Become a Chapter Outings Leader

A family, two young children and two parents, walk alongside a stream surrounded by summer greenery.

Photo by Blue Jean Images/Alamy


It is all about leadership and getting back out into the wild country of our beautiful state. The Sierra Club has a long history of sponsoring outdoors adventures around the world, including the magnificent wild areas of the Pacific Northwest. This summer we will be relaunching the Chapter Outings Program and we are calling on our members who want to help by becoming leaders so our members and guests can get back out exploring the forests, coastline, rivers, and desert landscapes of this wonderful state.

To be a Sierra Club leader, you need to fulfill the following steps:

  • Current membership in the Sierra Club
  • Completion of the Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) workshop
  • Certification in Basic First Aid or Higher Levels of First Aid Training 
  • Completion of a Provisional Hike with a Seasoned & Experienced Trip Leader

Our goal with Sierra Club trips is to offer people opportunities to adventure outside accompanied by a leader who has met Club safety standards and then adheres to a series of protocols designed to allow everyone to get outside and enjoy experiences with other conservation minded people.  

In the Portland area on May 4th there will be an Outdoor Leadership Workshop offered for free, with a Wilderness First Aid workshop scheduled the following day on May 5th. There will be other weekend workshops to get leaders prepared to offer trips throughout the summer around Oregon.

Currently, the Juniper Group in Bend and the Marys Peak Group out of Corvallis are offering trips near those communities. The Many Rivers Group out of Eugene will soon be doing the same thing. Chapter outings will try to help members from areas without established groups to organize outings in areas like Portland, the Rogue Valley, Salem, and other locations where there are adventurers waiting to get out and explore the countryside.  

If you want more information, a virtual meeting will be held on April 17th, where the Chapter Outings Chair, Kelly Smith, will share ideas about wild country adventures possible around the state and provide additional information about the training being offered to leaders.

Registration for all events can be found below:

We look forward to seeing you outside with the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Kelly O. Smith
kayakkel@gmail.com