Welcome to
Summit Trek & Travel!
We are dedicated to developing Outdoor Adventurers who love the planet and who are able to explore and enjoy our natural world competently, comfortably, and with confidence.
OUR MISSION
To inspire others to dream, and to challenge and empower them to reach those dreams, while simultaneously instilling a deep love of our natural world and a desire to steward it respectfully.
Saying Adios to the Osa
Reflecting on an amazing trip to Costa Rica.
Join Us!
Here are four great ways to get started on your next adventure
Wild and Wooly
Summit Trek & Travel
High Adventure
Venture further out with us, to experience longer, more challenging trips. We’ll plan the trip, help you prepare, and provide an experienced trip leader.
Places like:
- Grand Canyon –Backpack more than 4,000 vertical feet to the bottom and back.
- Yellowstone and the Tetons – Bison, Grizzlies, and backcountry. Backpack to parts of the parks that fewer than 5% of visitors ever see.
- Alaska – Camp and hike at the foot of our nation’s highest mountain. in the vast wilderness of Denali.
- And more…
Wild and Worldly
Summit Trek & Travel
International
We plan everything, provide the guides, and help you prepare for a world class adventure. Small group, once in a life-time experiences for those willing to step off the grid.
New trips each year:
- Trek the jungle in Costa Rica, volunteer at a sea turtle sanctuary, snorkel in the Pacific Ocean
- Ride horses in the Ecuadorian Andes, trek to the base camp on Cotopaxi
- Explore a glacier in Patagonia, hike Tierre del Fuego
- Sail to Galapagos and walk Darwin’s laboratory
- And more…
Summit Sisters
Backpacking
School
Check out our backpacking school! It has been designed specifically for people like you.
- For any woman who said “no” to adventure because someone told her she was not an athlete
- For any woman who put dreams on the back burner to care for family, career, or friends…
- For any woman of color who has watched from afar because she didn’t feel safe in the backcountry…
- For any woman who thought it might be “too late” for her to begin camping, hiking, backpacking, or go on travel adventures…
Wild but Mild
Summit Trek & Travel
Ohio-Area MeetUps
We plan everything, provide the guides, and help prepare you to experience nature comfortably, competently, and with confidence. All run through MeetUp.
- Training hikes at local parks for a few hours
- Day-long adventures within a few hours’ drive of SW Ohio
- Virtual training sessions on a range of outdoor topics
- In-person classes on backpacking and safety on the trail
- Wildflower walks, foraging classes, plant ID, bird watching, and more
- Local training, beginner backpacking trips to locations within a day’s drive of SW Ohio
FROM SOUTHWEST OHIO
We specialize in experiences that put outdoor adventure within reach for those who have traditionally not had equal access, those who thought they weren’t “athletic” enough, and others who put their own dreams of adventure on the backburner to care for family or career.
MEET NANCY BALL
Founder and CAO (Chief Adventure Officer) Nancy Ball, began leading backpacking trips for a circle of friends in 2006. Over time, both the circle of friends and the scope of the trips has expanded. Nancy has experience planning and guiding trips from the Appalachian Trail to the rainforest of Costa Rica, and from day hiking to backpacking, kayaking, rappelling, canyoning and more. Each Summit Trek & Travel adventure is tailored to the experience level of the participants, who are coached and supported for success.
Drop Us a Line
Have a question about something you see on our site?
Send us a message through our handy form here—we’ll be glad to keep you in the loop.
