About Us: The Wine Hiking Society for Women Hike & Connect

Our Story

Cindy and Angelique here! We met through a mutual friend of our husbands (A: now my ex-husband, thankfully). When the guys would go dirt biking, we’d hit the trail and explore Utah on foot. Our friendship grew, one mile at a time. Eventually, the hikes turned into backpacking trips and adventures overseas.

Our passion for hiking and backpacking quickly morphed into something bigger: a passion for supporting and empowering women in the outdoors! We wanted other women to have a space where they could enjoy the outdoors, regardless of their age, pace, or fitness level. A place where women could gain both skills and a community with zero judgment.

And from that friendship and passion, the Wine Hiking Society as you see it today was born.

Our Mission

The Women’s Wine Hiking Society was formed to create lifelong connections and friendships among amazing women who are passionate about exploring the outdoors and our beautiful backcountry. Our mission is to empower women to discover not only their own strength and ability as they journey through the wilderness but also the power in supporting other women in the outdoors. Together we hike, backpack, and socialize in a judgment-free environment.

Our Philosophy

We like to say that we’re a social club with a hiking problem. That’s because we’re not the group that races to the top. Rather, we’re the group chatting the whole way. Community is at the core of of everything we do. The fact that our community takes place on the trail is just an added bonus!

What’s with the alcohol?

Our events all have a fun-theme centered around wine or another alcoholic drink. (We’re equal opportunity drinkers.) However, you don’t have to drink to join us. No one will care if you don’t drink. They’ll just be happy that you joined us! We have lots of women on our hikes who don’t drink, and they still have a blast! We’re a fun group, with or without the booze.

So what’s the point of the alcohol? It’s to make our group less intimidating to join. Joining a new group can be scary. And some hiking groups are serious hikers. But, that’s not us.

When people see the drink theme, they instantly kn ow that we can’t be that hardcore. And that makes joining our group less scary. (And more fun!)

Here are a few ways our philosophy sets us apart from other hiking groups:

We are happy to wait for you! For your safety, it’s important to consider your ability before choosing a hike. But, if you are a capable hiker and are just slow, that’s totally okay! We don’t host hikes to see how fast we can do them. Instead, we view hiking as a team sport. It’s more fun when we all make it to the end (and the wine!).
We make sure no one hikes alone. We have women of different paces on our hikes. There’s almost always someone with the same pace as you. In the rare event there’s not, the ambassador leading the hike will hike with you. Many of our ambassadors like to lead from the middle or back anyway. We’re here to create connections!
We want you to have fun and make friends! In order for that to happen, you need to know what to bring and where and when to meet. We organize the entire hike from start to finish and start coordinating with everyone on the hike a week before it starts. With that kind of high-level service, you can just show up ready to hike knowing you’re prepared for the current conditions.

Hike with Us!

Our group is about exploring and creating connections. We’re not about sprinting to the top to see how fast we can do a hike. If that’s what you’re looking for, then our group isn’t for you. But that’s totally okay! There are other hiking groups that will be a better match.

Become a Wine Hiker