Hiking near Denver provides a massive amount of options for hiking. There are trails that take you along rivers, up to beautiful glacial leaks, along the jagged ridges of 10,000+ foot peaks, through the green shaded national forests, and so much more. Having an abundance of outdoor activities also means there are a large amount of outdoor enthusiasts in Denver and the surrounding cities.
Here is a list of the top 8 most active hiking groups in Denver, with more details down below:
- Trails and Ales – 12,665 members
- Front Range Explorers – 8,980 members
- Denver Outdoor and Recreation Club-up the Creek – 8,867 members
- The Denver Trail Heads – 8,350 members
- 14er Fitness & training – 8,130 members
- The Boulder/Denver Grey Wolves Over 40 Adventure Group – 7,998 members
- Denver Random Adventures – 6,742 members
- Fun Active People – Denver – 6,358 Members
Trails and Ales
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Trails-and-Ales-etc/
Description: Trails and Ales is a group who’s goal is to explore through hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, camping, backpacking, canyoneering and many other outdoor activities. They also have events for general socializing at local restaurants and bars. They are very active group with over 2,773 events in the past with multiple events each month. The events are well organized explaining each hike in detail with any required gear.
Front Range Explorers
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO (Southeastern side of Rockies)
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Front-Range-Explorers/
Description: Front Range Explorers is a group that focuses on hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and easy rock climbing in the Front Range. The Front Range is the name for the eastern section of the southside of the Rocky Mountains. This group has had over 343 events in the past with on average 3 to four events each month.
Denver Outdoor and Recreation Club-up the Creek
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO (mostly out of town events)
Link: https://www.meetup.com/upthecreek-org/
Description: The Denver Outdoor and Recreation Club-up the Creek hosts events ranging from hiking, camping, biking, skiing, volley ball and even tennis. They also have happy hour every Friday at various bars and restaurants in Denver metro. They have had over 1,454 events in the past with one or two outdoor events each month.
The Denver Trail Heads
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO
Link: https://www.meetup.com/denver-trail-heads/
Description: The Denver Trail Heads group is for those interested in hiking, snowshoeing, camping, cross country skiing, and other outdoor activities. Most of their events are day events, however they also have overnight backpacking and camping trips at one of the forest service cabins. They are very active with over 1,999 events in the past with multiple events per week.
14er Fitness & training
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO
Link: https://www.meetup.com/14er-Fitness-Training/
Description: The 14er Fitness & Training group is for hikers of all skill levels that want to train and climb 14,000+ foot mountains. They work on physical fitness and learning new skills to safely hike at high elevations. They have had 109 events in the past.
The Boulder/Denver Grey Wolves Over 40 Adventure Group
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver & Boulder, CO
Link: https://www.meetup.com/adventurers-99/
Description: This group is for locals over 40 that are interested in skiing, camping, hiking, snowshoeing, dancing, and other social activities. This group is not meant to be a singles group. This group is incredibly active with over 4,103 events in the past. They have multiple events every month.
Denver Random Adventures
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Denver-Random-Adventures/
Description: The Denver Random Adventures focuses on new adventures ranging from hiking, ziplining, photography, new food, biking, snowboarding, skiing, rafting, sky diving, and so many other wonderful outdoor adventures available near Denver. They have had 91 events in the past with about one or two events on average per month. They have a mixture of outdoor adventures and learning talks.
Fun Active People – Denver
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Denver, CO
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Denver-Fun-Active-People/
Description: Fun Active People focuses on social events through hiking, biking, sports, game nights, camping, eating at restaurants and more. This group has had over 160 events in the past.
Why should you join a Denver hiking group?
Meeting Other Hikers
Joining a hiking group in Denver provides a tremendous amount of benefits. The first is you will be able to meet other like-minded people who share the same love of hiking. You can meet them at the events and then branch off on your own in the future.
Discover New Trails
The next benefit of joining a Denver hiking group is learning about new trails and hiking areas you may not have otherwise known about. This is especially beneficial if you are new to Denver as there can feel like a nearly unlimited amount of trails to choose from when you are just starting out.
Learn from Others
The third benefit of joining a hiking group is to be able to find hikers with more experience that you can learn from. With such a wide variety of hikes and hiking areas to pick from, there will likely be experienced hikers that go on more challenging hikes than you may normally be used to. These hikes can help expand your skills and experience with new and more challenging hikes. Joining a number of these Denver hiking groups is a great way to meet others, find out about new trails, and level-up your outdoors skills.
3 things to consider when joining an Denver hiking group
Meet-up Location
If you are looking to join a hiking group in Denver, the most important thing to look up is where they generally like to do their hikes. You don’t want to be stuck in traffic on the opposite side of the 25 or the 270 freeway trying to make your way to the hiking meetup. You can look at the groups past events to figure out where they generally like to pick their hikes.
Frequency of events
Another important consideration is how frequent are their hiking events. If you want to build up a habit be sure to look at past and upcoming events to gauge how frequent this hiking group meets up. Some groups are more out of town oriented, while others like to have events multiple times a week. You should be able to quickly determine which hiking group matches your expectations by looking at their calendar.
Skill-level and experience of Hikers
One of the most important considerations is the required skill-level and experience of the hiking group you are joining. Since Denver has a huge variety from easy relaxed day hikes to very challenging and strenuous 14,000+ peaks available, it is important to find a group that matches your skill level or is just slightly above it.
People like to hike at different paces and enjoy their hikes in their own way, but by joining a hiking group you can find out through trial and error what kind of hiking group you want to hike with.
Summary
Hiking outside of Denver, Colorado presents hikers with serene beauty of the outdoors. With hikes ranging from urban city hikes, past raging rivers, through breathtaking green forests, right next to gorgeous glacial lakes, and onto colossal snow-capped peaks, there are many hiking groups you can experience these outdoor wonders with.
While the list above is the 8 most active, there are plenty of other hiking groups available to choose from within Denver. Enjoy your hikes and happy trails!