CHIP: As Colin lamented in Walker III, “Any list like this is sure to be incomplete, and it begins to die before it is born.” So, after amassing a sheaf of addresses that would choke a hungry hippo—I concluded that there are now far too many state and local groups to list them all here. Instead, I’m listing various national and regional groups, some mentioned in the text, some not.
Boinking around the Internet is by far the most efficient way to get up-to-date information. Some groups (notably the American Hiking Society) maintain Web sites with links to state and local groups. Large nonprofit conservation groups, such as the Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and Sierra Club, sponsor walking trips both nationally and at the local level. In Wyoming, for example, state groups such as the Wyoming Outdoor Council, and local ones such as Friends of the Bow, organize regular outings: join up and you’ll be in touch. Colleges usually support free or low-cost outings programs, as do groups such as the YMCA, YMHA, and religious congregations.
When writing local groups for information, put a first-class stamp on a regular business envelope, address it to yourself, fold it three times, and enclose it with your request. That way you’ll avoid straining shoestring budgets—and get a quick reply.
NOTE: <@> indicates an electronic-mail address; www. indicates an Internet Web site.
Access Fund, P.O. Box 17010, Boulder, CO 80308, 303-545-6772, www.accessfund.org
American Alpine Club, 710 Tenth St., Ste. 100, Golden, CO 80401, 303-384-0110, www.americanalpineclub.org
American Hiking Society, P.O. Box 20160, Washington, DC 20041, 888-766-4453, www.americanhiking.org
Big City Mountaineers, 210 Beaver Brook Cyn. Rd., Ste. 200, Evergreen, CO 80439, 800-644-2122, www.bigcitymt.org [website is no longer active]
EMS Trail Fund, 1 Vose Farm Rd., Peterborough, NH 03458, www.emsonline.com [website is no longer active]
Leave No Trace, P.O. Box 997, Boulder, CO 80306, 800-442-8222, www.lnt.org
National Audubon Society, 700 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, 212-979-3000, www.audubon.org
National Outdoor Leadership School, 288 Main, Lander, WY 82520-3140, 307-332-5300, www.nols.edu
National Trails Day, 1-888-766-4453, www.ahs.simplenet.com
National Wildlife Federation, 1400 Sixteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, 800-822-9919, www.nwf.org
Outward Bound—for the many state, regional, and worldwide programs, try a Web search under “outward.”
Sierra Club, 85 Second St., 2nd floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, <nationaloutings@sierraclub.org>, www.sierraclub.org
Student Conservation Association, 1265 S. Main St., #201, Seattle, WA 98144, www.sca-inc.org [website is no longer active]
Wilderness Inquiry, 1313 Fifth St. SE, Box 84, Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546, 800-728-0719, www.wildernessinquiry.org
The Wilderness Society, 900 Seventeenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, 202-833-2300, www.tws.org
American Discovery Trail Society, P.O. Box 3672, Frederick, MD 21705, 301-668-2202, www.discoverytrail.org
American Long Distance Hikers Association—West, P.O. Box 651, Vancouver, WA 98666, www.aldha.org/aldawest [website is no longer active]
Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association, 10 Benning St., PMB 224, West Lebanon, NH 03784, www.aldha.org
Appalachian Mountain Club, 5 Joy St., Boston, MA 02108, 617-523-0722, www.outdoors.org
Appalachian Trail Conference, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425, 304-535-6331, www.atconf.org [website is no longer active]
Continental Divide Trail Alliance, P.O. Box 628, Pine, CO 80470, 303-838-3760, www.cdtrail.org [website is no longer active]
East Coast Greenway Alliance, 135 Main St., Wakefield, RI 02879, 401-789-4625, www.greenway.org
Mountaineers, 300 Third Ave. W, Seattle, WA 98119, 206-284-6310, www.mountaineers.org
North Country Trail Association, 49 Monroe Center NW, Ste. 2006, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-454-5506, www.northcountrytrail.org
Ozark Society, 1509 Old Forge, Little Rock, AR 72227, 501-666-2989, www.ozarksociety.net
Pacific Crest Trail Association, 5325 Elkhorn Blvd,. PMB #256, Sacramento, CA 95842, 888-728-7245, www.pcta.org
Alberta Trail Net, 548-11 St. NE, Medicine Hat, AB, Canada T1A 1T3, 403-527-2052, www.health-in-action.org
Alpine Club of Canada, P.O. Box 8040, Canmore, AB, Canada T1W 2T8, 403-678-3200, www.alpineclubofcanada.ca
Canadian Hostelling Association, 400-205 Catherine St., Ottawa, ON, Canada K2P 1C3, 800-663-5777, www.iyhf.org
The Audubon Society, Sierra Club, and other groups have chapters in Canada: Web links via U.S. listings.
For a complete list of walking and camping groups, with copious links: Lancaster University Hiking Club, www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/rec-and-travel/users/uns026/links/clubs.html
The Ramblers’ Association, 1/5 Wandsworth Rd., London SW8 2XX, 0171-339-8500, www.ramblers.org.uk
The Ramblers’ Association, Kingfisher House, Auld Business Mart Park, Milnathort, Kinross, KY13 9DA, <enquiries@scotland.ramblers.org.uk>
The Ramblers’ Association, Ty’r Cerddwyr, High St., Gresford, Wrexham, Clwyd LL12 8PT, 01978-855148, <cerddwyr@wales.ramblers.org.uk>
For a worldwide list of hiking and mountaineering clubs, maintained by the Chamois Mountaineering Club: www.chamois.org.uk/world/shtml