Learn Wilderness Survival & Bushcraft in Boulder, Utah

Honest level: Beginner -> Field Instructor — ask the school exactly how far that goes in the time you have.

14-Day Field Expedition

Running since 1968, BOSS's Field Expedition moves students through the mountains, mesas and canyons of southern Utah carrying little more than a blanket, poncho and knife — no tents, sleeping bags, stoves, watches or phones. The course builds through phases: an orientation and fast-moving 'Impact' hike, a group expedition teaching navigation and survival, large-animal processing, a solo, a student-led expedition and a final challenge, hiking 8-10 miles most days. No prior outdoor experience is required. The 14-day sits between the 7- and 28-day versions and is the school's signature primitive-living intensive.

Next sessions: 2026-06-14 · 2026-08-30

Two weeks fully immersed, living off the land in a small group in the Utah wilderness where the school has taught bushcraft since 1968.

from ~$2,620

Why Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS)

• ★ 5/5 · 8 reviews on Chamber of Commerce ↗

— don't take my word, check it yourself

Founded in 1968 by Larry Dean Olsen, author of "Outdoor Survival Skills," BOSS is one of the oldest survival schools in the US and is known for primitive field courses that traverse remote southern Utah wilderness on a "know more, carry less" principle, carrying no tents, sleeping bags, or backpacks.

Schools in Boulder, Utah

Checked by hand against each school's own course pages. No school paid to be listed.

• Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS)

The credential

Woodlore / BOSS field-instructor apprenticeship or advanced certificate · Certifying body: —

A recognised qualification an outside body stands behind is not the same as a certificate a school prints itself. We name which it is — you should ask the school the same.

Also for Wilderness Survival & Bushcraft

What I check before I send you anywhere

I'm Arnaud. I cook for a living, and I've spent fifteen years on the water — so I know the difference between a real school and a good-looking website. I built the Atlas because I got tired of the second kind. Here is what a place has to clear before it goes on here, and what I'll tell you straight when it doesn't.

• The craft is actually alive there. A working scene, with people who do this every day — not a demo put on for visitors.
• There's a real teacher behind it. Named, still practising, and certified where the craft has certificates.
• The credential is what it claims to be. A state diploma and a certificate a school prints itself are not the same thing. I check which, and I say which.
• I tell you how sure I am. Most pages here are verified by hand. A few say "still checking" — I'd rather admit that than pretend.
• Nobody pays to be here. No commission, no selling the trip. The order on this map is the strength of the community, never the size of the wallet.
• If I wouldn't send a friend, it isn't on the map.