Deep Portage Learning Center

Deep Portage Learning Center is a non-profit environmental education/outdoor recreation center located on a 6,307-acre conservation reserve near Hackensack, MN.  Rolling hills, pristine lakes and dense forests await exploration. Founded in 1973, Deep Portage has become a leader in its field, welcoming more than 10,000 children and adults each year to participate in hands-on educational programming.

A 54,000-square foot lodge houses up to 175 students and adults for school-year overnight field trips and summer camps.  The lodge also includes classrooms and meeting rooms, an indoor climbing wall, dining facilities, a library and a theater.

The outdoor campus includes a yurt, a teepee, a 55-foot observation tower, and a bog with a walk-out dock, along with 15 miles of hiking trails.  Energy sustainability is an important curriculum focus, featuring wood gasification boilers; a wind turbine and several solar arrays producing heat, electricity and hot water; and a solar-powered boat, a fully electric car and electric bikes.

Deep Portage’s Mission:

Through exploration of woods, water and wildlife, Deep Portage prepares and inspires

individuals and communities to sustain, celebrate and live in harmony with our natural world.