Hiking Club aims to get students active in nature and allow them to appreciate the beautiful natural areas around campus.
The club has been meeting weekly for local hikes since its founding in March 2025. They currently have four members, but hikes are open for any students to join. Their last hike of the semester will take place on Friday, May 2, at 9 a.m. on the Seven Bridges trail.
“We’re hoping for [the end of year hike] to be the most hikers we’ve ever had … go out with a bang this semester,” said Hiking Club President Lindsey Magnuson, an undecided sophomore. “We’re hoping it will be a really fun hike because Seven Bridges isn’t that difficult of a trail.”
Seven Bridges is about 20 minutes away from campus, and Magnuson expects the hike to take between an hour and a half and two hours. There will be carpools available, but students are welcome to drive themselves. Hikers should bring water and wear comfortable hiking clothes or workout gear.
Magnuson wants the final hike of the semester to be a place for people to de-stress before finals and fulfill the club’s goal of creating connections through nature.
“Our goal is to bring together people from UCCS, because we feel like a lot of people move to Colorado for the outdoors,” Magnuson said. “Sometimes in college, it can be hard to get involved in stuff, especially when you don’t know other people, so it’s a place for people to come together and enjoy nature.”
Hiking Club tackles a variety of hikes for different skill levels. Their hikes have included everything from an on-campus trail clean-up to the Manitou Incline. Most hikes this semester have been in groups of four to eight people, according to Magnuson.
Hiking Club has hosted two social events in addition to the hikes, but there are no regular meetings outside of hikes. There is no membership requirement. Hikers can simply RSVP to hikes on MLC, be added to the club’s GroupMe and attend hikes as they desire.
“We try to keep it fun,” Magnuson said. “We don’t try to take anything too seriously or try to finish the hike the fastest because that’s really not a good way to enjoy hiking, especially when you’re just trying to enjoy nature.”
So far, Hiking Club has not seen consistent, repeat hikers. In the coming year, Magnuson hopes she will see more people attend hikes on a regular basis.
“I feel like people don’t really realize how beautiful nature is and the impact that they [have on] nature,” Magnuson said. “I think it’s kind of sad that people don’t appreciate what we already have, and how people talk about moving to Mars when we have something so beautiful right here already.”
Students interested in attending the Seven Bridges hike can RSVP on MLC.
Photo by NEOM on Unsplash.