Loosely-knit and informal chapters have developed in certain areas of the country through the efforts of a few members who regularly run trips and social events. As a result, they have developed a core group of members who have become good friends and plan future GO trips together. We are making an ongoing effort to identify those areas and contacting the trip leaders to see if they would like their area to be ‘flagged’ as a GO chapter. By doing this, members and visitors can quickly identify those areas in the country that are more active than others.

If you are trip leader and you feel your area has a core group members that should be 'flagged' as a chapter to help you attract even more members, then contact us. There is nothing more you need to do. Just keep doing what you've been doing! By 'flagging' your area as a chapter we'll attract new guest members to join GO, trip participation in your area will increase, and we'll have more trips getting posted from other members in your area. We would love to count your area in as a chapter!

GO really is nothing more or less than the sum of the energy and enthusiasm that all of our individual members contribute - the greater and broader that energy, the greater and broader will be the enjoyment that we derive from GO.  By injecting your own involvement and enthusiasm, you will be contributing directly in that formula.

If you would like to see a chapter and more trips/events in your area the the simple answer is get involved. First, if there is a trip taking place near to you and you can attend, then go along and take part. It is only through member support of trips that demand in an area increases.

In addition to seconding your personal goal of participating in a GO trip sometime soon, another thing to consider doing is to actually organize and post a GO trip yourself, in your area.  Whether it's camping, biking, hiking, skiing, paddling or a Meet 'N Greet social event [GO Rendezvous] at a bar or in your place [cookout, potluck], there are many GO members in your area who might be interested in meeting and joining you.  As you likely would surmise on your own, the key to a rich trips/events calendar lies with those first few people who are able to step out in front and get the ball rolling.  To get a further perspective on the in's and out's of organizing an event, click here for some help.

Nearly all areas of the country have hundreds of members registered. Try posting a couple of trips in your area and then get the word out for more people to register on the our website to attend your trips. Something as simple as a day hike can get things going. Send an invitation to everyone on your GayOutdoors Buddies List. Get the word out by cross-posting your trips at other gay websites/newspapers in your area. When you post a trip you'll be given an option at the end to share it on your Facebook page to invite all of your friends. Call or send an email everyone you know or anyone you think would be interested. By organizing something, you would qualify for being named our Member of the Month! 

You can also host a social event [GO Rendezvous] such as meeting up at a local bar for a "Happy Hour" either after work or on a weekend [weekends attract guys from further away]; hosting a potluck dinner,cookout and/or slide show at your house. A meetup at a movie theater to watch an outdoorzy type movie like "Into The Wild", attending the Banff Film Festival, or viewing a nature based IMAX movie is also a lot of fun! 

You can also get the word out about GO by distributing our brochures to your local gay bar, library/cafe bulletin boards, gay organizations, and meeting places. You can also mail them to your local gay organizations. We alsp have GO advertisements in PDF form which can be downloaded for publication in local news weeklies, etc.  >>Click Here To Print GO Brochures/Ads  

We highly recommend that to provide greater exposure to your area you should take pictures and post them at the website along with a trip report. 

To get interest going in your area we highly recommend that you run at least one trip a month or line up someone else to do it. At first, guys don't join to organize; they want to join something that is already going. Other guys will learn where to go from you, find out how easy it is to run a trip, and start organizing/posting trips of their own. 

If you have any questions or need help, don't hesitate to contact us. We are here to help!