"I found the experience to be a powerful process for clarifying my intentions and identifying what really holds heart for me."
     --Ed Claassen, The Grove Consultants International

Rites of Passage, a non-profit organization founded in 1977, offers programs that support people to mark important transitions in their lives, discovering within themselves meaning, purpose and vision.

Our work is both educational and experiential. We offer a range of modern and ancient tools to participants, with a focus on learning about oneself and one's gifts in the context of the natural world. This work resonates with people in diverse life situations: young people entering adulthood, adults seeking meaning and wholeness, and anyone longing for a deeper sense of purpose in their professional lives.

A rite of passage, a ceremony marking the experience of an important life transition, symbolically represents the end of an old life and rebirth into the new. Our programs, from one day Vision Walks, to Quest for Leadership retreats, to nine day Vision Quests, are based on a rich understanding of the significance of rites of passage in human societies. All of our programs involve some time spent in nature--time to reflect, listen, and discover one's authentic gifts and purpose.

Our programs foster self-knowledge and self-reliance, as well as a spiritual dimension of respect for all beings and connection to the whole of Creation. We are committed to the highest ethics and standards as wilderness guides and outfitters, and practice "leave no trace" camping. We are active members of the Wilderness Guides Council (WGC), a group of guides dedicated to competent, ethical and ecologically sound use of wilderness ecosystems. We are proud to hold professional use permits from the following Federal entities: the Bureau of Land Management, Inyo National Forest, Plumas National Forest and Death Valley National Park.

Our staff serve as a loving mirror of story and meaning for participants in our programs. Staff members provide information, preparation, feedback, support and follow-up.

Rites of Passage can work with individuals or groups to create customized programs, from one day Vision Walks, to weekend Earth Walk youth programs, to ten day Vision Quests. Contact us for more information.

If you would like to support our work with a donation, we would welcome it. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. Gifts are used to fund scholarships.