Parkway Peak Mountaineers

There are moments in life that divide into before and after. Standing on the summit of Mount Mitchell — the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, at over 6,000 feet — is one of them.

Parkway Peak for high schoolers is an outdoor adventure program built around that moment and everything it takes to get there. 9th–12th graders camp out for 2 nights at the base of the mountain, and hike to the top of Mt. Mitchell, one of the most iconic mountains in the country. It is a genuine physical and mental achievement — the kind that doesn’t come from anything handed to you, only from something you earned on your own two feet alongside people who pushed through it with you. But Parkway Peak is designed for more than the summit. The trail is where high schoolers learn to lead — to pace themselves and others, to problem-solve when conditions change, to encourage someone who’s struggling, and to accept encouragement when they are. These are the instincts that define maturity and leadership, and there is no better classroom for them than a mountain that demands your full attention and full effort.

Back at camp, the week includes our challenge tower, time at the pool, crafts, and all the rhythm of a great camp community. Experienced counselors serve as mentors throughout — on the trail and around the campfire — creating space for the kind of honest, unhurried conversation that high schoolers rarely get enough of.

Parkway Peak is for the high schooler who is ready to find out what they’re capable of. The mountain has a way of showing you. Campers are housed in cabins or platform tents.