Photos by: Nathan Shoeman | WVUGo Staff Photographer
Planning your next adventure? Come plan with the Outdoor Recreation Center
The Outdoor Recreation Center (ORC) is a resource many WVU students may not
know even exists. The ORC offers a variety of programs, information and tools
for students to help them explore the outdoor recreation opportunities West Virginia
has to offer. The ORC promotes healthy, active and adventurous lifestyles, so
no matter what level of skill you may be at, the ORC can cater to you.
The Outdoor Recreation Center is comprised of three main parts; Outdoor trips (which include seminars and community service opportunities), information systems, and equipment rentals. Outdoor trips can include anything from a weekend backpacking trip to one of West Virginia’s natural wonders, to a thrilling whitewater rafting trip down the Lower Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania. They can also include seminars, where you can learn the basics of mountain biking at Coopers Rock or community service aspects, where you canoe down the Monongahela River and help pick up trash along the way. Students should take advantage of these trips because, “These are opportunities that you won’t have later, and if you do, they won’t be nearly as inexpensive as they are now,” says Brett Hagerty Assistant Director of the ORC and Adventure WV. These outdoor trips come at a fraction of the cost of traditional expert guided trips, plus they help build a sense of community amongst students and their peers.
Alongside these outdoor trips, the Outdoor Recreation Center has a wide breadth of information for anyone to take advantage of. They offer various books on information about where best to adventure in the surrounding areas and maps that students can checkout and return. Hagerty has also worked diligently on Morgantown DIY Outdoors, which is a web-based resource that provides information about the outdoor activities in and surrounding West Virginia. You can search via activity, and an interactive map will show you all of the hottest spots where you can do said activity. The activities range from camping, backpacking, canoeing to cross country skiing, rock climbing and even caving. With Morgantown DIY Outdoors, your next adventure is just a click away.
Gear Available to Rent at the ORC
Once you’ve planned your trip using any of the resources the Outdoor Recreation Center provides, you can also rent your gear from them too. The gear available to rent correlates to the seasons, so at the ORC you’re able to rent snowboards, skis, mountain bikes, paddle boards, back-packing gear and more. The price variance between renting from the ORC versus other rental companies/buying your own equipment is so enormous and the savings can really add up. There is nothing over $100 to rent from the ORC and this includes packages of skis, helmets, goggles, etc. Renting from the ORC gives students an inexpensive option to get active and the opportunity to try some new activities without breaking the bank. You can check out all the rental opportunities with the link below.
Gear RentalsOutdoor Recreation Center
About the Author
Kaity has served as a writer for the WVUGo Media team since August
2019. She is a senior, pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing
with an area of emphasis in Digital Marketing Promotions expected to
graduate from West Virginia University (WVU) in May 2020.
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