Meet Your Guide

Melissa Olson brings a lifetime of outdoor experience to each journey she leads. She has been guiding wilderness trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness since 2015. She is a Guide/Commercial Outfitter registered with the US Forest Service and adheres to outdoor ethics and wilderness conservation principles. As a MN Master Naturalist, she has extensive knowledge of plants, animals, fungi and the history of Northern Minnesota just waiting to be shared with you.

Her love of woods and water, flora and fauna started at a young age with exploring the woods on her grandmother’s farm, family camping and birthday parties at local nature centers. As a Girl Scout leader and guide, she has considerable experience working with youth and novice campers; bringing patience and a fun sense of adventure to every trip and encounter. 

She is an Army National Guard Veteran and for the safety of all trip participants she is also trained in Wilderness First Aid with CPR/AED and is American Red Cross Lifeguard Certified.

She has studied Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing) and is currently studying and practicing for a 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training led by Nitin Chotwan of Bhakti Yogshala in India. In 2018, she completed a 200-Hr YTT and considers herself old student of Vipassana (S.N. Goenka). She loves to incorporate elements of Mindfulness and Nature Connection into every Journey and Retreat. 

“Wilderness travel is spiritually transforming. When we choose to deepen our connection to nature by journeying through it, we deepen our connection with ourselves and our spirit. Elements in nature mirror the elements within us, therefore, we are not separate from it. In understanding nature, we understand ourselves.

~Melissa Olson