• Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training Since 1977

    Located in Strathcona Park on beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

    What is COLT?

    The Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training program is a dynamic semester designed to train high quality and well-rounded outdoor educators and guides.

    Prospective Students The Lodge

  • Applying for COLT is Easy.

    Check the admission requirements and then fill out the application form.

    If you have any questions give us a call or email, 250-286-3122 or jim@colt.bc.ca.
    We're happy to answer any questions you have.

    Application Package

  • Strathcona Park Lodge & Outdoor Education Centre

    When you’re not on a cool trip you’ll be staying at Strathcona Park Lodge,
    an outdoor education centre and resort and your home base.

    The Lodge, as it’s affectionately known, is forty minutes by car south west of Campbell River,
    close to the geographic centre of Vancouver Island and just outside of Strathcona Provincial Park.

About COLT

Twice a year ten students arrive at Strathcona Park Lodge for a unique experience that will change them forever. The three-month program uses the Vancouver Island backcountry and a world-class outdoor education centre as a classroom to teach leaders and educators invaluable life long skills.

Student Life

During COLT days are for doing. Students learn hard skills like how to sea kayak, rock climb, whitewater paddle, splint a broken leg, backpack, navigate and mountaineer. And along the way they will develop even more valuable soft skills: group management, leadership, communication, independence and confidence.

The COLT Experience

We believe COLT is the best outdoor leadership program in Canada. Founded in 1977 by Canada’s oldest outdoor education centres, COLT is a learn-by-doing program with the best job opportunities, instructors and learning environment. And for the price no other program comes close to offering as much.

Directors Message

Greetings from Strathcona Park Lodge and the COLT program.

I appreciate your interest in our COLT program and hope you find our web site interesting. We have put a lot of effort into designing the site so that it is easy to use and displays and describes our program as best we can. Although we recognize that we are in the technological and social networking age, we still depend on personal contact to communicate what we do and how we go about it – so please drop us an email, pick up the phone or visit us in person if you have any questions or just want to talk to a person about the program.

I hope you will decide to join us in 2010! I look forward to meeting you soon. Read More.

Cheers,

Jim Miller – Program Director

Recent News

2010 COLT SEASON

2010 COLT SEASON starts Friday, May 7th We have 7 students signed up- one from France, one from Puerto Rico and the rest from across Canada. It looks like a young group but highly motivated and full of energy! Freya (Heather’s daughter) from the Lodge is also a student. Can’t wait to show a new…

COLT Newsletter

Stay in touch with what's happening around the Lodge