Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Braun.
Hi Courtney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Wanderlust Tours was founded by Dave and Aleta Nissen in 1993 to inspire our guests and vibrantly share the natural and cultural history of Oregon to instill appreciation and protection of the environment.
While Wanderlust has grown and evolved over the past 30 years, the mission has stayed the same. We still hold great respect for the natural surroundings of our tours and hope to introduce people to delicate ecosystems while maintaining a low impact on the environment. Wanderlust Tours is made up of people who are passionate about the intricacies of nature, have fun outdoors, and thrive on sharing their knowledge with those who choose our tours.
I started working for Wanderlust Tours in 2011 as a Naturalist Guide. 5 years later, I started helping with new tour creation, special events, and group sales. In 2022, my coworker Jared Garfield and I purchased the company from Dave and Aleta upon their retirement, and now are almost 2 years into ownership!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the organization as a whole, Wanderlust has had a smooth road with a few challenges along the way.
From the initial days of permitting, the growth of central Oregon, working out of the owners’ home, expanding tour offerings, and learning how to ensure you have the right balance of staff to potential tours-to now having a warehouse and office, a robust staff and a variety of tour offerings there have been a few speedbumps along the way.
A 2008 recession, Covid shutting down the tourism industry in 2020, and now an owner transition all made for some stressful and uncertain times. With these few exceptions aside, Wanderlust has experienced slow and steady growth allowing us to increase our ability to get more humans out into the great outdoors!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Wanderlust Tours offers half-day, evening, and overnight naturalist-guided tours in and around Central Oregon. We think that our guides set us apart from other activity providers as they are the most passionate, inspiring, and educated people, ready to share all that they know with our guests about the Natural World! I am most proud that we continue to look for ways to grow – not just in several guests, but in the diversity of people that we desire to see in the outdoors.
No matter your experience in the outdoors, whether you have never held a paddle in your hand or even seen snow-up to marathon runners and peak baggers, we feel that we can offer a tour experience that will satisfy the soul! If education can lead to connection- connection can lead to protection- and protection will ensure that generations to come will be able to enjoy the incredible outdoor spaces that we currently recreate.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I hope that we continue to re-frame what it means to be “outdoorsy”- becoming more inclusive of how and why people head into the outdoors and more open and accepting of anyone who desires to share these spaces!
I hope that we continue to learn about the best ways to take care of the land around us and that we can steward these lands in a way that keeps sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
Pricing:
- Daytime- $110
- Evening- $120
- Kids- $85
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wanderlusttours.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/wanderlusttours
- Facebook: facebook.com/wanderlusttoursbend
- Youtube: youtube.com/@wanderlusttoursbendoregon
Image Credits
Nate Wyeth and Brad Bailey
