Outdoor Recreation Clubs
The following Canadian Rockies outdoor recreation clubs are focused on getting their members out into the mountains.
Alberta Hiking Association: The AHA is an umbrella organization for hiking clubs across the province. It acts as an advocative for hikers while also promoting the interests of outdoor enthusiasts.
Alpine Club of Canada: A century-old club with 22 chapters across the country. Focus is on climbing, hiking, and backcountry skiing. The ACC has hostels in Canmore and Lake Louise and backcountry huts scattered throughout the Canadian Rockies.
Calgary Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts: A year-round outdoor club offering hiking, skiing and social events within Calgary and in the Canadian Rockies.
Central Alberta Mountain Club: Members participate in group hikes throughout the Canadian Rockies, often as part of a weekend getaway. Membership is primarily from Red Deer and surrounds.
Evergreen Seniors Outdoor Club: Every Thursday, members of this 55 and older club head out to the Canadian Rockies by bus to explore the mountains—hiking in summer and skiing in winter.
Grant MacEwan Mountain Club: Schedules hiking, climbing, mountaineering, and skiing trips; courses and workshops; and social events.
Great Divide Trail Association: Not a club so much as a group of keen outdoor enthusiasts, the GDTA maintains and promotes a 1,100-kilometre trail that runs along the spine of the Canadian Rockies.
Meanderthals: The Meanderthals is the hiking and outdoor activities group within the Canmore Seniors Association. They head off on group hikes of varying difficulty throughout the Canmore, Kananaskis, and Banff regions throughout summer.
Red Deer Ramblers: Based in the central Alberta city of Red Deer, this club heads out to the mountains every second Saturday through summer for a group hike, usually of easy to moderate difficulty.
Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association: A Calgary-based club with most of its 300 annual day and overnight trips to Banff and Kananaskis Country.
Westwinds Hiking & Outdoor Club: Another Calgary-based club, this one for those aged 55 and older. Hikes take place throughout the summer, with members carpooling from Calgary.