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Where do I find a genuine outdoor guide?
Get to know the independent guides and small outdoor businesses behind the adventures on Lost Terrain Tours.
The outdoor guides, who we love to partner with are people who have spent years exploring wild landscapes, developing their skills, and building businesses around the activities and places they love.
Some lead cycling expeditions through Patagonia. Others take people backpacking into remote mountains, paddling along coastlines, or hiking through places they know like the back of their hand. Many operate independently or run small guiding companies. They don't have massive marketing budgets or teams dedicated to getting their trips in front of travelers and in my opinion this makes them hard to find.
What exactly is Lost Terrain Tours?
Lost Terrain is a curated adventure marketplace where you can discover and book trips with independent outdoor guides and small guiding companies. These trips are lead by our guiding partners and even me, the founder, because aside from this site, I am also an outdoor guide in the Appalachian Mountains. On Lost Terrain we bring an epic selection of outdoor adventures together in one place.
Why independent guides?
As an outdoor guide myself, I've met some pretty remarkable people working in this industry. People who have dedicated years to understanding a particular landscape or mastering an outdoor activity. They've built experiences around that knowledge, often with small teams and a lot of hard work. But being a great guide and being great at marketing are two very different things. Between planning trips, managing logistics, communicating with guests, and actually spending time in the field, there's not always much room left for promoting a business. That's one of the reasons I started Lost Terrain. I wanted to create a place where these smaller guiding businesses could get more visibility and where travelers could discover experiences they might not have found otherwise. We're intentional about the guides we partner with. We get to know their businesses, learn about their experiences, and review relevant professional requirements, including permits and insurance. We're not trying to build the biggest catalog of outdoor trips. We're interested in finding people who really know their craft and have something special to share.
Getting to know who's taking you out there
One of my favorite parts of Lost Terrain is getting to share the stories behind the adventures.
Take George and Lea of Chilco Bike Expeditions in Northern Patagonia, Chile.
They lead supported gravel cycling trips through landscapes filled with volcanoes, forests, and araucaria trees. But beyond their itinerary, there's a whole story about how they got into guiding and built their business—including a bikepacking trip with their moms that helped inspire the experiences they offer today. Those are the things I love learning about. Because when you're choosing a guided adventure, I think it's worth knowing something about the people you'll be spending time with. You can discover their 8-Day Supported Gravel Ride: Volcanoes & Araucarias on Lost Terrain.
Built by a guide, alongside other guides
Something else worth mentioning: I'm still an independent outdoor guide, and my own guiding experiences are featured on Lost Terrain, too. I haven't stepped away from guiding to build this business. I'm doing both. That gives me a firsthand understanding of the work that goes into creating and leading trips and it influences what I want Lost Terrain to become. Not another company taking credit for the experiences guides have worked hard to create, but a place that gives them more opportunities to share their work.
Come see what we've found
We'll keep searching for talented independent guides, learning their stories, and sharing the adventures they've created. You just might discover somewhere you hadn't thought to go.
Wild Places Change Us.
— Eli Adams
Founder & Outdoor Guide, Lost Terrain Tours
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