Shrieks coming from the woods beside Savage Mill often cause visitors to pause and do a double-take. But not to worry – the sound is part of the excitement built into the experience at Terrapin Adventures. Now entering their 15th season, the cutting-edge adventure company is renowned for thrilling vacation-type activities and transformative team-building outings. Along the way, participants explore, learn about, and enjoy nature, whether in the woods here at Savage Mill or further afield. Chief Experience Officer Steve Carne was eager to talk with us about what makes Terrapin Adventures special and some exciting plans for the future.
How did Terrapin Adventures get started?
Terrapin Adventures (TA) opened in 2009. The idea for an adventure tour company in Howard County came about when Matt Baker, the founder of Terrapin Adventures, was on a zipline tour in Costa Rica. He began to wonder if this could be brought to Maryland. It took Matt years to develop the business plans and find the perfect location.
What was TA’s initial mission, and how has that evolved over the past 15 years?
From the beginning, the goal of Terrapin Adventures was to bring a slice of rugged outdoor adventure to Central Maryland. Soon after opening, Terrapin began to get more and more demand for group activities and teambuilding programs. The original operations manager, who had worked for the Boy Scouts training teambuilding, helped develop a robust training curriculum. Over time, Terrapin has added and developed new activities. We now offer caving, kayaking, and backpacking trips, archery and horseback riding, expanded camp programs, and new adventure elements including a kids course and an additional zipline.
How did you get involved with Terrapin Adventures?
I started at Terrapin as an hourly wage guide in 2010. I had intended it to be a summer job prior to going to law school. I had a great summer, learned a lot about group dynamics and teambuilding, and soon found that I had little interest in spending time in law libraries when the sun was shining. Since 2010 I left and returned to Terrapin a couple times, working my way up as business manager, and then general manager. After working for another adventure park company for a few years, I returned to Terrapin Adventures in 2020 to purchase the business from Matt, who was looking to work less hours. It has been an incredible journey.
What is your favorite part of the job? Least favorite?
It may sound a bit comical or cliche, but I love teambuilding. Most of us spend a huge amount of our lives working with other people who are often the key to whether our work is productive, whether we are happy, and whether we are growing or stagnant. Teambuilding is the process of actively working to improve those essential relationships. Our teambuilding is always based in play, so it is often silly, but it is also frequently insightful. It is deeply fulfilling to get to be part of groups actively developing and learning to work better together. As for the least favorite part of the job, spreadsheets. If I could be outside with groups all day, I would be, but someone has to spend some time doing paperwork.
TA offers a number of programs for kids and adults, including spring break camps, summer camps, adventures on- and off-site, and teambuilding. What are some of the newer offerings?
We are always working on new programs at Terrapin. This year we are running incredibly popular homeschool club programs. We have also developed a great teambuilding program designed for work teams that can’t spend half a day playing in our trees. And we’re currently working on a new nature-based camp we expect to debut in 2026.
Teambuilding can be used for groups of all kinds. What is particularly powerful about it, and how does it translate into the day-to-day interactions between people?
Much of our time as kids is spent learning how to play with each other. It is one of the reasons that playground and team sports time is so important. Groups naturally form dynamics and predictable interactions. As we age and change groups, we end up taking for granted that a group should naturally work well together. But having a high-functioning team is not easy or natural. It takes intention, time, practice, and reflection to develop. So at Terrapin we play. We bring groups together to tackle challenges that are fun, frustrating, and at times absurd. We then talk about what was fun, what was frustrating, and how absurd it was. These conversations can achieve many things. They are organic, and groups often lead us to what they need to discuss. On an individual level, people who engage with teambuilding become more reflective. They tend to become more aware of group dynamics, more thoughtful about communications and interactions. We have had groups push through mental roadblocks on projects and develop tools to improve coordination. We have also had groups come out to Terrapin and just play. Sometimes play in itself is all adults need.
Do you have a favorite story or two to share about how TA changed someone’s life?
Terrapin has changed many lives. I’ve witnessed participants come out to Terrapin to challenge themselves. They dig deep and find an internal strength that helps them grow. Their memories of Terrapin will forever remind them of their own strength. But I want to highlight another magical aspect of Terrapin. Terrapin has changed the lives of hundreds of its employees. In the 15 years we have been in operation, we have seen guides who started out terrified of heights and became incredible climbers. We have had guides who learned to kayak, learned to backpack, and even learned to cave. All of our guides have developed the very difficult skill of helping people when they are at their most scared. Our teambuilders learn and develop near-herculean listening and awareness skills. Many of our guides develop lifelong relationships. In my own life, the officiant and the best man at my wedding were both previously Terrapin coworkers. I can even happily say that we have two Terrapin guides who met, dated, married, and now have a beautiful daughter. Terrapin has wonderfully changed many lives.
How can you adapt activities to meet the needs of the participants?
At Terrapin, we try to meet people where they are. We want our adventure sports, teambuilding, and camps to be for everyone. This is why all of our programs can be run in a variety of ways. This is also why we are an actively-guided course. You always have a trained guide in the air who is there to help. With teambuilding groups, there is always a facilitator there to ensure the next initiative is the right level and type of challenge
What does TA do particularly well?
All of our guides are guides because they want to help people. Our guides love nature, they love adventure, and they love working with people. I believe what Terrapin does best is simply connecting with people.
Looking ahead to the next 15 years, what do you foresee?
Terrapin has many adventures on the horizon. In the next two years, we are looking to expand our camp programs. Longer term, we have a redesign and update planned for our high course. After that, we are looking at additional locations in Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia.