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What we’re about

Footloose Friends is an informal group of local hiking enthusiasts who roam the many woodland trails and carriage roads of Mount Desert Island each Tuesday morning.

There are no specific requirements for membership other than being a seasonal or full time resident of the area. However, being that our hikes take place on Tuesday morning, most of our members are retired or semi-retired. We try to accommodate all levels of hikers from those who prefer flatter terrain to those who like steep, challenging terrain.

In cold weather, the tradition has evolved of visiting a member’s house following the hike for hot soup, coffee and sandwiches (this has been on pause since the start of the pandemic, but may resume). Sociability is an important aspect of footloose activity. Special events such as once-a-quarter picnics after the hikes are also part of what we do.

Please only request membership if you are a full-time or seasonal local resident. A rapidly growing membership role has forced us to at least temporarily define "local" as being in the MDI school district (that includes all the towns on the island, the outer islands and Trenton). Existing members of our group are, of course welcome to remain members.  If you have a special request to hike with us for some other reason please let us know. Please include your full name when requesting membership, a picture would be nice too, but that's optional.