One of the newest additions to the Mashouf Wellness Center is Gator Outdoor Adventures, an outdoor trips program aiming to deliver outdoor experiences to students, as well as explore San Francisco and the greater Northern California.

Gator Outdoor Adventures, or GO Adventures, is driven by the wellness center’s mission to help students grow and learn through appreciation of the natural world.

“We work to facilitate experiences that help participants develop transferable skills that translate into the classroom, work-world and beyond,” said GO Adventures student manager Sachi Sakamoto. “In order to facilitate these experiences, we offer a variety of trips.”

Day hikes, backpacking, backcountry cooking, car camping, kayaking and even hot springs soaking are just some of the experiences the program has to offer this year.

From as little as $10 to upwards of $75, the trips are reasonably affordable for students. Some even offer food, instruction and transportation. Whether it’s Redwoods backpacking or rock climbing in the Sierra Nevadas, GO Adventures has plenty in store this fall semester to kick off their new program.

There are also trips specifically designed with freshmen and transfer students in mind. These trips focus on exploring more of what San Francisco and the Bay Area has to offer, helping new students feel more comfortable in their new city.

“We’ve been working on this for a while now, so we are very excited to see this program come to fruition,” Sakamoto said. “SFSU hasn’t had an outdoor trip program before, so it’s an amazing opportunity to finally provide this for students and other members of the SFSU community.”

Sakamoto added, “Whether you’re a first timer or an experienced outdoor person, we have something that will engage you above and beyond what’s offered in the classroom.”

Going into their second year of operation, Director of Campus Recreation Pamela Su hopes to build upon their first year.

“Last year when we opened, we were so busy just trying to figure things out,” Su said. “I would love to see us improve upon collaborations and partnerships to try and get more of the campus community to check us out.”

The GO Adventure program aims to do just that and more this coming year.

“It has been a great reception so far, with students showing great interest in these trips,” Sakamoto said. “After the first two weeks of school, all but one of the trips were full.”

For just $10, one could experience a full day of sightseeing while learning some the city’s public transportation routes, according to business major Weston Adams. “The Day in the Bay trip they offered was a great way to explore San Francisco.”

Students and those involved in the SF State community can find out more about the new trips program and register for upcoming experiences on the Campus Recreation Member Portal.

Trips are available for all wellness center members, staff, faculty and alumni. Participants must be 18 years or older at the time of registration. For SF State students under the age of 18, a parent must sign a health and waiver form.

The wellness center reiterates that they are there to provide students both a place to work out at, as well as a place to improve their livelihood.

“Outdoor trips and clinics are a great way to gain knowledge and experience with outdoor skills, make new friends and to simply have fun while playing outside,” Sakamoto said.