Welcome!
We are the 94-year-old Cleveland Hiking Club, more than one thousand members strong. We offer over 250 hikes in the North East Ohio region on a monthly basis for hikers of all fitness levels. Every day we offer hikes of different difficulties, at different times, and at various locations. You do not need to be a member of the club to join us on a hike, so spend some time on our web site to learn more and then come and take a hike with us! You’ll be glad you did; but be careful, hiking is addictive!
Safety and Health Notes from Karen Pressman
Updated April 2013 with Tips for the Long Hikes
Club News and Info
6/18/13The July issue of Newsteps has been posted the Newsteps page.
6/17/13
Hiking schedules for July and August have been posted to the the Schedules Page.
6/15/13
"The CHC MIND BODY AND SOUL EXPO (held June 15, 2013) was a well attended Huge Success!! A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the most appreciated club members (Ken Howard, Debbie Wood, Jerome Masek, Kathleen Goggin, Maureen Lindway, and Fran Jacobs ) who volunteered their time and talent for this wonderful program!!!...Thank you!!" ...Barb Siegel
5/15/13
The annual CHC 40 Mile Hike is covered both in photos and in text. June Newsteps is now available to members.
4/29/13
Our hike schedule has a Photo Hike incorrectly listed as being on May 1; it should be on May 2. And there are two typos that list May hikes 17g and 31e as being at 1:30 AM instead of the correct 1:30 PM.
4/19/13
The starting point has been changed for the 26-mile hike on Sunday. Erik Barldwin, the starter, says "Due to the current budget cuts, the Octagon Parking Lot and all of the other locked lots are not opened til 8 am. Therefore the starting location is now Happy Days parking lot. Starting time will be delayed 5-10 minutes. There will be a change in the route that I will explain before we start. Thanks for your understanding, Erik"
4/16/13
The hiking schedules for May and June have been posted to the Schedules page of the club's website. The maps and instructions for the 40 mile hike are also posted there. And the May edition of Newsteps has been posted to the website, over at the Newsteps page.
4/14/13
A full house came out to Camp Onwego last Saturday for a potluck and musical entertainment. See more info on the website's News page.
4/4/13
Two hikes in April have had their starting location changed. Hike 10C at the Lake View Cemetery will meet at the Garfield Monument, not at the Euclid Avenue entrance because the original parking lot was too small. And hike 8A at Mill Steam Run will not meet at Royalview PA since the road to it has been closed; the hike will meet at the bottom of the hill where the road to Royalview PA leaves Valley View Parkway.
4/3/13
The last soup supper was well attended, with 65 members enjoying 11 different soups with all the fixings. By popular request, some of the soup recipes have been posted at the website's News page.
4/2/13
The Mile-A-Day results for March have been posted at the website's hike data page.
3/25/13
The maps for the annual 20 and 26 mile hikes are posted to the website at the Schedules Page.
3/19/13
And here's another sign of spring: the spring collection of CHC merchandise is available for order. Check it out at the Merchandise page. This page shows photos of some of the offerings, sample colors, and an order form.
3/15/13
It must be nearly spring because the April Newsteps is out and has been posted to the website over at the Newsteps page.
3/4/13
The Buckeye Trail Association is having their annual TrailFest out our way in Kirtland this year on April 25-28. There will be hiking, trail work, and a chance to meet other BT hikers. Check it out here.
2/28/13
The photos that won last year's photo contest have been posted to the website, over at the website's Photos page. Thanks to Denise and Chris for managing the contest and assembling digital copies of the winners, and thanks to Peter for posting them.
2/19/13
I noticed that the late Wilma Howard was a 'life member' of the CHC. Do you know how one becomes a life member and avoids paying further dues? It is straight-forward: you just have to be a dues-paying member for 50 years. I'm told that we now have 4 life members; to honor them, their names will be listed on one of the first few pages of the directory that you should be receiving before long. The person who has been a member the longest joined back in 1939, so this will be her 74th year of membership! That is hard to do, since you can't join the CHC until you are 18.
2/16/13
It sounds like progress is being made in the transfer of Cleveland-area state parks over to the Cleveland MetroParks. See the PD article here.
2/15/13
We have posted the March Newsteps to the website over at the Newsteps page. Also the hike schedules for March and April have been posted to the Schedules page and also to the Mobile homepage for smart phones.
2/9/13
The Charles Lally Memorial Lecture has been announced for Saturday, June 1. The speaker will be Greg Miller, a well-known birder and the subject of the recent book and movie 'The Big Year'. Details are posted on the website's events page.
2/8/13
Peter has posted the mileage results for January, including Mile-A-Day, Awards and Monthly Statistical Miles over at the website's hike data page.
2/4/13
We had 41 brave souls come out in the Cleveland snow to attend the general meeting last Saturday. Unfortunately, we needed 50 for a quorum, so official business was not transacted.
2/2/13
President Dave Richards has assembled a 2012 Annual Report to Members which includes a summary of key events and committee activities for the year 2012. Dave says "This report is intended to enable you as members to be aware of the vast variety of volunteer achievement and what activities our club routinely offers to our members. I am extremely proud of the work accomplished by our club leadership and committees. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thanks to all who have made this result possible!! Great Job!!" You can read it on the Member Contacts page.
1/31/13
We posted tentative hike schedules for March and April at the website's Hike Leader Info page. If you are scheduled to lead a hike on these schedules, take a look to see if they are accurate or you will live with any errors.
1/31/13
For a little more insight into Wilma Howard and her family, take a look at this article. It is take from a 2003 Newsteps article by Kay Ball
1/28/13
We wanted to let you know about a fund raiser for the West Creek Conservancy, a local group that the CHC has supported in the past. You can read about this group at their web site. They have been active in conserving land with the MetroParks and are working on building a 20 mile trail to connect West Creek Reservation with the Towpath Trail. They are also helping with work to extend the Towpath Trail north to the lakefront. For informtion on their fundraiser, check out their flyer.
1/27/13
Have you ever suspected that there was a lot of hype about the benefits of Gatorade and similar drinks? Here's a link to a sports doctor who feels that way. This doctor publishes under the name Adirondoc and has a regular column in the magazine from the Adirondack Mountain Club. On one of our long hikes you would want water and some food for energy, but it sounds like Gatorade might not be needed.
1/24/13
It is sad to hear of the recent death of life member Wilma Howard, who was an inspiring hiker. Peter posted a small tribute to her over on the News page.
1/20/13
We have posted the February Newsteps to the website over at the Newsteps page.
1/18/13
The lovely Recording Pathfinder has figured out how many miles everyone hiked with the club in 2012 and Peter has posted it to the website. Go take a look at how many miles you hiked and how many your friends did at the website's hike data page. Are you among the top 40 hikers in 2012? I'm not.
1/10/13
The President's Hike on New Year's Day drew 72 members on the 5 mile hike. And the Vice-President's hike drew another 23. And I'm told that 88 stayed and had dinner with the group.
1/1/13
Word is that 59 hikers showed up for Fran and Herb Jacob's Holiday Lunch on Christmas and that they were all well fed. And some others did the associated hike but didn't eat (quite out of character for the CHC that I know). Many thanks to Fran and Herb for the big effort that this activity required.