Hiking in Los Angeles can take you from the cactus up to the clouds. With hiking trails that take you along the desert floor, along the serene coast, through the green forests, to abandoned mines, and even above the clouds on Southern California’s tallest summit, there is so much variety to see during your hikes. Having so many trails and hundreds of miles of hikes to choose from also means there are a ton of other hikers in the Los Angeles area. Los Angeles has many hiking groups ranging from various skill levels and experience, here is a list of the top 8 hiking groups in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has many hiking groups ranging from various skill levels and experience, here is a quick list of the top 8 hiking groups in Los Angeles, with more details down below:
- Los Angeles Hiking Group – 33,138 members
- Saturday Morning Hikers – 7854 members
- South Bay Walking & Hiking Group – 4,570 members
- Adventure Backpacking Camping Daytrips & Hikining Outside LA – 13,141 members
- Los Angeles Hiking and Fitness – 3,999 members
- Santa Monica Hiking Club – 21,474 members
- LA Outdoors – 10,607 members
- 20’s & 30’s Section of Sierra Club – 10,315 members
Los Angeles Hiking Group
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Greater Los Angeles Area
Link: https://www.meetup.com/los-angeles-hiking-group/
Description: This group was made to help people meet others that are interested in hiking and walking for exercise. They also have other activities such as biking, kayaking, rafting, and more. Most of their events are in the greater Los Angeles area. This group is incredibly active with over 6,895 events in the past with multiple events each month.
Saturday Morning Hikers
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Greater Los Angeles Area
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Saturday-Morning-Hikers/
Description: This is an active group that hikes every Saturday morning on a consistent basis. Their hikes take place throughout Los Angeles to help people try new hikes around the area. They have had over 516+ events in the past.
South Bay Walking & Hiking Group
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Torrance, CA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/the-south-bay-walking-hiking-group/
Description: South Bay Walking & Hiking Group is marketed for those that are 49+ however any age can join the group. They want to help people stay active by hiking and other activities. This group has events ranging from hiking, yoga, kayaking, and even stand up paddle boarding. They are very active with over 1,824 events in the past with multiple events each month.
Adventure Backpacking Camping Daytrips & Hiking Outside LA
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Los Angeles, but trips are out of town
Link: https://www.meetup.com/LA_Camping/events/past/
Description: Adventure Backpacking Camping Daytrips & Hikiing Outside LA is a group for those in Los Angeles that want to take out of town camping and hiking trips together. They have had over 181 events in the past with one or two events each month.
Los Angeles Hiking and Fitness
Cost to Join:Free
Location: Griffth Park, CA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/lahikingandfitness/
Description: The Los Angeles Hiking and Fitness hosts hikes mostly in Griffth Park with regular weekly hikes on Sundays and Wednesdays throughout the year. They recommend wearing hiking boots and are prompt on their event times. This is a consistent group with more than 1,000 events in the past and regularly meetup.
Santa Monica Hiking Club
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/santamonicahikingclub/events/past/
Description: The Santa Monica Hiking Club goal is to network with other outdoor enthusiasts. They do hikes and help the community by doing clean-ups. They are very active with over 1,138 events in the past and host multiple events every single month.
LA Outdoors
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/LAOutdoors/
Description: LA Outdoors focuses on all forms of outdoor activities ranging from hiking, backpacking, camping, running, biking, kayaking and much more. They are incredibly active with over 1,984 events in the past with multiple events throughout each month.
20’s & 30’s Section of Sierra Club
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Greater Los Angeles Area
Link: https://www.meetup.com/SC2030/events/past/
Description: This is a group for 20 and 30 somethings in Los Angeles that are interested in hiking, camping, backpacking and other outdoor activities. Each event is volunteer lead that are CPR and basic first aid trained. They have had over 779 events in the past and not only have hikes but also workshops to learn about preparing for outdoor trips.
Why should you join an Los Angeles hiking group?
There are three main benefits of joining a Los Angeles Hiking Group. By joining a group you will be able to meet other like-minded people that enjoy hiking. Eventually you will likely be able to find other hikers that enjoy the same types of trails and hike at the same pace.
Another benefit of joining a hiking group is for trail discovery. These hiking groups will research and pick hikes you may not have otherwise heard of allowing you to find more hiking trails. The last benefit of joining a hiking group in Los Angeles is to help you narrow down your options on hiking trails.
Since Los Angeles has so many different areas and hundreds of trails to pick from, it can get overwhelming. Hiking groups will help you narrow down the list of trails so you can just go out and hike!
3 things to consider when joining an Los Angeles hiking group
Location
The first and most important thing to consider before joining a Los Angeles hiking group is where most of their hikes are located. There are some groups that meet to do out of town hikes and more that focus on local trails. With Los Angeles being so massive, you don’t want to join a group that meets on the opposite side of the 210 or the 5 freeway.
Does this group do more urban hikes or do they go out to Angeles Forest or San Bernadino Forest? You should be able to gauge their location and trails based on past events.
Skill-level and Experience
A very important thing to consider is the required skill-level and experience of the hiking group. Most hiking groups will list the difficulty of the trail they have scheduled for their hike. You want to keep this in mind as you don’t want to join a hike that is fast pace when you are looking for a more relaxed and casual pace. Be sure to ask the event organizers what they expect so you know what to expect before you go off on your hike!
Frequency and Consistency
The third thing to consider is how frequently and consistently the hiking group is meeting up. If you are trying to build up a hiking habit then find a group that meets up once or twice a week. Some groups might only meetup once a month for an epic all day hike and some will do short day hikes. You can see how often a group is meeting up by looking at their past events calendar.
Summary
Los Angeles is a wonderful city to find hikes and other like-minded hikers. Whether it be a beautiful hike along the Malibu coast, past rivers to Bungee jump off of the Bridge to Nowhere, or up the Three Saints of San Gorgonio, Mt. Baldy, or San Jacinto, Los Angeles has trails for everyone.
The hiking groups in Los Angeles will allow you to find other hikers that share the same interests as you build your bonds on the many hiking trails Los Angeles has to offer. Have a great time out on the trails and stay safe!
This list is just 8 of the most active hiking groups in Los Angeles, however there are many more you can pick from.