Clark Nature
Connection

Our highly popular Clark Nature Connection guided small group hikes happen nearly every weekend. Trips advertised as Nature Connection hikes generally:

• Depart late morning or early afternoon on a Saturday or Sunday, and return mid to late afternoon or early evening.
• Have driving distances of less than 1 hour each way; sometimes as little as 10-15 minutes.
• Are in easy to moderately strenuous hiking terrain, which may be flat, hilly, or semi-mountainous, but which requires no special skills or expertise.
• Have hiking distances of 3-7 miles.
• Have group sizes of 12 of fewer participants (typical of virtually all Outing Club trips).
• Are ideal for new students who'd like to connect with the Outing Club and explore the central Massachusetts region.
• Are a great way for any student to escape the bustle of the city for a few hours and spend some quality time with us in the outdoors.

Clark Nature Connection began experimentally in October, 2004, as a collaboration between our club advisor and the Student Activities office (now known as Student Leadership & Programming) in response to the huge demand for convenient fall hiking opportunities spawned by the Outing Club's resurrection two years earlier, and which the club was struggling to meet. The experiment worked, and the Outing Club officially became co-sponsors of these hikes the following fall. As the hikes mushroomed in popularity, spring semester trips were added as well. By the fall of 2012 the Outing Club had amassed the resources, capacity, and commitment to assume full responsibility for Clark Nature Connection, and the hikes are now organized and funded solely by the club.

So take the plunge and join us! We hope to see you on an upcoming Nature Connection hike.

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