Expanding the Big Lost Campus
Growing our infrastructure to meet the demand for programming
A Campus for the Next 20 Years of Outdoor Adventure Education​
The new lodge, employee housing, workshop, and community courtyard will allow us to expand our programs, serve more children and schools, and create opportunities to experience the Big Lost Campus — and develop an Inner BaseCamp — year-round.
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PHASE 1
Planning
& Design
Master plan, design, permitting, and foundation
Completed 2024
PHASE 2
Building the Future
Lodge, kitchen, employee housing, workshop, community courtyard
2025-2026
PHASE 3
Growing our Impact
More kids, more schools, and more programs
Fall 2027
Construction in Progress
A look at what's taking shape at the Big Lost Campus
2X
​SERVING OVER 50,000 CHILDREN
IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS
CAPACITY
"...Watching my students realize during our time there every year that there’s magic in spending time unplugged and outside with their peers, with adults who model what leadership and joy look like, is awe-inspiring and so affirming as a teacher... I know it sounds hyperbolic, because it’s only a couple of days, but when I use the word magic, it’s the exact word for what happens at Idaho BaseCamp."
— Lee Stoops, Alturas Elementary 5th Grade Teacher
THE BIG LOST CAMPUS
A Vision 23 Years in the Making
2004:
A Dream
Takes Hold
Mat Gershater purchases the property along the Big Lost River, with views of Mt Borah, envisioning a permanent home where young people can connect with nature, themselves, and each other.
2006:
A Space for Children
Over the years, the property becomes the "BaseCamp" for Mountain Adventure Tours campers. Through many summers kids build forts, trails, and hideaways in the woods that still give the campus its whimsical character today.
2017:
A Building for All
The Borah Basin Building opens as the first public-use hempcrete building in the United States — a milestone in sustainable building and a new gathering place at the heart of the campus.
2018:
A Home for the 5th Grade Outdoor School
Syringa Mountain School brings its first class of 5th graders to the Big Lost Campus, kickstarting a program that provides Idaho schoolchildren with outdoor adventure education at little to no cost to students or schools.
2024:
A Ground-Breaking
After years of planning, Idaho BaseCamp breaks ground on a new lodge and expanded campus infrastructure, laying the foundation for the next generation.
2027:
A Campus for the next 20 Years
Once complete, the expanded Big Lost Campus will open the door to more kids, more schools, and new and improved programs, built to serve generations to come.
