Legacy Outdoor Adventures Review

What a wonderful program this is. My son was in this program and it has changed his life and ours. The staff are salt of the earth. Caring, loving, considerate. They know when to pull back and when to clamp down. What a place to reconnect with yourself than the out doors.

We chose Legacy because it offered much more than traditional sit-around-and-talk therapy. Working in a group to overcome physical challenges gave our son the opportunity to think about and learn about what it takes to become an honorable human being, not just a substance-free one. The confidence he developed from his physical successes allowed him to face and take responsibility for his personal failures. We were very pleased by the creativity and flexibility shown by the staff to engage him in the process at his own level. The environment is one of support, gratitude and acceptance and this helped our son to develop his sense of accountability. The weekly letters we exchanged with our son, the weekly conferences with the therapist, and the Family Workshop gave us the skills to communicate in a much more satisfying and productive way. Legacy also assisted us in setting up a good aftercare situation so that we can continue to maintain the positive changes our son has made as he transitions to a healthy, independent life.

To anyone who read my original 2 star review it is important to mention I was angry when writing the review. Although I don't feel like I lied in the review, I was absolutely misleading when describing my departure. Legacy went above and beyond in trying to snap me out of a downward spiral bordering on psychosis. I will not go into detail but I will say that I fully deserved to be sent home and subconsciously wanted to be kicked out. Any type of responsible management can only ignore toxic behavior for so long before placing the group's sanity over a single rotten egg. All I can say is be fully detoxed before arriving if said person is abusing physically addictive substances and be fully prepared for what you are signing up for. For the sole reason of not being able to smoke cigarettes I would honestly only give 4 stars, but since I falsely gave only 2 stars in my original post I hope these five will average out.

Some of the best days of my life took place in good ole Wayne County... I learned more there, than I did in high school! I miss it

I have never been more proud to say that I have been somewhere, than Legacy. Legacy completely changed my life and my family's life. I am forever grateful for what this place did for me. Not just the medical staff but also the field guides. Some of the most impact full people I have ever met in my life work at this place. I will always have a place in my heart for legacy and it makes my heart warm to see them opening their doors to more people. Giving new opportunities to lives and second chances to those who never thought they would make it. Thanks!

This program saved my son's life. I can't recommend Legacy highly enough. Across the board the staff is incredibly helpful and supportive. The program is NOT easy, by design. My son left free of depression and with a much stronger sense of self than when he arrived.

Legacy was great for our son and surprisingly beneficial for us as parents too. The program s combination of wilderness challenges and on-campus work with licensed therapists was very effective. It was incredibly challenging, yet supportive at the same time. All of the staff were amazing. They took a young man who was unhappy, withdrawn, struggling with substances and lacking direction, and gave him the tools to face challenges in a healthy manner. Our son is re-engaged with his family, has a job that he likes and is developing new friendships not based on using substances. I can t recommend Legacy highly enough.

I wouldn't trade my time at Legacy for anything. Recovery is really challenging for everyone involved, and Legacy is a place where people navigate those challenges skillfully and with compassion.

I recently revisited Legacy as a volunteer (I now have long term sobriety). The program has grown from where it was when I was client in 2012. There's a women's program now, a larger campus, better outdoor equipment for clients and some new ways of doing recovery.

The core staff are really caring and skilled. The guides are amazing. I've seen and heard of how things go at other treatment programs, Legacy is different. The people at Legacy meet clients where they're at and help them to do their own work, balancing between gentleness and firmness.

Beyond that, the land in Utah is incredible and the adventures at Legacy are really fun. My time at Legacy was life changing.

Before I write my critique I will say that most of the employees are really good people and for the most part mean well; keep in mind this is a business though. The countryside is beautiful as well. However, I do not recommend this place for anyone who has not been sober at least 30 days and do not even think about going there until fully detoxed because you are on your own once you get there and will not be given any type of detox treatment. I was barely 5 days detoxed from opiates and was expected to hike nearly 20 miles in a 3 days span after not sleeping for a week. Now I am to blame partially for this for not arriving fit but after being in the military and otherwise healthy I expected to be fine. It is sort of ironic that I spent tens of thousands of dollars traveling to Legacy only to be kicked out in a week for a shoving match and eventually getting sober back home in a free program through the VA. Overall, this place means well and I witnessed many kids with attitude problems change for the better, but IF YOU ARE A REAL DRUG ADDICT DO NOT GO HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN CLEAN LONG ENOUGH THAT YOUR BODY AND MIND ARE WORKING PROPERLY.

I cannot say enough nice things about Legacy and its staff---outstanding, amazing, professional---the list goes on and on. We did a lot of research prior to selecting Legacy; we did not think our son would do well in a structured inpatient residential program that only relied on reading passages, writing in journals, and participating in group therapy. Legacy Outdoor Adventures turned out to be exactly what we were looking for-- outdoor activities that develop self-awareness and confidence in overcoming physical challenges (rappelling, rafting, canyoneering, backpacking, mountain bike riding). The clients are provided with top of the line equipment and clothing to provide for their safety and protect them from the elements. The clients are on small teams that participate in a 3-5 day group adventure--and then the remainder of the week is spent on the facility grounds (dorm style living, large main lodge, kitchen, dining area etc) for individual therapy sessions, etc.

The picture of the small building posted on google maps is NOT the Legacy grounds----the Legacy grounds are in a wide open expansive (and beautiful) area outside of Loa. The facilities are well-maintained wood-sided buildings with modernized interiors. The atmosphere in the buildings is one of "community" where all the staff is always present and accessible----from the office staff to the therapists to the adventure guides--everyone was friendly and positive when we were there for the family workshop.

We were so impressed with the program that we enrolled our son in Legacy's new phase II program for five weeks--the phase II program director, Mike, is great and works with the clients to reinforce continued sobriety. The transformation in my son after his experience at Legacy was amazing; he was a completely different person than the one that we put on an airplane 15 weeks earlier.

We had weekly conference calls with my son's therapist, Steve (a phenomenal guy!!!!). Due to my work schedule and the time zone difference, we often had to schedule the calls at odd, inconvenient hours---Steve was very flexible and accommodating when scheduling the calls. Legacy also has a family bridge website where parents can communicate via letters with their sons. The website is updated weekly with team blogs and pictures of the wilderness adventures. Toward the end of the program, Legacy offers a two day family workshop---includes support sessions with other parents, individual family sessions, and an outdoor experience. The workshop was an extremely positive and beneficial experience; Legacy teaches gratitude, and those teachings were evident during our workshop.

Go to the Legacy website and review the staff profiles. All of the staff have clinical experience and expertise in substance abuse addiction/recovery and/or counseling, and many of them have professional certifications or advanced degrees. Legacy also has a LONG list of previous clients and families who are willing to serve as references and attest to the quality of the program---call the office and they can connect you with someone who can provide you with firsthand information and answer your questions from a parental view.

The staff are NOT forced to sleep in their cars as noted in a previous review. To clarify, the adventure guides OPT to sleep in their own camper-style vehicles in between wilderness trips. No one is sleeping in the backseat of their car.