These Outdoor Groups Build QTBIPOC Community
I’ll never forget the first time I went hiking with a local queer hiking group. Even though I had been hiking for years, part of me wondered how the others hikers on the trail would treat me if they knew I was queer. If my route to the trailhead led past Confederate or Trump flags, I had a pretty good idea how my reception would be, even though I’m white and not QTBIPOC. I tended to keep EXTRA quiet on those trips not wanting to ruffle feathers.
Hiking with other LGBTQ folks, I finally felt safe and welcome tromping through the woods – because this time, I wasn’t alone. Hiking with other queer folks, I felt the camaraderie that for many people is a big part of the experience.
While the wider queer community is important, BIPOC people sometimes need their own spaces within the rainbow community. The groups profiled in this post – like Queer Crush, Wild Diversity and DiversifyOutdoors – are doing amazing work in connecting queer people of color to one another and to nature.
Before I get into the list, here are three reasons why this work is so valuable:
- When you are used to being “the only one” or one of a small number, being outdoors with those who share your identities and lived experiences can be incredibly affirming.
- It provides mentorship and role models. Outdoor sports are often presented as cis white male pursuits. Seeing fellow queer BIPOC excel at a sport you’ve always admired can give you the confidence to get out there, too – and mentorship programs within these groups help QTBIPOC learn from each other, building outdoor leadership skills and confidence.
- It supports deeper connections with culture, nature and community. Bonding with the land in a majority people of color community can be a powerfully healing experience for many.
There are countless other benefits to queer BIPOC outdoor groups as well. They challenge the stereotypes of who gets to participate in outdoor recreation, providing valuable time in nature, and allow people to build community in affinity groups.
I’m excited to explore this world more in the groups profiled below!
Radical Adventure Riders
Location: Multiple chapters
Activity Type: Cycling
Frequency: Varies
Who can attend: Femme, transgender, women and nonbinary BIPOC
Radical Adventure Riders (RAR) was originally founded in 2017 by a group of adventure cyclists who wanted to diversify the cycling community. The group holds space for femme and queer BIPOC, and is proudly trans and intersex inclusive.
US chapters include Albuquerque, NM, Asheville, NC, Boise, ID, Champlain Valley, VT, New Haven, CT and Salt Lake City, UT. Find the full list on the RAR website.
RAR hosts group rides, gear libraries and educational events for adventure cyclists. They have an amazing scholarship program that helps QTBIPOC femmes get bikes, gear and other resources.
Queer Belonging Backpacking Adventure
- Location: Bay Area, CA
- Activity Type: Backpacking
- Frequency: Annual
- Who can attend: QTBIPOC youth
Imagine going backpacking, building community with other queer and trans people of color, and getting paid to do so. That’s the premise behind Queer Belonging Backpacking Adventure, which offers a two-week backpacking trip for Bay Area youth.
The program fosters safe and inclusive community for queer and trans youth of color. Teens spend two weeks in the wilderness backpacking, camping, connecting with nature, and having open and honest conversations about the QTBIPOC experience. It looks like they alternate between the northern California coast and the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Queer Crush
- Location: California; Essex, VT
- Activity Type: Climbing
- Frequency: Monthly
- Who can attend: QTBIPOC
With chapters throughout California and one location in Essex, VT, Queer Crush makes rock climbing inclusive.
Captains host monthly (at least) meetups at local climbing gyms. They also organize outdoor excursions. Check out their meetups and find community with other queer and BIPOC climbers.
Belay All
- Location: California; Washington
- Activity Type: Climbing
- Frequency: Varied
- Who can attend: BIPOC and LGBTQ+
BelayAll is another organization committed to to diversifying climbing. The group started in 2018 by one white Latinx queer person and one trans and nonbinary Iranian femme. The founders shared their skills, gave rides, and found other ways to help make climbing more inclusive than the way it’s often presented – as a white, cis, male sport.
BelayAll announces their events via Instagram. It looks like they offer climbing workshops, route setting workshops, gear swaps and climbing clinics. Follow them on Instagram to stay in the loop!
QPOC Hikers
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Activity type: Hiking
- Frequency: Twice a month
- Who can attend: QTBIPOC
Based in the greater Seattle area, QPOC Hikers boosts visibility of queer BIPOC adventurers through an active Instagram community and regular group hikes.
Recent trips include Margarets Way Trail, Big Four Ice Caves, and an easy beach hike though Seward Park, followed by group yoga.
QPOC Hikers also hosts a gear swap, birding walks, and other fun trips.
