AZventure Hiking - Hiking Clubs

Ahwatukee Foothills Hiking Group
This group schedules 1 major hike each month as well as other activities. Check this page for their next hike.

American Hiking Society
Check out their Volunteer Vacations to spend your next vacation renovating and making trails.

AmericanTrails
This national trails advocacy group has as its mission, "to lead the nation in the creation of trail systems for all Americans, by fostering communication and complementary action." Communication provided on the site includes News & Action Alerts which appears to be updating weekly. Quarterly, this group publishes an excellent series of articles in their Trail Tracks Newsletter.

Arizona Adventurers
Begun in 1988, this club caters to single Jewish people (mostly in their 20's and 30's) living in the Valley of the Sun, with hiking being one of many outdoor activities they do. Guests are welcome. If you are interested in their activities beyond that appearing on the link above, you will have to contact them or subscribe to their newsletters as their EVENTS link can only be used by members.

Arizona Mountaineering Club
Very active club which is geared more toward climbing, but does have hiking activities.

Arizona Natural Plant Society 10/8/03
With chapters in Flagstaff/Prescott, Phoenix and Tucson/Yuma, this group is active every weekend with hikes focusing on the flora of Arizona.

Arizona Outdoor Travel Club 10/8/03
Membership is open to all adults and family members. Activities include hiking, biking, skiing, backpacking, water sports, 4X4 trips and monthly General Meetings. It appears as if this club has at least one, and usually two, activities each Saturday and Sunday. Check out their Activity Calendar to view the upcoming activities.

Arizona Trail Association 10/8/03
This association handles many of the activities that are necessary to completing the Arizona Trail by the year 2000.

Backcountry Hiking Club 10/8/03
Based out of Tempe, this looks to be an active group as activities appear to be planned for every weekend. Included as a unique touch at this website is a thumbnailed pictoral presentation of their hikes.

Desert Adventures 10/8/03
Founded in 1980, this club boasts over 300 members. Membership appears to be targetted toward the Gay community. No online information is available for upcoming outings, though email addresses are available at this site to find out further information. There are many links to small photos of previous outings.

Friends
While seemingly based in Phoenix, this club advertises itself as a "Hiking, Camping & Outdoor Club" which appears to offer a VERY diverse selection of hikes all over the state. Nearly every week looks to have an activity with a hike.

Hiking, Walking and Running in Arizona 10/8/03
Just scroll down this list of links type of page a bit as it has a nice listing of hiking clubs, a lot of which do not have a web presence. Phone numbers and most addresses are listed.

Huachuca Hiking Club 10/8/03
Club from Sierra Vista, AZ. This group's slogan is "Take only memories. Leave only footprints." The HHC welcomes non-members for hikes. Descriptions of upcoming activities are available from this page.

International Students Club 10/8/03
Occasionally this club at ASU will get together for a hike. Check their Calendar of Events on this page.

Maricopa Audubon Society 10/8/03
Very active group has list of field trips all over Arizona on this page.

National Parks and Conservation Association
"America's only private nonprofit citizen organization dedicated solely to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System."

The Nature Loop
This link lists the activities for The Nature Loop which is an organization for singles, 25 and older, who love the outdoors. If you don't live in Tucson, don't let that stop you from contacting this group as they are very active with activities all over Arizona.

Ninja Javelina Hikers
You've got to love the name of this group! A fun site to browse. Ninja Steve, along with his fellow Ninjas and aspiring Javelinas, have a true love for the Grand Canyon.

Outdoor Encounters
Very active club with at least one activity every week of the year. "Michelle" let me know that the average age of the group is about 33, and is open to everyone. Guests are welcome. Check out the events link. Also has a nice sampling of photos from a few activities.

Phoenix Ski Club
This ski club looks to have about one hiking-related activity a month. Check out their activity link.

Prescott Outings Club 12/14/03
A very active club that schedules 3 hikes each week around Prescott and the surrounding areas in Arizona.

Ramblers Hiking Club 10/8/03
U of A hiking club that seems very active during the school year at the University of Arizona. This club tries to have 2 hikes each weekend.

Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists
This group concentrates on the educational experience that can be had from the Sonoran Desert. Activities include field trips for adults and children.

SCC Adventure Club
Hiking club at Scottsdale Community College. This page does not seem to be kept current, but contact information is available here.

Sierra Club Home Page
Surf this link regularly, as information changes. Check out the Outings link, or go directly to the National Outings List for AZ-related hikes. Once there I found several outings described under the "Backpacking Trips" and "Service Trips" links. These do cost some money to do.

Sierra Singles 10/8/03
Very active club representing "single men and women who share the common mission of all branches of the Sierra Club."

Southwest Outdoor Club
This 20 year old club, is based in Tempe which not only hikes, but has activities for Backpacking, Climbing, Skiing, Biking, Kayaking and Canoeing, as well as what they term Miscellany - and trips to Rocky Point. Be sure to check out The Adventurer for upcoming events.

Stick and Boots Hiking Club 10/8/03
A club which dedicates itself to hiking rather than meetings or paying dues. This club concentrates its efforts within a two-hour radius of the Phoenix area. It appears as if at least one hiking adventure is planned each week. There is a listing of hikes previously done, accompanied by very brief descriptions - with some having thumbnail-sized pictures.

Take a Hike
Active outdoors activities club with weekly trips within Arizona and surrounding states, as well as Mexico. This club is for adults between the ages of 21-40 who enjoy a variety of activities including hiking, camping, rock climbing, canoeing and more.

Tucson Volkssport Klub
Walking and Hiking activities in Tucson and all around AZ.

The Walking Connection
Club that provides walking and hiking activities around the state. The Arizona Hikes page provides good directions (with a little trail information) for 26 trails throughout the state. Schedule of upcoming hikes is available online.

Wandering Soles Hiking Club
Advertising day hikes, backpacking & camping, as well as great parties, this Tempe-based group gears itself toward those 25 to 40 years of age. In addition to a meeting on the first Monday of each month, this group appears to have a couple hiking activities a month.

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To send comments or to add a link to this collection, just drop me a line at
ttidyman@swlink.net.
Todd Tidyman