Our Programs

At Latino Outdoors, our work is rooted in three heartfelt priorities: creating meaningful outdoor experiences, uplifting personal narratives, and nurturing outdoor leadership. These core programs—Vamos Outdoors, Yo Cuento Outdoors, and Crecemos Outdoors—are deeply connected. When one thrives, the others grow stronger.

Vamos Outdoors opens the door to nature, helping individuals and families build lasting connections with the outdoors. From these experiences, powerful stories emerge. Moments of joy, healing, and discovery are then shared through Yo Cuento Outdoors, inspiring others to find their own place in nature.

Often, those touched by these programs feel moved to do more. They step into leadership through Crecemos Outdoors, building the skills and confidence to guide others on their own journeys. In doing so, they help grow and strengthen the very programs that inspired them. This cycle of connection, storytelling, and leadership is what makes our community so vibrant and keeps the movement going strong.

Vamos Outdoors: Cultivating Outdoor Connections

This program is centered on fostering outdoor engagement and is at the heart of Latino Outdoors.  Powered by volunteer leaders, Vamos Outdoors is about exploring nature, building community, and enjoying a sense of belonging.  LO outings are free and open to everyone.  From hikes and picnics to bird walks and camping trips, each experience is about spending time outside in ways that are fun, welcoming, and full of cultura.  Whether it is your first time outside or your hundredth, you are welcome here.

Latino Outdoors was founded in 2013 with outdoor programming beginning in earnest in 2014 (California’s Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles).  Over the years, our national network of volunteer leaders, now numbering more than 200 and present in over 30 locations spanning the U.S. from east to west, has delivered over 2,200 outings for more than 44,000 participants.  About half of that has taken place from 2024 onward.  One of every four participants is a child or youth.  Approximately 85% of LO outings include participants attending together with family members, and nearly 80% include someone experiencing the activity for the first time.

Crecemos Outdoors: Supporting the Next Generation of Outdoor Leaders

Leadership grows from community, culture, and time spent in nature.  Crecemos Outdoors support our volunteers by offering tools, training, and meaningful ways to connect with others.  Through this program, volunteers learn how to lead outdoor activities, speak up for the environment, and honor the cultures and stories that shape who we are.  We provide learning opportunities, mentorship, and spaces for building strong relationships with others who care about nature and community.

Examples include sponsoring wilderness first aid certification, other outdoor skills training, and access to our Jobs+ board of opportunities, where over 8,000 jobs, internships, fellowships, and scholarships in outdoor-related fields have been shared since launching the resource in late 2020.

Yo Cuento Outdoors: Rooted in Lived Experience

At Latino Outdoors, we believe that stories have power.  Our storytelling, communications and advocacy  program celebrates the real lives, voices, and journeys of people in our community who love and care for the outdoors.  We use our stories to amplify our collective voice rooted in cultura, corazón, and connection to the earth.  Together, we are shaping a more inclusive vision of the outdoor experience; one that blends the wisdom of our ancestors with the creativity and spirit of today’s generation.

Images, stories, and other content are shared on Latino Outdoors’ growing online communications platforms, which include social media channels with a current combined following of 125,000 (and thousands more on LO’s regional social media channels) and on latinooutdoors.org, with more than 400,000 website visitors and over 1 million views.