What we’re about
Hiking Around Philly is different from most hiking groups because we hike off the beaten path. We hike in the woods and the city. We go places that won't be found on any hiker's map. The events are usually within a 1.5 hour drive from Philly, though we sometimes visit NYC or the Jersey shore.
And, we do a lot more than hike, we explore. Whether it be a trail in a park or a back alley in the city, we always look for neat things, and we find them. Did you notice the 25 foot dinosaur made from pink suntan lotion bottles? The thousand year old church in North Philly? I take time to appreciate a beautiful tree, a low flying eagle, or a hickory horned devil (look it up). We sometimes visit museums, historic houses, bakeries, battleships, and other neat places. I appreciate architecture, sculptures (Philly has more than any other US city, yea!), or whatever we find near our path. After a hike we often eat at a special place, I'm a real foodie. And, we rarely repeat ourselves.
My travel experience probably adds up to 2 years on the road. Many of my trips were summer long bicycle tours though the Rockies, down the West Coast from Vancouver to San Francisco, through Europe from London to Amsterdam via France, Switzerland, Austria, & Germany. My on-foot trips took me to major cities of the world like London, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome, Munich, Salzburg, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Boston, NYC, Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, etc. Up to about 12 years ago there was one nearby city that I never explored: my hometown Philadelphia. And, it's a great city and great area for hiking. Maybe better than all the other ones mentioned.
We hike at a brisk pace. These hikes are what I used to consider as days off from half marathon training. No races for me now. The hiking is great fun. Most hikes started as explorations of an interesting area, looking for cool routes. We found dead ends as well as cool places. Though we nailed down fun routes at 50 different places, we're still exploring, looking for interesting, better, hidden and different.
Rather than event fees, there usually is a calendar year fee of around $20 for 300 plus hikes. All money is donated to charity. See details for each event.
I started the Hiking Around Philly Meetup group to have fun hiking and socializing with people. At my own discretion, members who habitually interfere with these objectives and no-shows will be removed.
GENERAL RULES in brief: ••Hike at my pace. ••Hike lengths are approx: allow 30min -1hr extra.
