Meetups
The meetups groups
Meetups
Facebook Meetup Groups
The following Facebook groups are useful to find hiking/scrambling, and even climbing partners.
These hiking meetup groups are grassroots communities where events are organized organically by members rather than through any formal leadership.
There’s no central organizer or hierarchy—just like-minded hikers coming together to share adventures, suggest outings, and connect over a shared love of the outdoors.
If you’re looking for a flexible, community-driven way to meet hiking partners, these groups are a great place to start.
- Alberta Hikers Together: Dedicated to finding hiking/scrambling partners. More info.
- Find Hiking Groups/Partners, Alberta: Also dedicated to finding hiking/scrambling partners. More info
- Alberta Hikers & Climbers: Not dedicated to finding hiking/scrambling partners, but the community is tight-knit and people use the group to coordinate activities. More info
Difference between Alberta Hikers Together and:
- Find Hiking Groups/Partners, Alberta:
- The two groups have very similar goals and rules.
- Find Hiking Groups/Partners, Alberta has more members and is a bit more active.
- Alberta Hikers Together encourages posting specific hiking events (come up with a suggestion you'd like to hike, and a meeting time), whereas Find Hiking Groups/Partners, Alberta has a lot of posts about people looking for hiking buddies without specific hikes in mind.
- Alberta Hikers Together is a public group, so when cross posting in different groups, it's easier to post first in Alberta Hikers Together, and then share to the other groups.
- Alberta Hikers & Climbers:
- Alberta Hikers & Climbers caters to those with an intermediate to advanced skill level in either hiking or climbing.
- The Alberta Hikers & Climbers community is more tight-knit, and not just focused on finding hiking partners. People ask and post about trail conditions, avalanche and crevasse rescue courses, scrambling routes, indoor climbing events, etc.
- Alberta Hikers & Climbers is a place where you interact with people first (share tips, ask information, etc) to build connections, and then find hiking/scrambling/climbing partners as a result of the interaction.
Alpine Club of Canada
The Alpine Club of Canada has regional sections in Calgary and Canmore that organize events. You need to purchase a membership to access their event calendar and participate.
Meetup.com Groups
I am not familiar with these meetup.com groups, but I am mentioning them given how popular they are. If anyone participating or administrating these groups is willing to add a bit more background information, please reach out.
The following Meetup.com groups generally have a more formal leadership, so they are a great place to start for poeple looking for a more structured hiking environment.
- Slow and Steady Hikers: Even though advertised as "slow and steady", the actual speed depends on each organizer. Each organizer vets the participants and in some cases, even have a waitlist.
- Calgary Nature and Social Adventures
- Calgary/Banff Hiking, X-C Skiing, and Snowshoeing
Niche Facebook Groups
I am not familiar with these groups, but let me list them here given that they have some traction. If anyone participating or administrating these groups is willing to add a bit more background information, please reach out.
- Women Who Hike Alberta: A group dedicated to women.
- Banff And Canmore Hiking Community: A local hiking community for the Banff and Canmore area.
Guided Trips
If you would like to participate to guided trips, you can hire the services of a certified mountain guide: