Guided Road Scholar trips with Douglas Wood, 2023:

In 2023 Doug will be guiding 5 trips for Road Scholar. Each of them focuses on our human connection to the natural environment–within Voyageurs National Park and the Canoe Country, or in the fabulous Bluff Country of Southeast Minnesota. From birding to paddling to hiking, these trips will reconnect you to the world of wild things, and to the wildness within you.
Some trips may be full–sign up for waiting lists anyway. Spots often open up!

“Birds & Blooms: Spring in the Mississippi River Valley”


April 30 – May 6, 2023
May 15 – May 21, 2023

Email Doug (douglaswoodmn@gmail.com), contact the Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center , or Road Scholar, Inc.

Learn More & Register

This May Doug will be leading two grand trips for the Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) organization. There are few times more exciting and beautiful in the valley of the great Mississippi than the explosion of color and life that is Spring. The Mississippi is the largest of North America’s major flyways, a timeless magnet for every sort of migrating bird. Wildflowers–from Dutchman’s Breeches to Trillium to Trout Lilies– brighten the riverbanks with a riot of colors. Bald eagles soar majestically overhead.

If you’d like to explore gorgeous Frontenac State park–a famous birding destination–Whitewater Park and Trempeleau Nat’l Wildlife Refuge; boat on the Mississippi; learn about Bald Eagles at the National Eagle center; discover spectacular Minnehaha Falls (inspiration for Longfellow’s epic “Hiawatha”); and spend some quality time with Doug, his stories and legends and guitar, along with co-leader and wildlife expert Larry Weber… then these trips are for you. And we would love to have you along! Dates: May 2–8 and 13–19. No special experience or expertise required–just a desire to enjoy, learn, share and spend some fabulous time outdoors. Simply click the link to learn all the details or to sign up. We hope to see you on the river!!!!


Learn More & Register

“Voyageurs National Park & Canoe Country:
Deep Woods, Wild Waters”


Jun 25 – Jul 2, 2023
Aug 13 – Aug 20, 2023
Aug 27 – Sep 3, 2023

Email Doug (douglaswoodmn@gmail.com), contact the Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, or Road Scholar, Inc.

Learn More & Register

Each year Doug guides trips for the Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) organization, entitled “The Spirit Of The Canoe Country.” With 35 years of experience guiding wilderness expeditions from the Boundary Waters to the Northwest Territories, he hugely enjoys sharing his passion for his favorite part of the earth with folks who are hungry to soak it up. To be there in person listening to the loons at Sigurd Olson’s Listening Point Cabin or at Ernest Obe rholtzer’s Mallard Island; to gaze straight down the historic Voyageurs’ Highway from Moonlight Ledge on my Fawn Island on Rainy Lake; to dip the paddle and feel the graceful movement of a canoe; to hear the thunder of Kettle Falls or bask in the last rays of a glorious North Woods sunset: to learn about wolves and bears and the plants, trees, and animals of the North–for many this can be the trip of a lifetime. Doug would love to take you along. Warm, indoor lodging each night and great meals–but we DO indeed find the ‘spirit of the canoe country.’

Please tell your friends! Hope to see you on the trail…


Learn More & Register