Author
Georgina Ustik
Photo courtesy Women Who Hike
This list is evolving. Help us highlight more women's hiking groups—email suggestions to hello @ fieldmag dot com. Thank you!
Outdoor adventure groups have been around for a while, but they’re on the rise. This is, in part, a Covid aftereffect; outdoor exercise offered a respite from quarantine measures and became more directly linked to our mental well-being. And the feeling has stuck, with research showing our time spent indoors has made us realize how much we missed the outdoors. Now, groups of women are turning to hiking clubs as a way to get outdoors, and find community.
What Is a Hiking Club?
A hiking club is a group of organized individuals who arrange outdoor excursions, most often on foot. These can include hikes of all levels and durations—from hour-long walks to week-long camping trips. Some are organized for free via a collective, and others charge fees that can range in price.
What makes a hiking club special is its social element—like-minded hikers can gather and socialize, while stretching their legs, getting fresh air and respite from city life. For women-exclusive groups, this also offers a safe way to connect with new people, learn new skills, and connect with a new channel to network.
Outdoor organizations supporting Black, Indigenous and POC are also increasing BIPOC representation and access to the outdoors, such as LatinxHikers, Brown Girls Climb, Native Women’s Wilderness, and Outdoor Afro. These groups are changing the face of outdoor culture, showing what can be achieved by increasing representation for all marginalized groups.
Where Can I Find a Local Hiking Club?
There are multiple online directories that organize hiking groups by region, specialization, and skill level, such as All the Elements (UK), Hiking Project (US), and Meetup (US). Many hiking groups also have a social media presence, so if you find one on Instagram that you like the look of, look at what other groups that page may follow.
The following list includes hiking groups that are exclusive to women—with a few that are women-led and majority women—and include organizations, collectives, and nonprofits offering organized hikes across the U.S. and U.K.
All-Women Outdoor Organizations Across the US and the UK
GorpGirls
Location: London & Los Angeles
Mission: Founded by Hannah da Silva, GorpGirls is an online platform, creative agency, and collective specializing in showcasing women championing the outdoors. It organizes free hikes and outdoor activities accessible from London and Los Angeles.
Structure: Collective
Instagram: @GORPgirls
Hike Clerb
Location: Los Angeles & New York
Mission: Founded in 2017 by Evelynn Escobar, Hike Clerb is an intersectional women’s outdoors club centering BIPOC and promoting healing together through nature. Hike Clerb occasionally also offers excursions in Toronto, Canada.
Structure: 501c3 nonprofit
Instagram: @hikeclerb
Athene Club
Location: London
Mission: Founded by Liv Jank and Zaineb Abelque, Athene Club is a UK-based outdoor community facilitating bringing women together in nature and encouraging movement. Athene Club offers free hikes near and around London.
Structure: Collective
Instagram: @atheneclub
Hikerkind
Location: NYC, Southern Cali, and Seattle
Mission: Hikerkind is a women’s outdoor lifestyle brand and community that organizes hikes and social events such as drinks, lunches, and book swaps across NYC, Seattle, and Southern California.
Structure: For-profit lifestyle brand
Instagram: @hikerkind
The Wanderlust Women (UK)
Location: Northern England
Mission: The Wanderlust Women is a hiking and adventure group for Muslim women founded by mountaineer Amira Patel. While many of the events are in the UK, the group has also organized retreats and expeditions to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Jamaica, and Morocco, available to explorers for a fee that typically covers room, board, and transportation.
Structure: Private Limited Company
Instagram: @the.wanderlust.women
Black Girls Hike UK
Location: UK
Mission: Founded by Rhiane Fatinikun, Black Girls Hike UK offers day excursions, training events, and weekend trips across the United Kingdom, providing a safe space for Black women to explore the outdoors.
Structure: Private Limited Company
Instagram: @bgh_uk
Black Girls Hike US
Location: Baltimore
Mission: Black Girls Hike is a group dedicated to connecting with nature and living freely by highlighting black women and POC in nature and outdoor adventures.
Structure: N/A
Instagram: @blackgirlshike_
GRL SWM
Location: London
Mission: Through organized activities and lessons, GRL SWM is a swimming and social club teaching women a life skill one swim at a time. The group often organizes excursions out into nature for wild swimming.
Structure: Collective
Instagram: @grlswm
Wild Women
Location: San Francisco
Mission: Wild Women is a collective that hosts walks and workshops for women in the Bay Area. Its mission is to educate and empower women in the outdoors while building resilient communities.
Structure: Nonprofit organization
Instagram: @wildwomen_sf
Fat Girls Hiking
Location: US
Mission: Founded by Summer Michaud-Sko, Fat Girls Hiking is a community organization championing fat activism, body liberation, and outdoor community. The group organizes group hikes, camping trips, and retreats across the U.S. where diet and weight loss talk is not allowed.
Structure: N/A
Instagram: @fatgirlshiking
Skylark Guiding (UK)
Location: Scotland
Mission: Founded by Gaby Macbeth, Skylark Guiding organizes guided walks, hikes, and trail running for women in Scotland. Many of the guided walks have a small fee.
Structure: Private Limited Company
Instagram: @skylarkguiding
Native Women’s Wilderness
Location: Colorado
Mission: Native Women’s Wilderness is an online platform that was formed with the mission of bringing Native women together to share stories, support, and learn from one another as they explore and celebrate wilderness in their native lands.
Structure: Nonprofit Organization
Instagram: @nativewomenswilderness
Black Girls Camping Trip
Location: UK
Mission: A nonprofit organization that organizes tailored retreats for Black women and non-binary people in the UK.
Structure: Nonprofit Organization
Instagram: @BlackGirlsCampingTrip
Unlikely Hikers
Location: US
Mission: Unlikely Hikers calls itself a diverse, anti-racist, body-liberating outdoor community featuring the underrepresented outdoors person. It is made up of an Instagram community, a nationwide hiking group, and its own podcast. The group, which was founded by Jenny Bruso, is not exclusive to women.
Structure: N/A
Instagram: @unlikelyhikers
Peaks of Colour
Location: Northern England
Mission: Founded by journalist Evie Muir, Peaks of Colour is a nature-for-healing walking group by and for POC set in Northern England’s beautiful Peak District. Peaks of Colour invites all genders and is a queer-led, LGBTQ+ inclusive space.
Structure: N/A
Instagram: @peaksofcolour
Love Her Wild
Location: UK
Mission: Founded by adventurer and author Bex Band, Love Her Wild was founded with a mission to support and provide opportunities to get more women into outdoor adventures. The group is UK-wide, but has local volunteer-led chapters across the isles that host regional excursions.
Structure: Private Limited Company
Instagram: @loveherwilduk
Adventure Queens UK
Location: UK
Mission: Adventure Queens is a non-profit women’s adventure community, “set up with the aim of delicately smashing down the barriers that prevent women from going on outdoor adventures and realizing their full potential.” They offer outdoor adventures that are inclusive and accessible for anyone who identifies as a woman.
Structure: Nonprofit
Instagram: @adventurequeensuk
Gutsy Girls
Location: UK
Mission: A community for women adventurers that hosts women-only holidays abroad, weekend retreats, and day events in the UK.
Structure: Private Limited Company
Instagram: @gutsygirls
Women Who Hike
Location: US
Mission: Women Who Hike is both a hiking organization as well as an aggregator social media account that shares images of women across the country who are hitting the trails. Women Who Hike also offers Leave No Trace training on how to protect and preserve nature.
Structure: 501c3 nonprofit
Instagram: @womenwhohike
Explorer Chick
Location: US
Mission: Explorer Chick started as a hashtag in 2015, and is now an online and offline community that organizes regional hikes for women across the US.
Structure: N/A
Instagram: @explorerchickadventureco
Published 08-31-2023
