OAC members are a great collection of people from Santa Cruz to Santa Rosa, and as far to the east as Sacramento. During the week, most members are working hard as busy urban professionals. By the time the weekend comes, they’re ready to get outdoors and we’re ready to help make it happen. Many people in the club are new to the area and want to meet people who love the outdoors, but don’t have the time to organize trips on their own. You’ll find a welcoming, community environment with the OAC.

We are not a singles club; however almost all of our members are single. We’re proud that 30 couples have gotten married after meeting through the Outdoor Adventure Club, but it’s important to know that people come on our trips to enjoy the adventure of the day and make new friends, not to “hook up”.

In a word, FUN! Our goal is to make all our trips feel like we’re a group of friends out for a great time, all the while keeping safety our top priority. On Outdoor Adventure Club trips, we do all the work. You just sign up and show up! Our professional guides help prepare you for each adventure, introduce you to the folks on the trip, and make you feel welcome. On the trips, our guides prepare exquisite meals and teach outdoor skills. You’ll have comfort knowing all our guides are Wilderness First Responders or Wilderness EMTs, and have an abundance of training and experience in the outdoors.

There are a few things you won’t see on our calendar. We don’t do pub-crawls or dancing lessons, for instance. There are plenty of outlets for those activities. What you will see is a calendar packed with more choices for outdoor fun than you’ll see anywhere else, all organized and executed by professional guides who make your fun their job.

Now, there are more than 7,000 active Bay Area people who receive the OAC newsletter each week and are excited about getting outdoors with other like-minded people. They agree this is a great way to meet active people in the Bay Area, but also a great way to get out and do some of the things they’ve always wanted to do.

Types of trips we offer include hiking, backpacking, rock climbing trips and courses, kayaking, hiking and camping trips, whitewater rafting, backcountry skiing and snowboarding trips, avalanche education courses (AIARE), snowshoeing, and mountaineering expeditions. Check out our full Adventure Calendar for trips every weekend.

Yes, you could do all these things on your own, but it’s a lot of work putting it together, and more fun to do with a group. Fortunately, OAC does all of the work for you and all of this happens behind the scenes. We:

• Set up a calendar full of a variety of adventures
• Handle all the permits
• Make the reservations and reserve the accommodations
• Preview the trips
• Plan meals, buy the groceries and prepare the meals
• Provide professional, friendly guides
• Recommend gear and arrange for gear rentals (if needed)
• Teach you a new skill or two
• Bring awesome groups of people together

Signing up for an Outdoor Adventure Club trip is simple. Just go to the Events Calendar, decide what you want to do and sign up. We’ll just need a few details about you and your payment, and you are all set. You will receive a confirmation email that we received your sign up with details on the trip attached. Then one week to a few days prior to the trip (depending on trip type), we’ll send an email to the group with full trip details including what to wear, what to bring, how to get there, and introduce you to you guide and other participants.

You do not have to be a member to come out on our trips. Membership is never required and there is no pressure or sales pitch. You’re welcome to come out on our trips as a non-member as often as you’d like. It’s totally up to you. In fact, quite a few people tend to “sample” a trip first and then become a member later. If you want to sign up for a trip and are not a member, just look for the non-member pricing.

Others become members right away to take advantage of the discounted trip pricing, member perks and great deals and discounts at partner retailers. Now that you are excited to join, here is the scoop on Membership Information.

Absolutely, you can sign up by yourself! Almost everyone who comes on an Outdoor Adventure Club trip comes solo on their first trip. After a few trips, you’ll start recognizing names on upcoming adventures and soon enough you’ll have a whole new circle of adventurous friends.

Don’t hesitate to sign up solo. You’ll find our guides and participants to be friendly and welcoming, and excited to meet new people.

Our trips are adults only. While many of our members have children of various ages (and we love kids!), our trips are designed to be a get-away for adults only. We do often put together custom trips for families and groups of children (such as a rock climbing camp or camping adventure). To inquire about a custom adventure for your group or family, visit Custom Events with the OAC.

We see people of all ages on our trips. Some trips tend to attract a younger crowd, while other trips attract an older group. We don’t ask for ages of our participants, but if we had to guess, we’d say on average late 20’s to late 40s (some older some, younger). Age has never been an issue on any of our trips as our participants all share an adventurous spirit. Unless otherwise specified, our trips are open to anyone 21 or older. We do offer family trips from time to time, as well as trips designed specifically for people of certain age groups. Age is just a number!

Our trips are almost entirely outdoors and adventurous. We offer a full range of programs in everything we do. We offer introductory classes and easy trips for people new to the adventure as well as more advanced classes and trips for more experienced adventurers. Our variety of events and skill levels will offer something for everyone. By providing so many different trips, we can help you pick the perfect trip for your experience and comfort level. Just let us know if you have any questions about the fitness or experience level of any trip that interests you.

We don’t provide transportation to our adventures, arrange rides, or guarantee them. It is up to you to get to the trailhead, campground, or meeting spot. But our carpool lists have worked out great since the OAC began! When you sign up for a trip, let us know if you would like to be included on the carpool list and what city you’ll be coming from.

Then one week to a few days prior to the trip (depending on trip type), we send out a group email. From there, everyone contacts each other to coordinate carpools. So once you get the group email, just send your email out to everyone letting them know you are looking for a ride or are willing to drive a few folks (why drive alone!). It helps to offer to pitch in for gas and meet somewhere convenient for the driver. Then it should all work out. Just don’t wait until the last minute, when carpools may already be full. Some people even contact each other to plan to split ride shares or car rentals. (Note that carpools are not guaranteed and no refunds or credits are issued due to lack of transportation or carpool. We offer this as a convenience for people who would like to share the ride.)

Yes! We offer rental gear for backpacking, camping, and backcountry skiing and snowboarding trips. Visit our Rental Page for full details. If you are looking to join a OAC backpacking or camping trip, we’ve got you covered with tent, backpack, sleeping bag and sleeping pad rentals. Our guides will bring the items you need to the location of your OAC trip, so no need to pick up in advance or return. It’s easy! Don’t let not having all your own gear stop you from joining an OAC trip. Plus OAC members get free rentals on OAC trips. For more info on backpacking and camping gear rentals for OAC trips, visit our Backpacking and Camping rental page for more info.Backpacking and Camping Rental Gear for OAC Trips.

If a trip is sold out and no tickets are available, we offer the opportunity to join our waitlist. Should a spot become available (it happens often), you will be given the opportunity to join in! When a spot opens up, we’ll notify everyone on the list via email. We give OAC members waitlist priority. We send our first email to all OAC members on the list, then follow up to non-members on the list. Spots that become available are on a first come, first serve basis. To get on the waitlist, just fill out our Waitlist Form and let us know which trip. Then keep an eye on your email to see if a spot opens up!

We love dogs of a shapes and sizes and understand that your dog likes the outdoors too! However, since we share the trails with other outdoors enthusiasts and wildlife (some who might be very interested in your pet), we don’t allow dogs on our trips for safety reasons.

Please refer to our standard trip cancellation policy. We have different policies for member and non-members, and some trips (like Half Dome and private/custom) may have special policies.

Gift certificates (or what we like to call the “Gift of Adventure”) are available for purchase online. Visit OAC Gift Certificates for more info.

Our real office is out in the woods, cliffs, rivers, and trails in California. But we’d love to talk to you about any of our trips, memberships or other opportunities. The quickest way to reach us is via email at info@OutdoorAdventureClub.com or give us a call at 415-377-1195. You can also fill out our Contact Us form online.