If you love to hike and would like to share in this experience not only with your own family, but also with a group of like-minded individuals, you may be wise to consider joining a hiking club. This is a great way to mingle with other men, women, and children in the great outdoors. Often, this results in everyone having a much better time because there are plenty of others to share in the adventure.

While a sense of community and enhanced fun are certainly great reasons why a hiking club may be something worth very seriously looking into, they are without question not the only reasons. In fact, they aren’t even the most important. There are practical issues that make this an extraordinary idea, as well. Primarily, when you hike with a group, you are far less likely to suffer an injury, and if you do wind up getting hurt, you know that help isn’t far away.

What’s really great about joining a local hiking club is that it isn’t just limited to big out-of-town excursions. You can hike locally on a near-by hiking park or woodsy trail. There are essentially no limits on how often you can get together with either the whole group or one or two members. You are actually quite likely to end up making a few close friends out of the whole experience. These will ultimately become your regular “hiking buddies” with whom you could find yourself hiking with all the time!

There are actually a variety of different types of hiking club, so make sure you know the differences before just blindly joining one. While some hiking clubs will get together on a monthly basis to tackle some new terrain – but don’t do a whole lot else – other clubs will meet far more frequently, scouting out new trails and wilderness, discussing all the latest hiking trends and gear, and even planning and implementing fundraisers to support their mutual hobby. So it is important to know just what it is that you’re willing to do, how often you’re willing to do it, and which group is best for you based on these preferences.

So what about fees? The truth is, just as they will vary in function, hiking clubs will also vary in membership dues. Essentially, this is going to come down to how passionate you happen to be about hiking. If you are an avid hiker who will want as much time with your group as possible, then you may end up paying higher weekly or monthly dues than if you simply meet up for an excursion a few times each year. The more active you are, the more you can plan on investing.