Fort Worth Sierra Club Outings
This page contains a chronologically listing of outings and events. If you prefer to see them listed by type, please see our calendar page.

May 16 (Wed.) General Meeting of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, 7:00 PM
Trinity River Audubon Center staff will present an overview of this wonderful facility on the Trinity River just 7 minutes from downtown Dallas. The Center offers programs and hiking trails close to home. The third Wednesday of each month we share conservation news, outings info and enjoy a presentation by a guest speaker. Speaker will be followed by refreshments, club business and announcements. Location: Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, Moncrief Garden Center, Azalea Room; 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. at University Drive, north of I-30, Fort Worth. (817) 871-7686.

May 26 (Sat) Prairie Fest at Tandy Hills Park, East Fort Worth 4 PM to dusk.
Hiking opportunities and wildflower walks. Celebrate this gem in east Fort Worth. For directions, http://tandyhills.org/fest

May 26 (Sat) OUTING Day hike at Fort Worth Nature Center
Meet at 8:15 AM at the Hardwicke Interpretative Visitors Center Parking lot at Fort Worth Nature Center. After you enter the refuge pay your entrance fee and follow signs to Hardwicke. The park opens it gates at 8 AM so be there promptly. We will hike a 4-5 mile section of trails. Bring water, snacks, and raingear. Nature Center is located in NW Tarrant County on Lake Worth. Take Highway 199 exit west toward Azle off 820 West on western edge of Fort Worth. Leader: Claudia Blalock, 817-924-6242. For more information on Nature Center, visit www.fwnaturecenter.org. In the event of rain, hike is cancelled. No dogs please

May 31 (Thurs) OUTING Almost TGIF Evening Hike on Trinity Trail
Meet at the parking lot off University Dr near Hoffbrau Steak House just south of I-30 and University Dr. in Fort Worth at 6 PM for a short hike followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. Hikers only, no dogs please. Bring water, dress for comfortable hiking in hot weather. Note: parking lot where we are meeting is on west side of University just prior to the zoo before the Trinity River bridge. Leader: Claudia Blalock, 817-924-6242

June 15-17 (Fri-Sun) OUTING Floating the South Llano River and viewing bats
Join the Sierra Club for the popular repeat trip to South Llano State Park. The spring fed Llano River flows through this state park just outside Junction TX and tubes may be rented at the park for enjoy the cool water and relaxing ride on the gentle current of the river. We will float the river until early afternoon on Sat and again on Sunday. In the late afternoon we will head to Mason Tx about 1 hr from the park to visit a Nature Conservancy property, James River Bat Preserve, to see the emergence of the Mexican freetail bats at dusk. This is a largest bat habitat in the US. The state park is approximately 4 hrs from Ft Worth. Website for state park: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/south_llano_river. Leader: Marilyn Turnage email marilynturnage@att.net.

June 20 (Wed) General Meeting of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, 7:00 PM
Martha Ohlson, expert photographer and world traveler, will present her photos and delightful stories about travels in the national parks. Martha is a Dallas Sierra Club member, who has hiked for over 30 years and camped across the US and world from Antartica to Tibet. The third Wednesday of each month we share conservation news, outings info and enjoy a presentation by a guest speaker. Speaker will be followed by refreshments, club business and announcements. Location: Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, Moncrief Garden Center, Azalea Room; 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. at University Drive, north of I-30, Fort Worth. (817) 871-7686.

How Outings Work

Sierra Club

The Sierra Club has almost 800,000 members and part of our mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth.  Our volunteer-run outings program supports the Sierra Club’s conservation mission by connecting people with the natural world and with the Club. We follow the example of John Muir, the father of our National Park System and Sierra Club founder, who led others to these wild spaces.  By taking others on Sierra Club outings, we hope to impart our love of these special places and a commitment to protect them. 

The Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club offers many types of outings (trips) to local areas as well as to surrounding states. Outings may be as short as several hours to a multi-day trip. The types of outings may include urban day hikes, bicycle rides, canoe trips, wilderness backpacks, sea kayak tours or overnight car camping in established campgrounds such as a state park. Our leaders volunteer their time to receive training, plan trips, and to lead these outings. These outings are not-for-profit and support the mission of the Sierra Club. All Sierra Club trips are conducted in accordance with the National Sierra Club Outing Program. 

Our outings are open to members and nonmembers. A list of upcoming outings is provided above and includes pertinent information about each event and a contact person for the event. Most trips require pre-registration and leader approval as indicated in their description. Other outings such as many day hikes do not require prior approval or registration; you just show up. Please contact the leader for details about each trip. 

PLEASE NOTE: All participants on Sierra Club Outings are required to sign a standard liability waiver. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and a liability waiver must be signed by the parent or guardian. If you would like to read the liability waiver before you choose to participate on an Outing, please go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms/, or contact the Outings Department at (415) 977-5528 for a printed version.

Also, it is noted that Outings Leaders may limit the number of participants on a trip, and may choose to screen potential participants for experience, conditioning, and suitability for participation. The Outings Leaders' decisions are final. Depending on the strenuous nature of the trip, not all interested people have the necessary skills and conditioning to have an enjoyable trip.

Each outing officially begins at the trailhead. The trip leader cannot assign carpooling for trip participants, but may help to coordinate ridesharing. Some outings to state/national parks or wilderness areas may require an entrance and/or camping fee; each participant will be responsible for paying his own expenses. No radios or firearms are allowed. Pets are not allowed unless indicated in the trip description. 

The Fort Worth Sierra Club does not provide camping equipment such as tents, clothing, backpacks or watercraft for any outing. Each participant is responsible for providing his own equipment. The trip leader will provide details about the equipment and supplies needed for each outing. (provide links to list of equipment). Classes such as map reading and compass instruction, beginner backpacking, and canoeing may be offered by the Outings Committee or listed in our publications to assist members in increasing their outdoor skills. All Fort Worth Sierra Club outings encourage and practice “leave no trace” and low impact to the environment outdoor practices. 

In general, overnight trips or outings to wilderness areas are usually limited to approximately 12 persons and require reservations. This small number helps to minimize our impact to wilderness areas and to provide better opportunities for fellowship. If you must cancel, inform the leader as soon as possible. Urban day hikes are usually not limited to 12 persons. 

If you have questions about the Fort Worth Sierra Club Outings Program or wish to become an outings leader, contact the chairperson at 817-924-6242.