DREAM Adaptive Recreation

About

DREAM’s programs provide people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to experience the great outdoors. It is our hope that, through these experiences, our participants build confidence, create new relationships, and gain independence—skills we hope will transfer to other areas in their lives.

Categories Program Adaptive Sports Community & Advocacy Mental Health Therapeutic

Program Details

DREAM Adaptive Recreation’s mission is to enhance the quality of life of individuals with disabilities by providing year-round outdoor adaptive recreational opportunities.

DREAM provides programs that focus on leveraging each person’s abilities. Our activities include alpine skiing and snowboarding at Whitefish Mountain Resort, Nordic skiing at Whitefish Lake Golf Course, biking on various trails and pathways in the Flathead Valley, and paddle sports and motorized watersports on Echo Lake and Whitefish Lake.

For each lesson and opportunity, DREAM provides trained staff and volunteer instructors, adaptive equipment, and/or adaptive teaching techniques as needed. Our goal is to create a safe, fun, and empowering environment for our participants to learn and grow. Every person is unique and, therefore, our lessons and experiences are tailored to each person’s specific goals!

DREAM thrives on promoting:

Inclusion: It is our belief that all community members should have access to the benefits of outdoor recreation. People with disabilities should be able to fully participate and be represented in all aspects of our community.
Breaking Down Barriers: In addition to providing adaptive equipment and adaptive instruction, we provide our lessons at highly subsidized rates and offer additional financial aid scholarships to participants as needed.
Access Projects: DREAM partners with organizations such as the National Parks Service and the U.S. Forest Service to ensure outdoor recreation spaces in our community are accessible and employ universal design principles whenever possible. This allows community members with disabilities greater and more equitable access to outdoor recreation spaces outside of DREAM programs.

Some recent and current projects that DREAM has done include:

Working with the Flathead Rivers Alliance to increase access to river put-ins and take-outs along the three forks of the Flathead River
Trail accessibility review in Glacier National Park, specifically middle-country trails, and providing training on different all-terrain mobility devices
Collaborating with the U.S. Forest Service and Gateway to Glacier Trails on the Cedar Flats project, ensuring the multi-use trail system is functional for three-wheeled adaptive mountain bikes

In Summer of 2024, DREAM announced the construction of a new headquarters and operational center at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Big Mountain—which, going forward, will be known as the Lesar Family Mountain Center for DREAM Adaptive Recreation. The Lesar Family Mountain Center renderings depict a three-story, 14,000 square foot building that is being fully designed for use by a person with disabilities (completion date TBD). Along with the Lesar Family Mountain Center, DREAM also plans on establishing the following plans for the Center:

A drift boat program in Summer of 2025 (wheelchair accessible drift boat for fishing access)
Expansion of a paved path for bike riding and its capacity through offering more dates and locations throughout the summer

Populations Served
Our program opportunities support individuals ages 5 to adults who may benefit from using adaptive recreational equipment and/or adaptive teaching techniques. We primarily serve individuals with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities. Participants range from those who have never desired to learn a new sport or experience a new adventure to more advanced athletes looking to try new equipment, refine their skills, or reach loftier goals.

Outdoor recreation is a great way to foster connections and encourage healing for our nation’s heroes. At DREAM, we offer unique programming for active duty military and Veterans with a disability. To increase our reach, we also partner with the Kalispell Vet Center and Whitefish Veterans Support Team.

DREAM programs have a focus on inclusion—therefore, we promote adding family, friends, and community members into the mix whenever possible.

Staff Composition

One executive director
One program manager
One part-time instructor/lead trainer
One development manager
Two program coordinators
One part-time operations specialist
Three seasonal winter instructors

Furthermore, DREAM is supported by 13 board members and over 220 volunteers.

Contact Julie Tickle, Executive Director info@dreamadaptive.org (405) 885-9539 https://www.dreamadaptive.org/

A participant is in a sit ski for a picture, with a DREAM volunteer and a seasonal staff employee posing on either side of her. The scenery behind them is an open ski slope covered with snow that shines bright from the sunlight.

Paddling on Whitefish Lake on one of three OnIt paddleboards in the DREAM watersports fleet. A participant sits in a wheelchair, which is strapped securely on an Onit paddleboard that allows the participant to paddle the board either by themselves or with the help of a volunteer or staff member standing behind them. The outriggers on the Onit make this experience fun and safe and give participants a sense of freedom to allow them to paddle on their own. The outriggers can be removed for an additional challe

Participant comes down off a mountain bike trail in a handcycle. An eager participant comes down off a mountain bike trail, with a volunteer instructor following close behind on a mountain bike to ensure a smooth, safe, and fun ride. Trees and foliage line the narrow bike trail. The participant himself is riding a hand cycle, which is one of the many adaptive bikes that DREAM provides to accommodate a large variety of disabilities and needs.

A group photo from one of DREAM's many Summer Tuesday mountain bike rides. Everyone enjoys a breezy, cloudy day as they ride along a bike path bordered by pine trees. In our inclusive group model, participants ride at their own comfort level and feel challenged to try new skills on their adaptive three-wheeled bikes. Riders are accompanied by veteran participants, volunteers, and staff.

The view from the top of Whitefish Mountain Resort, where a ski instructor and participant stand before a snow-covered ski slope that is bordered by dark pine trees. Clouds line the blue sky above them. The participant's sit ski is tethered to the instructor, which helps them learn and hone ski skills such as lean and turn while staying close to the instructor.

Sit water ski on Echo Lake- A participant water-skis across a lake, shouting gleefully and raising a triumphant fist in the air. They are using a sit ski, which can be used with or without outriggers as is shown in this picture. This adaptability provided by DREAM allows participants to enjoy water skiing at their own comfort level and also allows for skill building of the sit water ski sport.

The participant waterskiing on a tree lined lake has a visual and hearing impairment. He is equipped with a waterproof headset that allows him to receive instruction from the boat staff while he is waterskiing.

Services Offered

Summer Programs include:

Paddle Program - using standard paddleboards and kayaks as well as adaptive equipment, which include Hobbie Paddle Boards and Onit Ability Boards
Water Sports Program - water skiing, wakeboarding, and tube rides
Mountain Biking/Cycling - paved path cycling and adaptive mountain bike opportunities, which range from cruising along a forest fire road and tackling the area’s tougher single-track/downhill trails to exploring paved pathways through the Whitefish area. Through our cycling program, experienced instructors help participants build the skills and knowledge to become a confident and independent rider on any trail or paved path. To do so, DREAM has a fleet of top-of-the-line handcycles and recumbent foot pedals bikes from Reactive Adaptations, Lasher, Sport-On, and Bowhead

Winter Programs include:

Alpine ski lessons
Snowboard lessons
Nordic/cross country skiing

Summer and Winter Military Programs:

There are a range of programs available that include all DREAM participants and those that are Military-only events. The events include but are not limited to: mountain bike and paved path group rides; paddle program and motorized water sports; mountain bike clinics and private bike lessons; kayak clinics; alpine skiing and snowboarding weekends; Nordic and cross country ski days; and private alpine or Nordic ski lessons.

*All military programs are open to members of the Armed Forces and Veterans with a disability. The disability does not have to be reflected by a current VA pension and compensation percentage.*

Cost to Participate
Cost of each program varies.

Military Veterans and Active Duty Service Members with a disability participate at no cost.

Financial Aid is available for all participants because we believe that everyone should be able to participate in our programs, no matter their financial situation. We strive to keep our programs affordable, but recognize that some may need additional support to access our programs. Our scholarships are based solely on financial need and only complete applications will be considered.

Recent Case Studies

Two youths and two adults proudly hold up fishing poles as they stand on a wooden dock overlooking the lake on a partly sunny day. A forest surrounds the lakes’ borders in the background, with deep green trees lining the horizon. Everyone smiles for the picture, and the two youths are giving a thumbs-up sign.

Program

DREAM Adaptive Recreation

Program Details

Recent Case Studies

Baztec Fishing & Outdoors

Big City Mountaineers

DREAM Adaptive Recreation