The hiking trails in and around Spokane bring hikers to alluring waterfalls, gorgeous river fronts, serene shaded forests, lovely wildflower fields, and towering mountain peaks with stunning views. The variety and natural beauty generate a lot of interest from local hikers. Some of these hikers have formed Spokane hiking clubs and organizations to bring together a community of local hikers.
This is a list of the top 8 Spokane hiking groups for you to check out. The groups on this list have unique leadership and events. By attending their events you will encounter a diverse group and trail selection. You will be able to meet hikers from many different backgrounds with a wide variety of experiences. Use this list as a starting point for your exploration of Spokane hiking clubs and organizations.
- Spokane Mountaineers – 1,000+ members
- Inland Northwest Hikers – 4,704+ members
- Spokane/CDA Outdoor Adventure Group – 4,350+ members
- Get Out and Get Moving – 1,930+ members
- Ms. Adventures of the Inland Northwest – 870+ members
- Healthy Lifestyle Community – 790+ members
- Broads With Dogs Hiking Group – 150+ members
- North Indian Trail Neighbors – 15+ members
Spokane Mountaineers
Cost to Join: $30-50
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: http://www.spokanemountaineers.org/
Description: Spokane Mountaineers’s mission is to encourage a spirit of good fellowship among lovers of outdoors life. They have events for hiking, mountain climbing, scrambling, backpacking, and more. They provide education workshops to train for backpacking, mountaineering, climbing, and more. This group has hosted thousands of events in the past and typically has multiple events each week.
Inland Northwest Hikers
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Inland-Northwest-Hikers/
Description: Inland Northwest Hikers is for those who love exploring the local area and sharing experiences with others. They organize events for hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, biking, and more. THis group welcomes all skill levels and plans hikes ranging from easy to strenuous. This group has hosted over 1,850+ events in the past and typically has one or two events each month.
Spokane/CDA Outdoor Adventure Group
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Adventurers-Excursions/
Description: Spokane/CDA Outdoor Adventure Group welcomes all ages and skill levels. They organize many outdoor outings such as hiking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, camping, and more. They also have social outings such as indian games, chief games, car races, parties, bowling and more. This group has hosted over 300+ events in the past and typically has one or two events each month.
Get Out and Get Moving
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/meetup-group-XyfMSQqT/
Description: Get Out and Get Moving is for those that want to get out of your house and have fun outdoors. This group is about connecting as a group and making life-long friends. They organize events such as hiking, happy hour, volunteer events, snowshoeing, kayaking, and more. This group has hosted over 270+ events in the past and generally hosts multiple events each week.
Ms. Adventures of the Inland Northwest
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Ms-Adventures-of-the-Inland-Northwest/
Description: Ms. Adventures of the Inland Northwest is a group for women who want to enjoy the outdoors and socialize with other women. Some events may include children or family. Most of their events are trail or city walks that are local. This group has hosted over 2,630+ events in the past and typically has multiple events scheduled each week.
Healthy Lifestyle Community
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Spokane-Healthy-Eating-Meetup-Group/
Description: Healthy Lifestyle Community is a group to connect, ask questions, share tips about health, fitness, and lifestyle goals. This group is full of individuals that help hold each other accountable and motivate one another to reach or maintain your ideal health. This group hosts events for hiking, social events such as bowling, and wellness strategy sessions for health planning. They have organized over 90+ events in the past ans typically have one event planned each month.
Broads With Dogs Hiking Group
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/Broads-With-Dogs/
Description: Broads With Dogs Hiking Group is for those looking for Spokane hiking groups for dogs. This is a group for women who want to explore the areas around Spokane with your dogs. They welcome all adult ages and abilities. The hikes will range from flat and easy to more strenuous between 5 to 8 miles. They also plan kayaking and biking events too. This group has hosted over 150+ events in the past and typically have many events during each week.
North Indian Trail Neighbors
Cost to Join: Free
Location: Spokane, WA
Link: https://www.meetup.com/north-indian-trail-neighbors/
Description: North Indian Trail Neighbors is a group for those living in the North Indian Trail neighborhood to go hike, bbq, book club, wine tasting, movie nights, and more. This group has hosted over 2+ events in the past and typically schedules one event each month.
Why should you join a Spokane hiking group?
Education
Joining a Spokane hiking group will offer you many benefits. The first benefit you will get is that you will be able to learn a lot about yourself as a hiker and gain valuable hiking skills that will make you better prepared for almost all outdoor situations. There are some groups that offer workshops to teach members about hiking nutrition, hiking gear, camping, backpacking, fitness, and more. This is a great way to build new skills and become a well-rounded hiker. You can also share tips and learn from the many other hikers you will meet during your hiking adventures.
Build a Routine
The second benefit of joining a local hiking group is that you can work on building a hiking routine. If you want to start hiking more, whether it be on a weekday or weekend then joining a local hiking group can help with that. There are groups that organize hikes on weekdays and some that organize events on weekends. By joining both groups you can pick and choose hiking events that align up with your schedule. There are also groups that plan hikes on the same time and day every week which makes it easy to remember and attend.
Discover New Hiking Trails
The third benefit of joining a Spokane hiking club or organization is that you will be able to encounter new hiking trails. The group organizers will research and plan the hiking events. There is a wide range of hiking areas that groups will hike in ranging from local urban hikes to trails out of state. Attending events will expand your hiking area and give you exposure to completely new trails.
3 things to consider when joining a Spokane hiking group
Frequency
You might be feeling the itch to immediately attend your first hiking event, but there are some things you should think about before going. The first thing you should think about is how often the group organizes events. The cadence that groups organize events ranges from multiple events a week to some groups only hosting one event every few months. Look at the group’s past events to determine how frequently they are meeting up so you can find a group that meets your frequency expectations.
Expected Fitness-level
The next thing you should look into is the required fitness level for the group. Whether you are getting off the couch and starting to hike or you have been tackling colossal peaks, find a group that matches your current fitness level. This will help you match with a group and be able to enjoy your hikes at the pace you prefer. If you have ever been hiking with a group and you felt like you either needed to slow down to play catch-up then you know the feeling of being out of sync with your group. It may take some trial and error, but you will eventually find a group that you flow with.
Average Attendance
The third thing you should look into is the average attendance for each hiking event. While some groups may have large membership numbers, it can be a bit deceiving. Some of these groups have been around for more than a decade and many of their past members are no longer active in the group. The best way to determine the average attendance is to look at the past events and see how many people are actually going to the events. This can help you find either a small or larger hiking group to match your preference.
Summary
By hiking in and around Spokane you will encounter marvelous flowing waterfalls, spectacular views of raging rivers, delightful fields covered in flowers, and inspiring views atop rugged peaks. These hikes offer astonishing views, but the experience is much better when shared with local Spokane hikers you will meet from these hiking groups.
The list above only scratches the surface when it comes to Spokane hiking groups. You should definitely explore the many other groups available to you. As your hiking interests evolve over time you can start to attend new hiking groups that align with your changing interests. Enjoy all of your outdoor adventures with the Spokane hiking clubs and organizations.