What we’re about
SCPRO is a special activities section of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter that organizes hikes and other events for the general public on behalf of the Sierra Club's Washington, DC chapter and the close-in groups of the Maryland and Virginia Chapters. No Sierra Club membership is necessary to participate. We welcome all people on a variety of outdoor adventures, nature walks, conservation outings, and exploration of our natural and regional history.
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Events Calendar
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Women’s Suffrage History Hike, Lorton, VAWorkhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY as we are experimenting with a different way to register attendees. To participate in this event, you must:
(1) Read the liability waiver (officially, the Sierra Club Participation Agreement) http://bit.ly/3Qd4F1B
(2) Tap ATTEND at the bottom of this event.
(3) When prompted, type “I accept” to the liability waiver.
No public restrooms will be open until 11AM, so please “take care of business” before you arrive. This is a moderately easy suburban 6-mile hike with a few steep inclines, one very shallow creek crossing, and one wet, muddy spot. Limited to 20 participants. No guests and no pets please. Participants should bring their own water or non-alcoholic beverage, hand sanitizer, snacks, insect repellant, and any other necessities. Dress for the weather; long pants are recommended. Plan to have enough cash or a credit card for lunch and/or to spend at the gift shops or community art market, if desired. Lunch will be at the Brickmakers Café (https://www.novaparks.com/parks/brickmakers-cafe), where outside food or beverages are not permitted to be consumed. We’ll hike over a combination of asphalt and dirt trails around the former Lorton prison complex, in part to celebrate the heroic suffragists who were imprisoned there over a century ago for demanding women’s right to vote; their brutal treatment while imprisoned sparked international outrage. Points of historic interest are the former medium-security prison, now an arts center; the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial; and the Lucy Burns Museum (optional free visit after the hike). In our transition from all-cash donations, we’re asking for an electronic donation of $2.00 per event per person, or instead of making a donation per event, you are welcome to send $5 or more to cover a longer period at your discretion. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit entity, and your donation is essential to help cover SCPRO leader training and administrative costs. Please donate using PayPal: https://bit.ly/46jTw5Y , go to Send, enter ecommerce@sierrapotomac.org and select “Family and Friends” as the payment type. For those without a PayPal account, WE STILL ACCEPT CASH donations at the meeting place. - Autumnal Walk at the National ArboretumUS National Arboretum, Washington, DC
Join us for a slow-paced and information-rich stroll of up to 5 miles in this remarkable 446-acre hiking venue tucked away in Northeast Washington. Officially a USDA research facility, it’s also an urban green space cum riverside nature preserve. With expositional pauses, our outing will wind through a mildly hilly landscape of woodlands, fields, and history. Expect to see exotic flora, river views, birds aplenty, and some U.S. Capitol leftovers. You won’t have to go the whole way, in that shortcut instructions will be available.
To participate, meet us at 10 am in the lower parking lot near the Grove of State Trees. To get there, enter the arboretum through the R Street NE entrance, then immediately turn right onto Eagle Nest Road and follow it, initially slightly uphill, and then downhill for almost half a mile while going straight through two intersections.
• Take along appropriate clothing (a warm spell seems likely), sun protection, water, and snacks.
• Obedient leashed dogs and accompanied children with stamina are welcome.
• Contact us for directions or if carless or curious.
We are Gabriele Ludwig, Paul Elliott, and Frank Wodarczyk, now resuming the seasonal hikes we’ve long been leading at the arboretum.
• PS #1: We’d appreciate your making a voluntary cash contribution of $2/person to help defray our self-sustaining Sierra Club group’s expenses. Alternatively, use PayPal to make either a one-time $2 donation for this event or a $5 annual donation to thereby also cover your future SCPRO events. If you don’t have a PayPal account, you can create one by clicking “Sign Up” on the PayPal page (https://bit.ly/46jTw5Y). Send to ECommerce@SierraPotomac.org using “For friends and family” as the payment type.
• PS #2: If you’re not a Sierra Club member, we encourage you to sign up on the club’s Member Center (www.sierraclub.org/member-center)--look under “Your Local Chapter” to find where you belong--and note the special $15 new-member offer.
- Owl Prowl in Southern Maryland (Non SCPRO event)Needs location
Organized By: Sierra Club's Southern Maryland Group
Sign up at: Owl Prowl (sierraclub.org)
Location: 11785 Clifton Dr, Lusby, MD 20657, USA
Event Organizers: Sandra Gwynn, sgwynnpersonal@gmail.com, (202) 302-4264
Join the Southern Maryland Sierra Club and the Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust on a nighttime hike to hear owls and other nocturnal residents! Bob Boxwell, former Executive Director of the Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust, will lead the hike. We will be taking a short hike in the woods, stopping to call for owls and listen for their responses. Please wear sturdy shoes and bring a flashlight. Children and adults are welcome!
Level: Easy
- Gambrill's Catoctin Trail Hike 7.3 miles 1,300 elevationHigh Knob, Maryland, MD
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY as we are experimenting with a different way to register attendees. To participate in this event, you must:
1: Read the liability waiver (officially, the Sierra Club Participation Agreement) http://bit.ly/3Qd4F1B
2: Tap ATTEND at the bottom of this event,
3: YOU MUST type "I accept" (the liability waiver) when prompted, & your first and last name, your contact cell number, and an emergency contact number
Example: I accept, Debra Babarsky (703) XXX-XXXX, (301) XXX-XXXXThis is a beautiful 7.4 mile hike that will start from the High Knob upper parking lot at Gambrill State Park in Frederick, Md., follow the Yellow trail downhill to the Green trail that intersects with the Catoctin Trail (Catoctin National Recreation Trail) heading north. The Catoctin Trail traverses steep and rocky hill sides, fern covered forest floors, paths through deciduous forests and ultimately reaches a flowing stream that we will follow for a while before taking a break and turning back. After we retrace our steps on the Catoctin Trail and Green Trail, we will ascend on a different section of the Yellow Trail to finish at our start point. Please be a strong enough hiker to be comfortable with climbing steep and rocky hills and walking over rocky surfaces.
BRING: Layers of clothing for 40 to 60 degree temp. change, water, lunch or snack, bug spray, sunscreen, good hiking shoes or boots, poles if you use them.
COST: A voluntary $2.00 donation per event or a $5.00 annual donation is requested. Your donation funds SCPRO leader training and administrative costs. Please donate using PayPal https://bit.ly/46jTw5Y. (If you don’t have a PayPal account, tap Sign Up and follow the prompts to sign up.) Log in to your account. Go to Send, enter ecommerce@sierrapotomac.org as the Recipient, enter the amount you want to send, use Family and Friends as the payment type, enter your payment method (PayPal balance, bank account, or credit card), review the details, and click Send Payment. There is no fee to send money domestically to friends and family from your PayPal balance or bank account.
You can become a Sierra Club member by clicking "join" on the Virginia Sierra Club website: http://www.sierraclub.org/virginia.
CANCELLATION: Hike will cancel for rain. Look for notice in the comments section.
The Sierra Club does not require vaccines or tests as a prerequisite for attending day outings. So, in going on a hike, it is your choice to attend knowing this information. The leader(s) are not allowed to request or reveal vaccination status of anyone, nor reject a participant based on vaccination status. If you feel sick, however, you should not attend the outing. Also, Sierra Club does not require the wearing of face masks. If you have questions, contact the leaders."The event host is instituting the above safety measures for this event. Meetup is not responsible for ensuring, and will not independently verify, that these precautions are followed.