<p>Oberlin’s Outings Club is alive and well! They just woke up from a long hibernation, but they’ve been doing some cool stuff: overnight trips over fall and spring breaks, short hikes during the semester, and workshops on things like low-impact camping. They’re really receptive to students who want to organize events – they’ll lend out equipment and help coordinate (and fund) transportation, etc. Your son can get in contact with their officers through their [Facebook</a> page](<a href=“Facebook Public Group | Facebook”>Facebook Public Group | Facebook) to find out more about what they do.</p>
<p>Oberlin has a flourishing bike scene; there’s a [bike</a> path](<a href=“http://www.backroadsandbeachesohio.com/route-map/map.shtml]bike”>http://www.backroadsandbeachesohio.com/route-map/map.shtml) that cuts right through town and connects to the North Coast Inland Trail, the Bike Co-op organizes regular rides, and you can easily get to places like Lake Erie and [Chance</a> Creek](<a href=“http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/archives/1999.10.01/news/chance.html]Chance”>The Oberlin Review \\ News Article). And there are some really nice natural areas in town, including the [url=<a href=“http://new.oberlin.edu/student-life/facilities/detail.dot?id=2111210&buildingId=175090]Arb[/url”>http://new.oberlin.edu/student-life/facilities/detail.dot?id=2111210&buildingId=175090]Arb[/url</a>] (a small wooded area with trails and a reservoir), and the [url=<a href=“http://www.georgejonesfarm.org/]Jones”>http://www.georgejonesfarm.org/]Jones</a> Farm<a href=“an%20organic%20farm%20and%20nature%20preserve%20about%20a%20mile%20from%20campus%20–%20they’re%20really%20welcoming%20to%20students,%20and%20work%20closely%20with%20a%20lot%20of%20groups%20at%20the%20college”>/url</a>.</p>
<p>Beyond that, there’s a lot of potential for other outdoorsy activity, but it’s pretty seriously restricted by logistics – mostly transportation. There aren’t many organized opportunities for skiing, boating, or climbing, though if someone came along and wanted to put something together, I’m sure the Outings Club would be receptive. There are many natural areas near Oberlin, including Findley State Park and the Cleveland Metroparks, but they’re hard to get to without a car.</p>
<p>Bottom line: I don’t think your son would have any problem finding outdoorsy people at Oberlin, or things to do in and around town. Whether he’d be satisfied with the range of outdoor activity depends on what, specifically, he wants to do, and how much time/energy/motivation he has for expeditions out of town. (Biking? No problem! Kayaking? A little more complicated. Mountaineering? Not going to happen in Ohio.)</p>
<p>Also, from what you’ve written, it sounds like Oberlin would be a really good fit for him :)</p>