seafaring adventure that few will ever get to experience: a Kroka sailing voyage aboard the "Shenandoah," a stunning 152-foot wooden topsail schooner — believed to be the only one left in the world without an engine for propulsion. We will travel back in time to where water is fetched from hand pumps, food is cooked on a coal stove, and days are spent sailing, singing, working, and studying with your shipmates. At night we will anchor in remote coves, and in the mornings we will explore the Cape Cod seashore in small rowboats — swimming, playing, and snorkeling from sandy beaches.

This adventure begins at Kroka in Marlow, where we will spend the first few days bracing up our water skills with paddling and small-boat sailing excursions - and begin our studies of sailing and the ocean environment: practical skills, marine biology, arts and literature studies, and the science of navigation and coastal piloting! Then we depart for Martha's Vineyard, where we will spend another few days camping and volunteering at local farms while we explore this historic island rich in culture, maritime history, and local sustainable agriculture. For the second week of the program we join our friends from the Martha's Vineyard Ocean Academy who will welcome us on board the Shenandoah. After learning to handle the ropes and rigging, we will raise anchor and set sail to see which way the winds will take us!

** Interested participants can receive professional training towards a tall-ship sailing apprenticeship as well as a certificate of sea-time towards a United States Coast Guard Captains License. ***

Join us in discovering the adventure of backcountry bikepacking! After tuning up our bikes and practicing riding techniques on Kroka’s bike course, we will head into the forest for a week filled with spectacularly wild mountain bike adventures. The rich history of New Hampshire has left our forests full of wondrous dirt trails alongside abandoned root cellars, mines, and wilderness lakes. We will return to Kroka for campfire meals and cozy dwellings during the first half of the week. Our next adventure will be a two-day overnight expedition. Each day will include discovering and playing in wild swimming holes, games, and evening stories by the campfire. In addition to technical riding, students will learn how to take care of their bikes and participate in community service projects. This introductory program is excellent preparation for our Mountain Bike Expeditions!

This is an unforgettable week of becoming one with the river! The journey will take us down the beautiful winding Connecticut River flowing swiftly through the foothills of the Green and White Mountains. Skill building begins at Kroka’s pond, after which we will embark on a 4-day expedition to camp at the base of a great rapid. Our unique paddling progression is rooted in understanding the power of moving water and developing skills in raft, canoe, kayak, and stand up paddle board, as well as comfort swimming in fast-moving water. In addition, we will simply soak in the joys of river life in the summer. Our afternoons will include camp set-up in the woods and on sandbars, fishing, roasting bread-on-a-stick, and time for rope swings and river play. Days end with spoon carving and stories around the campfire.

Between the White Mountains and Canada lies a little-traveled trail through some of New Hampshire’s most remote and scenic wilderness. Spanning 162 miles of rugged mountainous terrain, the Cohos Trail connects the northern lakes that form the headwaters of the Connecticut River with the high peaks of the White Mountains. This trail and territory is known to be mysterious and home to New Hampshire’s largest population of moose! It is here we will master the art of self-sufficient wilderness travel. Beginning at the northern end of the trail, we hike across bog bridges, past 50-foot cascading waterfalls, and to the summits of little-known and less traveled peaks. Across the many lakes of the Great North Woods we will get views of the highest peaks of the White Mountains. These rocky summits are our destinations! As the mountains grow taller, we will grow more confident navigating with map and compass, cooking delicious food over the fire, and making decisions together as a group. Our backpacks will feel like an extension of our bodies,  and our group will become a tight-knit community, exploring and experiencing the feeling of accomplishment that comes with traveling on your own two feet.

Steeped in history and culture, the blue-green waters of Lake Champlain offer perfect conditions for a long-distance sea kayak expedition. Stretching south-north from Vermont to Canada, the 125-mile-long lake has more than 500 miles of shoreline and 70 islands with protected coves for camping, high cliffs for jumping, and abundant fish to catch.  We begin the week at Kroka Village where we will practice kayaking in the pond and work on the farm to harvest and prepare food for the journey ahead. Once the hatches are full, we load our trailer and depart for Whitehall, NY - the southernmost point of the lake. Each day we make progress Northward in tune with currents and wind while stopping to swim, visit the Lake's many museums and historical sites, and take in the breathtaking views of the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. At night we make camp on the lakeshore or on its islands, cook dinner over the open fire, and take in the starry night skies. We will revel in the joys of expedition life, tell stories of old times, and if the winds are with us - and we can summon the willpower to do so - complete the end-to-end sea kayak expedition all the way to Canada!

Join us on an adventure in fishing, crafting, and exploring the hidden secrets of the streams, lakes, and rivers that surround us. We begin the week at Kroka Village where we will carve our own fishing poles, learn to tie flies, and rig our lines. In the afternoons we will try our luck from shore, testing our patience and our wit while exploring the magical forests that surround us. Then with barrels packed and lines reeled tight, we will head out on a three-day expedition by canoe through one of Vermont’s most famous fisheries. Each day we’ll paddle further downstream, learning about currents, eddies, and fish habitats. In the heat of the day we’ll stop to swim and to test the many rope swings and jumping rocks along the shore! We will camp in the forest and cook delicious dinners over the fire. We eat what we catch: eager fisherfolk should be excited to gut, clean, and cook their fish. If you’ve fallen hook line and sinker for the adventure of fishing, this expedition is not to be missed!

Young explorers, come join us at Pumpkin Hill Village for a week of cooperative play in nature. We will begin each day by visiting the animals on Kroka’s farm. Our cows, goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens love the attention! Afterwards we set off for the forest where each day greets us with a new surprise: building fairy houses, exploring the Porcupine Cliffs, playing in the mud, or floating boats downstream. Our days are filled with games, songs, stories, and exploring the wonders and magic of nature. This is the perfect first step to begin a child's life-long connection to Kroka.

This program will offer the option to sleep over at Kroka on Thursday night.

A rough, wild line that few sail, and fewer kayak. Dramatic cliffs and prominent tides. Paddling towards Canada, sometimes with the water, and sometimes against it. The name of the coast speaks for itself. After honing our sea kayaking and expedition skills along tamer sections of the Maine coast, we will set off for the easternmost miles of the U.S. coastline, paddling by day and carefully searching for hidden coves to spend the night. We’ll dive into the history of the region, of colonial settlers, of lonely lobstermen and shipwrecked boats, and the indigenous who came first, and take in the pristine beauty and nature of Maine's farthest reaches. Along the way we will visit farms and communities, immersing ourselves in the Downeast culture of Maine. After a brave final crossing we enter the safe waters of the harbor and return to the shore. Come along on an adventurous paddle that is a feather in the cap of any sea kayaker!

Kroka Expeditions invites experienced and aspiring educators to join a six-day professional development course. Participants will immerse in simple nature-connected living while exploring, in a supportive group, ways to integrate nature with academic curriculum. During the first two days we will focus on the daily farm and adventure life at Kroka village. Projects will include map and compass navigation, rock climbing, preparing farm food for expedition, making leather-bound journals, and developing fire-by-friction skills. During the following three days we will embark on a river expedition. Education in Nature affords a rich opportunity to envision an experiential curriculum in the areas of humanities, earth sciences, sustainability, leadership, and the development of community and altruistic will. Participants will gain inspiration and practical skills to make transformational changes in themselves, their schools, colleges and communities. Letʻs not forget the opportunity to relax in nature and let go after a busy school year as well!

Tuition discount is available for group registrations and individual registrations from our partner schools.

Come Take to the Woods and become the wild children of the forest! Experience the pure fun and magic of living in and from the wilderness. The forest will fuel our projects, providing saplings for branch bows, dry wood for friction fire, pine for bowl carving, and wild plants for food. Camping on the banks of the Ashuelot River we will swim, fish, and learn stealth while observing the life of the woodland animals that abound. We will form new friendships with nature and each other. We will become a true community, relying on each other and celebrating the joys of summertime. Yes, let’s take to the woods: we are the wild ones, adventuring and learning the secrets of the earth!

Remote and mysterious, the canyonlands of the desert southwest offer a unique lens through which to view the cultural and natural history of North America. Our Legends of the Southwest Semester is a 15-week immersion in place-based experiential learning, backcountry wilderness travel, and climate-resilient living. As we travel through the desert landscape on foot, by mountain bike and by paddle, we will transect the region’s deep history and the complex present-day cultural crossroads. Our classrooms are the vast mountains, deep canyons and endless deserts of Arizona, and our teachers are the plants, animals, and people who inhabit them. Alive with natural beauty and transcending cultures and borders, Kroka’s Legends of the Southwest Semester offers endless possibilities for exploration, discovery, and adventure.

This program is for 16-21 year olds. High School and/or college credit is available. Kroka requires Semester students to contribute a minimum of $500 of earned income (e.g. from informal employment such as babysitting or lawn care, or from formal employment such as retail or restaurant work, or from selling handicrafts or artwork) towards their tuition.

• Clothes and shoes for the river (bathing suit, wool or synthetic top, closed toed shoes)
• Warm and comfortable change of clothes (to wear after the river)
• Water bottle
• Bagged lunch with a snack to share

Make it a weekend! If you’d like to attend both paddling days, Kroka staff will be camping at our Kroka campsite and you are welcome to stay the night. As well as join us for a potluck dinner Saturday night and a pancake breakfast Sunday morning. There is no additional fee for camping, and please bring your own camping gear. If you plan to camp please let us know in your RSVP.

• Clothes and shoes for the river (bathing suit, wool or synthetic top, closed toed shoes)
• Warm and comfortable change of clothes (to wear after the river)
• Water bottle
• Bagged lunch and a snack to share

Make it a weekend! If you’d like to attend both paddling days, Kroka staff will be camping at our Kroka campsite and you are welcome to stay the night. As well as join us for a potluck dinner Saturday night and a pancake breakfast Sunday morning. There is no additional fee for camping, and please bring your own camping gear. If you plan to camp please let us know in your RSVP.

Join us for an extraordinary long weekend of surfing, sun, and sand at the amazing ocean of Cape Cod!

This trip is a must! Take a break from school and grab this final chance to surf on Cape Cod before the cold arrives. We will learn to surf from a master surfing instructor, swim in the crashing waves, and look for treasures along the beach. Camping in the pine forests that overlook the Cape’s famous sand dunes, we will practice making home and thriving in the outdoors. When we aren't in the water we will be eating delicious food, playing games, and searching for constellations in the sky as we tell stories and sing songs. 

Logistics: This is a jam packed weekend. To make the most use of our time (and yours), we are offering two drop-off and pickup locations:

Come experience life in the Kroka village! Learn to bake bread over an open fire, carve a spoon, boulder exploring, and paddle on a beautiful lake or river.  Explore the forests that surround us, and become acquainted with the animals that inhabit our farm. Each night we return to our home in the Kroka Village with songs, games, and stories to share around the campfire.

Join us on a journey from the heart of the winter wilderness to the waterways and coastlines of the North East as we intimately follow the seasons from January to June. For 5-months we will traverse northern New England under our own power on a climate forward journey. Kroka’s Full Circle Winter Semester combines two months of backcountry skiing expeditions with homesteading, hand craft, a traditional wilderness canoe journey, and a final bike ride home to Kroka. 

On the heels of the hottest summers on record and unprecedented natural disasters impacting our local communities, Kroka is committing to a Winter Semester that traverses the mysterious and beautiful wildernesses of the Northeast without the use of private vehicles. We will weave together deep observation with action, the past with the present and future, and academic studies with active hope. You will develop sound judgment for healthy risk-taking and competency in technical adventure sports of backcountry skiing, whitewater canoeing, mountain bikepacking, and marine navigation. You will engage in a rigorous experiential curriculum encompassing the humanities and natural sciences. You will emerge from the program empowered and inspired to transform what you have learned in nature and community into altruistic action. Join our expedition team!