Intern FAQs

I know that the majority of interns complete their internships between May and August, but I need to do mine from July to November. Is this possible?
Our intern schedule is fairly flexible so that we can meet your needs. Let us know when you would like to do your internship and we can see what we can offer you. Click on the following for details:

Summer internships - outdoor leadership and/or administrative experience

Fall/Winter internships - primarily administrative experience

Spring internships - primarily administrative experience

I don't have experience working with people with disabilities. Can I still do my internship with Wilderness Inquiry?
Absolutely. Patience, understanding, communication skills, a willingness to learn, and having an open mind will help you to gain the necessary skills you will need. No one comes into this field knowing everything about every disability. You will find that you learn new things on every trip regardless of your experience level. The trail staff manual and the staff training in June are great learning tools and resources. If you are unable to find the answer to a question, feel free to ask your supervisor.

Where is Wilderness Inquiry located? I heard it is near Dinkytown. What is Dinkytown and what is there to do around the area?
WI's headquarters are located in the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is just blocks from Dinkytown, which is a little self-contained city next to the University of Minnesota campus. There are a wide variety of shops in Dinkytown, including restaurants, gift and trinket shops, book stores, coffee houses, a grocery store, a gas station, a post office, music stores, bike shops, and bars all within 3-7 blocks of Wilderness Inquiry and the staff house. There are lots of things happening all the time in the greater Minneapolis area as well. Downtown, which runs next to the Mississippi River, is within walking distance and Uptown is less than a 15 minute drive. There are also several state parks and great hiking and biking trails within 45 minutes of the city. So much to explore, so little time.

How do you get to all those locations? In Minneapolis, staff prepare for their trip, load up the trailer and van with gear and participants, and drive to and from their trip destination. For some distant destinations, we set up a remote base for the duration of 2-6 trips.

WI does many kinds of trips. If I'm hired, what kind of trips might I lead?
We operate both extended trips and day events. In the summer season, approximately 80% of our trips are canoeing trips and 20% are kayaking trips. Most extended trips are 3-6 days in duration. There are generally 3 types of groups on trips:
• Approximately 50% are standard adult trips where people register as individuals or with friends or family on one of our prescheduled trips.
• 25% of our trips are Family Trips where families sign up on a prescheduled trip.
• 25% are contract trips, where an organization or individual has contracted an entire trip. These groups consist of schools, scout troops, corporate offices, group homes, family reunions, and everything in between. Most of our day events are contract trips.

The majority of extended trips for most first-year staff and interns are canoe trips in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We try to vary people's schedules by including a kayak trip or a trip out west. Most of our remote bases, expedition, international, backpacking and horsepacking trips are staffed by returning staff.

Day events vary from taking school kids down the Mississippi River to workshops at area festivals where we may take up to 600 people canoeing in one day. WI provides day events for a variety of organizations, such as the Center for Victims of Torture, Minnesota Veteran's Home, Ronald McDonald House, Regis Corporation, and Minnesota Life College. Trail staff and interns enjoy the variety of groups we serve on our day events. Staff can expect about 20% of their trail days to be day events

What will my schedule be like as an intern?
Your schedule will vary and will depend upon Wilderness Inquiry's needs. Full-time interns generally work 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, when not on trail.

Is there public transportation that I can use to get around town?
The city bus has a popular route that makes frequent runs near the Wilderness Inquiry building, as well as near the staff house. Also, there are usually people with cars around the staff house who make group grocery runs. People are usually more than willing to help you out with a ride now and then if you need one.

Do I need my own gear for the trips?
You will need basic personal items such as a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, appropriate outdoor clothing, and a PFD. Most trail staff have their own paddle and a dry bag for gear. Wilderness Inquiry provides the group gear such as tents, cooking gear, boats, etc. For items you need to purchase, we have an arrangement with several outdoor companies, which allows us to give trail staff and interns a substantial savings on outdoor gear (Pro-deals). You will have the opportunity to look through catalogues to choose the items you would like to purchase. We are excited to offer this great perk.

When does Wilderness Inquiry hire interns?
Applications are accepted year round. Most interviews are conducted from November to April for the summer internships. Internships can take place at any time during the year.

What is a typical WI staffing team?
Trips generally have 1 senior leader and 1-2 assistant leaders or interns. Some leaders come to WI with extensive trip leading experience. Some leaders come with extensive experience working with all kinds of people of varying backgrounds and abilities. We like to hire staff that have a variety of backgrounds, just like our participants. The one thing that all WI leaders have in common is that they come to WI for the mission and the people.

What is WI's staff training? As an intern, can I attend staff training?
Summer Staff Training is a week long training that is held each year in early June. If you are an intern during this time, you will participate in staff training. The topics covered include hard skills such as canoeing and camp craft, leadership, risk management, and topics particular to Wilderness Inquiry's mission such as social integration, Universal Programming and a variety of disability related topics. The training usually includes a 3-day canoe trip on the Mississippi or Namekagon Rivers and 4 to 5 days of instruction at our headquarters in Minneapolis. This training is valued at $1645 and is provided to employees at no charge. We often offer shorter staff training courses in the fall and/or winter.

Is housing available for staff?
WI's staff house, known as "Martha's Place," is 5 blocks from our Minneapolis office. The staff house is available for full-time interns and trail staff at no cost.

Can I park my car at Wilderness Inquiry?
Trail staff and intern parking is not available at WI or the staff house. Trail staff may park on the street or at the Van Cleve Park parking lot under the 15th Street bridge. (Take a left at the corner past WI onto 15th Street and take another left at the first corner). Be very careful to park in legal parking spaces since tickets and towing are quite common near the University.

Is there a place that I can park my car while I am on a trip?
Parking while on trail is available in the parking lots at nearby businesses.

I have a wedding or other event that I need to attend during the middle of the summer. Will this be okay?
Time-off requests should be submitted as early as possible. The sooner you let us know about your schedule, the better the chance of your time-off request being approved.

I am a [insert major] and would like to do my internship with Wilderness Inquiry. Can I?
One of the things that make our interns and trail staff such a talented and strong group of people is the diverse backgrounds and experiences that they come from. All share an interest in learning about and experiencing the mission of Wilderness Inquiry.

Do you have a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) on staff?
We work extensively with people with disabilities in finding and creating adaptations for them, but we do not have a CTRS on staff.

How can I obtain hands on experience at WI before I apply?
We encourage all prospective trail staff and interns to volunteer at WI to find out more about us. One good way to do this is to sign up to be a Trip Assistant (TA.) TAs go on WI trips at a reduced cost in exchange for helping out on the trip. This is a great way to get a better understanding of what our trips are about, as well as the expectations we have for our trail staff. Volunteer opportunities are listed on our website. Volunteer applications are available here. TA applications are available upon request at 612-676-9400.

Wilderness Inquiry is an equal opportunity employer.