Urban Detour Adventures was built upon the principle of the outdoors as the world’s biggest classroom… and playground. To us, learning and enjoyment go hand-and-hand. Whether you are a detourist, an explorer, or an adventurer, Urban Detour Adventures seeks to build skills and knowledge so that you may recreate responsibly, experience the outdoors fully, and deepen your connection to nature.
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Not a self-described outdoor enthusiast but want to get outside more? You’re an Urban Detourist! Enjoy guided nature walks close to DC and learn more about local ecosystems.
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Whether you’ve been camping a couple of times or a hundred, you love the outdoors and want to learn more technical skills or try new activities. Urban Explorers join Urban Detour Adventures on guided trips, enmeshing environmental education with building increased outdoor confidence.
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Urban Adventurers are highly skilled in outdoor activities and do not necessarily need a guide, but rather advice on where to recreate and more information about the environment. Urban Detour Adventures can provide relationships with partner outfits, environmental lesson plans, and more to make your trip a success.
What We Do
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Environmental Education
Learn more about the world around you on an Urban Detour Adventures guided nature hike or adventure trip. Lesson plans are tailored to the ecosystems participants are exploring, and may cover topics including earth sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, and more in a fun and accessible format.
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Outdoor Skills & Confidence Building
Ever wondered how to use outdoor recreation gear properly, build a campfire, set up a tent, tie knots, navigate manually, prepare for an adventure, understand Leave No Trace, or just feel more comfortable in the outdoors? Urban Detour Adventures’ workshops and lessons build confidence and skills that you may apply to future outdoor excursions.
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Outdoor Recreation
Outdoor recreation activities are the tools through which we deliver environmental education. Learn more about stream health while kayaking, or forest flora and fauna while hiking, or geology while rock climbing! Activities and trips may be led exclusively by Urban Detour Adventures, or in partnership with our network of outfitters.
Lauren Doepke, Founder & CEO
Since her childhood, Lauren has maintained a love and passion for the outdoors. Though she grew up in the city, her parents ensured her exposure to nature. Weeks-long road trips to National Parks, camping out of the family minivan, attending Cincinnati Parks camps, and exploring the gardens her parents cultivated around her childhood home built within her a sense of wonder and curiosity. How did nature work? Why did it work that way?
This curiosity transformed into a strong sense of responsibility. As Lauren learned about the seemingly insurmountable challenges the natural world faced, she understood the fragility of Earth’s ecosystems and wanted to protect them. Lauren helped found a sustainability program at her high school before pursuing a B.A. in Environmental Earth Science and Sustainability from Miami University. She is currently completing her Master of Environmental Science and a Climate Solutions and Strategies Certificate through the University of Oxford, while working on environmental policy in Washington, DC.
However, Lauren believes the heart of environmental solution-building is education and exposure. People are only likely to save what they care about, and too many individuals are disconnected from nature, whether due to cost, time, energy, infrastructural, or transportation barriers. Through Urban Detour Adventures, Lauren seeks to expand access to and education on the outdoors, encouraging a sense of community in and connection to the environment.
Lauren has been to all 50 states, 11 of Canada’s 13 provinces, and over half of the U.S. National Parks. Her favorite outdoor activities include hiking, backpacking, skiing, kayaking, caving, and camping. She has two cats, Poe and Spooky, and her favorite season is fall.
