OUTDOOR NC GUIDES
Whether you’re paddling through a pristine estuary, ripping through epic singletrack, or soaking in the views from a peak while rock climbing, our Outdoor NC guides empower you to elevate your adventure while minimizing your environmental impact. Discover more about our guides, each equipped with specialized training in the seven Leave No Trace Principles, ensuring your journey through NC is not just memorable, but meaningful.
What is the Outdoor NC Guide program?
The Outdoor NC Guide program is a one-of-a kind initiative developed by Outdoor NC in cooperation with Leave No Trace, unites guides from across NC for annual training. This training empowers guides to infuse stewardship messages into their experiences, enhancing outdoor adventures and deepening the understanding of the vital importance of preserving our cherished natural spaces for future generations. Our program equips them with essential tools and training, enabling impactful connections to NC’s breathtaking landscapes and inspiring others to embrace the Outdoor NC movement.
Meet the guides
Here, you’ll find a listing of all our Outdoor NC guides who have participated in the guide summit. They offer a wide variety of unique guided experiences and share insights on how you can be a good steward while enjoying your favorite outdoor activities.
Explore more information about each guide below, and follow our social channels on instagram and facebook to learn more from them.
Introducing our 2026 cohort of Outdoor NC guides!
Julia Kjelland – City of Wilmington Parks & Recreation
Karen Dunn – Coastal Eco Adventures
Vivianette Ortiz – Latinos Aventureros
Nicole Will – Asheville Wellness Tours
Michael Hardie – Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center
Ryan Carlson – Waypoint Adventure
Luke Halton – The OBX Way
Lindsey Barr – Blue Ridge Hiking Company
Kullen Bell – Coharie Tribe
Benjamin Clarke
Discipline: Canoeing & Kayaking
Benjamin Clarke is the outpost coordinator and guide at Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co., where he leads paddle tours on the Haw River, from relaxing sunset cruises to wild whitewater adventures. The Haw, which runs from the Piedmont to the Cape Fear River, is one of the great success stories in stewardship, It has blossomed from a struggling river to the healthy resource for recreation that it is today.
“River ecosystems like the Haw are particularly vulnerable to human impact,” Benjamin says. “Our ability to recreate in the Haw and share it with a thriving community of wildlife is owed to the tireless efforts of people who have worked hard and continue to steward this beautiful river.”
Benjamin’s love of stewarding the Haw has led him to become an Outdoor NC guide, enabling him to practice the Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles with his clients. Benjamin likes to emphasize to his boaters that much of river travel leaves no physical trace, and they have the unique opportunity to leave the river in better condition than they found it if they just pick up one piece of trash during their adventure.
David Stelling
Discipline: Fly Fishing
Dave Stelling operates High Country Guide Service, a fly-fishing experience located in Boone, Western North Carolina. Dave knows the importance of protecting the rivers and streams and sharing those values with the people he guides.
Dave says, “As a catch and release outfitter we always leave what we find and return our fish back to their homes – Always respecting the wildlife we encounter and teaching proper catch and release techniques to our clients.”
Those values led him to become an Outdoor NC guide – from planning ahead with thoughtful itineraries to cleaning up streams along the way, he helps guests truly connect with nature on his more than 20 individual programs.
Danielle Ennis
Discipline: Paddling
Danielle is the Head Paddling Guide and Instructor at Headwaters Outfitters – a family-owned paddle sport and fly fishing outfitter that’s operated in Rosman, North Carolina for 32 years.
Danielle loves to see her guests ride the wave of excitement on their river adventure toward a deeper connection to the outdoors. The experiences she provides are on the French Broad River – considered the world’s third oldest river. Danielle says, “giving back to the watershed and local communities has always been a main part of our mission.” To that end, each year in May, Headwaters Outfitters hosts the “Annual Upper French Broad River Clean Up Day.” They provide canoes for dozens of volunteers, who scour the river for trash – collecting 4,000 pounds last year alone! Danielle is excited to share more insights with fellow paddlers on how they can practice stewardship on the river today and in the future.
Forrest Stavish
Discipline: Rock Climbing
Forrest and his wife Elizabeth own and operate the Fox Mountain Guides and Climbing School in Western North Carolina. As the leading climbing guide service in the southeast, Fox Mountain instructs beginners to advanced climbers from ages 6 and up. While Fox Mountain is based in Western North Carolina, they also run trips in other areas, including the North Carolina Piedmont.
“Before I was a guide, I was a climber, a backpacker, a mountain biker, and a lover of the outdoors,” Forrest says. “I was fortunate to have been introduced to the outdoors at an early age and taught the importance of stewardship and Leave No Trace.”
That upbringing has led him to become an Outdoor NC Guide – Forrest places an emphasis on ensuring his clients stay on designated trails, stow their gear on durable surfaces, leave what they find and pack out their trash. He also encourages people interested in climbing to get involved with local stewardship organizations such as the Carolina Climbers Coalition, which organizes events throughout the year.
J Smilanic
Discipline: Photography & Fly Fishing
J Smilanic is the owner of WNC Photo Tours, which offers a wide range of photography tours and workshops in North Carolina. Smilanic’s goal with his company is to provide unforgettable experiences to photographers of all levels throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains and beyond. With photography in mind, Smilanic often journeys to some of the most pristine landscapes in the state.
“When you’re lucky enough to find outdoor locations without the marks of humans, it creates a sense of wonder and awe,” Smilanic says, adding that these places can be transformative for his clients. “These locations allow you to get lost in nature, and forget about the challenges of life in the modern world.”
The ability of the landscape to enrich his clients’ lives underscores Smilanic’s role as an Outdoor NC-certified guide. When leading photography tours, Smilanic will emphasize the need to Stick to Trails and Trash Your Trash, often leading by example and picking up trash himself that he finds on the trail while guiding. He hopes his example will inspire his clients to take similar action while on his tour and beyond.
Jamie Moore
Discipline: Wildlife & Air Boat Eco-Tours
Jamie Moore and his wife founded Outer Banks Adventures with just one boat and a few paddle boards in 2015. Their dream was to offer unique land and sea-based adventures and ecotours with a foundation in environmental education and stewardship. Ten years later, that dream is being lived fully as Jamie leads guided wildlife tours and airboat ecotours throughout the interior sound of the Outer Banks, using stewardship as a guiding principle to his business.
“I’ve found that if you can show someone that we’re all caretakers of the world around us, it’s extremely impactful,” Jamie says. “What we do is unique. People love to see wildlife, so teaching them to view these animals responsibly is a must, whether it’s black bears, alligators or red wolves. Everyday, you can make a difference and have an impact in someone’s life.”
Jamie sees every wildlife encounter as an opportunity to reach his clients and reinforce stewardship principles. Taking only pictures and viewing North Carolina’s unique wildlife from a safe distance underscores every single trip Jamie leads with Outer Banks Adventures.
Julia Kjelland
Discipline: Environmental Education
As the Program Coordinator at Halyburton Park with the City of Wilmington, Julia Kjelland provides a variety of private and public programming that offer hands-on experiences and activities to help participants learn about the natural communities and native flora and fauna of southeastern North Carolina. The main goal in all of Kjelland’s programming is to create a relationship of respect and stewardship between participants and the environment.
“I have a strong personal connection to nature, and I believe that everyone deserves to build their own connection to the natural spaces around them” Kjelland says. “So we must do our part to protect the spaces that we visit to preserve them for ourselves and for future generations of visitors.”
With this goal in mind, Kjelland incorporates Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles into all aspects of his programming, integrating the principles throughout his programming and tours. Leave It As You Find It is particularly important to Kjelland, because he teaches in an area that’s rich with native plants and animals. He instills in his students the notion that every flower and rock that they find belongs to the environment and organisms that call the area home. He engages with a lot of participants who are beginners in their outdoor journey, and he relishes the opportunity to instill good stewardship in them so they can carry that approach in all of their future experiences.
Karen Dunn
Discipline: Boat Captain
Captain Karen Dunn is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner with nearly five decades of experience navigating the coastal waters from New England to the Caribbean. These days, she spends most of her time sharing the natural beauty of southeastern North Carolina with others through Coastal Eco Adventures, her all-women-led ecotour business based along the Cape Fear Coast. Her tours center around Masonboro Island, an uninhabited barrier island where natural reigns, and Stump Sound where she highlights oyster culture. Stewardship plays an important role in Captain Dunn’s approach to her tours.
“I founded Coastal Eco Adventures to connect people with the wild, wondrous spaces that have shaped my life, and to help preserve them for the next generation,” Captain Dunn says.
She believes every outdoor experience is an opportunity to leave a place better than we found it, so Coastal Eco Adventures integrates acts of stewardship into every tour, from beach cleanups to educating guests about sustainable seafood choices. Dunn and her guides consider all seven Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles but are particularly mindful of the importance of sticking to durable surfaces, as much of the land they traverse consists of fragile coastal vegetation.
Kullen Bell
Discipline: Kayaking
Kullen Bell is a proud citizen of the Coharie Tribe and serves as the Tribe’s Watershed Coordinator. Since 2020, Kullen has stepped into a leadership role within the Great Coharie River Initiative and been at the helm of the Coharie River Tours, coordinating and leading kayaking tours on the Great Coharie River in Sampson County for hundreds of individuals throughout the state.
“Stewardship is important to me because our rivers, wetlands, and forests are deeply connected to our history, culture, and future,” Bell says. “It’s important to remember that you are a guest in a living ecosystem and you have the opportunity to leave every place better than you found it.”
Bell integrates Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles into every guiding experience on the blackwater Great Coharie River by leading through example, and educating participants about their role in protecting our natural resources. He puts an emphasis on disposing of trash and minimizing impacts on wildlife, and Coharie River tours even organizes cleanups with groups on the river.
Laura Blythe
Discipline: Mountain Biking
Laura Blythe is the founder of 7 Moons MTB, a mountain biking guide company based on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, NC, her ancestral homelands. Laura started 7 Moons MTB to help make mountain biking more welcoming and accessible to everyone in her community, and offers free mountain bike programs and gear so everyone can try the sport without barriers. Being a steward of the landscape she guides is a responsibility tied to her identity as Cherokee.
“These mountains aren’t just scenery, they’re part of our story, our culture, and who we are as Cherokee people,” Laura says. “Practicing Leave No Trace isn’t just about following a check list. It’s about caring for the land so it can continue to provide for all of us culturally, spiritually and recreationally for generations to come.”
As an Outdoor NC-certified guide, Blythe sees every ride and every trail day as a chance to help others build that same connection and sense of responsibility. She takes pride in weaving Leave No Trace into every aspect of 7 Moons MTB, from explaining to clients why it’s important to Stick to Trails to encouraging all riders to pick up litter found along the way.
Lindsay Barr
Discipline: Hiking & Backpacking
Lindsey Barr is the manager and owner of Blue Ridge Hiking Company (BRHC) in Western North Carolina, where she connects the outdoor-curious with the wild, enduring beauty of the Southern Appalachians through hiking and backpacking experiences. Their fully guided day hikes and backpacking trips take place throughout Western NC, and are designed to give hikers the skills to confidently continue their on-trail adventures after their time with BRHC.
Barr grew up in Winston-Salem and has been an outdoors-person her whole life. She left a career in aerospace engineering to pursue her dream of helping people build confidence and a love of the outdoors through empowering and approachable experiences in nature.
“This region is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world,” Barr says. “I believe the more people can see and experience the wild beauty of Western NC, the more they’ll love it and the more they’ll want to protect it.”
Barr believes hiking and Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles go hand-in-hand, which is what led her to becoming an Outdoor NC guide. She shares practices in a casual, demonstrative way as situations arise on the trail and has found that integrating principles like Trash Your Trash into regular instruction will inspire hikers to follow them more consistently when they’re on their own.
Lisa Colvin
Discipline: Hiking
Lisa Colvin is one of the founders of Issa Vibe Adventures, a black-led outdoor experience company that specializes in reconnecting individuals without a lot of outdoor experience to nature through guided hiking, kayaking, yoga, gardening and community wellness events. Lisa discovered her love for nature inadvertently while hiking to see a waterfall with two friends, and came away with the urge to create safe, joyful spaces for others to explore nature with confidence and stewardship in mind.
“Outdoor NC Leave No Trace isn’t just about packing out trash, it’s about the legacy we leave behind,” Lisa says. “Stewardship means honoring the earth with the same respect we ask our community to give themselves; with gentleness, gratitude and accountability.”
Lisa’s sense of responsibility to preserve the outdoors is expressed even before a hike or activity begins. All participants are welcomed in a circle and introduced to the key principles of Outdoor NC Leave No Trace, particularly when it comes to Trashing Your Trash, Keeping Wildlife Wild and Sharing the Outdoors. Ultimately, Lisa encourages her clients to take what they need from an experience, but leave everything else just as they found it, so the next person can feel the same sense of peace and connection.
Luke Halton
Discipline: Map Maker
Luke Halton is the founder of The OBX Way, a non-profit dedicating to sharing hiking, biking and kayaking routes throughout the Outer Banks. His service allows locals and guests to find public trails that match their interest and ability, and provide crucial logistical information with online maps that include public parking, comfort amenities and points of interest to enhance the trail experience. Halton believes that practicing good stewardship helps connect people to the places they’re exploring and that small individual actions as stewards can lead to larger community efforts that preserve the integrity of our fragile ecosystems.
Halton’s advice for would-be explorers of the Outer Banks?
“Slow down, open your senses, embrace the moment, and carry a trash bag.”
Halton encourages users of his maps to adopt forward-thinking Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles, like maintaining a safe distance from local wildlife such as wild horses, alligators and black bears. The goal of his nonprofit is to research, document and promote trails in order to expand existing public resources, with the hopes that all visitors that use his maps will be proactive about preserving those spaces.
Michael Hardie
Discipline: Wildlife Conservation & Education
Michael Hardie is the Wildlife Conservation Specialist at Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center in Johnston County, a unique, 2,800-acre property that allows the public to participate in a wide range of recreational and educational opportunities. Guided hikes are an integral part of the educational offerings, and Hardie also assists in guided fishing programs and guided conservation hunts. Stewardship is layered into all programs at Howell Woods, as the guides teach everyone how to be respectful of the people and nature that surrounds us.
“Stewardship can be an easy part of daily living,” Hardie says. “It really comes down to the simple mindset that we are all a part of nature and have a responsibility to take of it for ourselves and others.”
Howell Woods offers a wide range of recreational activities, from camping to horse back riding, and has volunteer and research opportunities as well. Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles are an active part of all activities on the Howell Woods property, and each guest leaves empowered to take those principles into their daily lives and personal adventures.
Nichole Will
Discipline: Wellness & Yoga
Nicole Will is the founder of Asheville Wellness Tours, which offers lighthearted, wellness-forward experiences like Yoga Hikes, Forest Bathing, Sound Baths, Goat Yoga, guided mindfulness hikes, and more. Will has a background that includes working in Wilderness Therapy with at-risk adolescents, guiding high-adventure camps and multi-day hikes throughout the Andes and Great Smoky Mountains, and designing adventure-based wellness retreats in Ecuador and the Galápagos. Through all of that work, she’s seen firsthand how powerfully nature can support our well-being, creating space for wonder, awe, play, connection, and peace.
“Outdoor NC Leave No Trace Principles are important to me because they offer such a simple, tangible way to show care and respect for the natural places we love,” Will says. “In my work, I’ve found that when guests slow down enough to truly connect with a place, they naturally become stronger advocates for protecting it.”
Many of Asheville Wellness Tours experiences take place on land that is intentionally managed and protected, so by practicing solid stewardship principles, like unrolling yoga mats on durable surfaces, Will can help make sure her guest’s experience is mindful in multiple ways.
Nick Freeman
Discipline: Fly Fishing
Nick Freeman is the owner of Rivers & Ridges a fly fishing guide service that operates in Western North Carolina and the Piedmont. Along with his wife, Sarah, he provides guided fly fishing excursions for beginners and experienced anglers alike. Most of the experiences he offers are focused in the northwestern foothills of North Carolina, mainly Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes counties.
Nick says, “I grew up loving the outdoors and naturally became hooked when I began fly fishing. Like any other outdoor activity, in fly fishing it is especially important to be respectful to others. Especially on public streams, there are often going to be other people enjoying a day of fishing. It’s easy to be considerate to other anglers by providing them with enough space to fish, opting for the next fishing spot downstream if one is taken, engaging with one another respectfully, and sharing the stream so that everyone can enjoy their day on the water.”
As an Outdoor NC Guide Nick reinforces the importance of keeping our rivers and streams clean so future generations can enjoy the same amazing experiences he offers on the water well into the future.
Lee “natty” Trebotich
Discipline: Outdoor Cooking/Hiking
Natty isn’t just a seasoned biologist. He’s also the owner and primary chef at Food For Adventures, a family-centered company based in Asheville that specializes in outdoor culinary services and educational programming.
Whether he’s offering “private adventure chef” with expedition cooking services or leading classes on foraging and medicinal plants, Natty says his No. 1 priority is to “respect nature.” Following the Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles, he says, helps him do that while ensuring that “we can experience nature in its true form and pass on this knowledge to others to safeguard it for future generations.”
“One principle that holds great importance for us and receives significant emphasis is ‘proper waste disposal’ (or, trashing your trash). Being a chef, outdoor enthusiast and biologist I understand the importance of showing respect for the environment.”
During guided experiences with his team, Natty advocates for active participation in the Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles, like picking up trash and packing in/packing out, “we find that setting a physical example is the most effective way to encourage others to join in.”
Vivianette Ortiz
Latinos Aventureros connects comunidades to the outdoors through bilingual adventures, intergenerational programming, education, and community care, nurturing health, belonging, and environmental stewardship.
Latinos Aventureros conecta a las comunidades con la naturaleza a través de aventuras bilingües, programación, educación y cuidado comunitario, cultivando la salud, el sentido de pertenencia y el compromiso con el cuidado del medio ambiente.
Ryan Carlson
Discipline: Accessible Adventures
Ryan Carlson is the Deputy Director of Waypoint Adventure North Carolina, a nonprofit that creates access and belonging in the outdoors for people with disabilities through adventure-based experiences. Carlson’s background is rooted in experiential education, climbing instruction, and outdoor leadership, and he’s spent much of his career exploring how adventure can be a catalyst for confidence, connection, resilience and personal growth. Waypoint offers a wide range of adaptive and inclusive outdoor experiences including rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, cycling, backpacking and team-building programs, working with youth, veterans, schools, community organizations and individuals with a broad range of physical, cognitive, sensory and emotional disabilities.
“Western North Carolina offers an incredible landscape for this work,” Carlson says. “Whether we are paddling quiet waters, climbing granite walls, or hiking mountain trails, we see outdoor experiences become opportunities for discovery, leadership, belonging, and joy.”
Because the landscape is so integral to Waypoint’s mission, practicing Outdoor NC Leave No Trace principles is an important part of the organization’s adventure programming. Carlson believes the principles teach an ethic of respect, humility and responsibility that all participants can take to heart. Moreover, creating sustainable outdoor spaces and thoughtful recreation practices helps ensure that these special places remain accessible and welcoming for future generations and for a wider diversity of people.
Interested in becoming an Outdoor NC Guide?
Are you a guide interested in foster meaningful connection? Are you passionate about stewardship? Do you want to inspire others to join the movement to preserve our beloved outdoor spaces? If that sounds like you, we’d love to invite you to join the movement as an Outdoor NC Guide.