OUR STORY

’Out of the Bars and Under the Stars’


Great Outdoors (GO) began in 1977 by Greg Carmack and Paul Breton (pictured above). Among many discussions, they aspired to offer an alternative place where LGBT+ people could meet and socialize in the wilderness and outside of the bars. Paul, a catholic priest, suggested introducing the phenomena of camping, hiking, to the LGBT+ community. Paul took Greg for a drive up the Big Sur coast and Greg fell in love - and thus Great Outdoors was born. Discover the history of Great Outdoors through the decades by watching our 30 minute Great Outdoors History video unveiled at the 47th Great Outdoors Annual Conference (2025)!

Discover the history of Great Outdoors through the decades by watching our 30 minute Great Outdoors History video unveiled at the 47th Great Outdoors Annual Conference (2025)!

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Note: To learn more about a specific topic or decade, see a timestamp breakdown below.


The 1970’s

  • The Initial Spark (0:00) 
  • Our Founding Campout (0:41)
  • Building the Foundation (3:53)

Our Founders Greg and Paul hosted their first outing the weekend of July Fourth in 1978 in the Los Padres National Forest. Registration for each of the 140+ campers included food & supplies, refrigerated in a nearby mountain stream. At camp there was an established latrine, volleyball courts and three open pit fires straddling both sides of the river. On Sunday morning, Paul led a worship service atop a boulder below the pine tree tops with the Pacific Ocean behind him - Great Outdoors was surrounded by the sounds of nature. The campers were men and women ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, including people with disabilities and non-members. 

Greg and Paul intentionally created a space beyond the bar scene, and so the official Great Outdoors motto was born: “Out of the Bars and under the stars”. During that first campout an unforgettable moment occurred when Ranger Jeff Norman, soon to become our first Trail Chief officer, rode up on horseback with bags of camping cooking equipment, getting “a very friendly welcome from a mustachioed young U.S. Forest Service ranger who was impressed with how well-behaved the large group was.”


The 1980’s (8 minutes)

  • Decade Overview (5:38)
  • GO! Magazine (7:56)
  • Mr. California Great Outdoors Jamboree (8:39) 
  • Non-Profit Incorporation (9:38)
  • Hike-a-thon and Expo (10:15)
  • AIDS Crisis & Activism (10:46)
  • International Impact (12:37)

Our Founders published a magazine called GO! that they assembled it on Paul's kitchen table. GO! Magazine ran for 3 years with a peak subscription of 30,000. The magazine featured Great Outdoors activities and acted as a critical community connection for the new national and international LGBT+ outdoors recreation movement. Chapters were cultivated in areas as far away as San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, and Hawaii! A few key events featured throughout the magazine’s tenure include when the organizational By-Laws were adopted (1981), the first unofficial (1980) and official (1981) annual conferences held in Laguna Beach and Palm Springs respectively, and the Club’s first all-chapter Jamboree - the Jock Hop event of 1980 where Patrick McCollum was crowned Mr. California Great Outdoors (1980)!

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Mr California Great Outdoors, GO! Magazine, Issue 5 (1980); Devil's Postpile Campout, 4th of July Jamboree (1988); Shady Cove Campout (1988)


The 1990’s (5 minutes)

For Great Outdoors, providing education to members is a core value. Around the turn of the decade, the Wilderness Education program established by Mack Gerighty was renamed Outdoors Experience (OE) Training. The following Dedication was included in the 1993 OE Manual by OE Chair Terry Turner following Mack’s passing in 1992: “This manual is dedicated to Mack Gerighty, wilderness educator emeritus and tireless desert explorer. His contributions to the wilderness skills of the authors of this volume, to say nothing of generations of campers in at least three major outdoor organizations could not begin to be told. In some ways he is still very much with us in the mountains, in the deserts, and in the pages of this book….” In the late 90’s OE Chair Bob Goodman implemented a certification component for completion of the two weekend training series. From the early days with Ranger Norman and OE Founder Mack to today, Great Outdoors continues to invest in safety and leadership skills training for our volunteers.

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Labor Day Weekend Shady Cove Car Camp, IE & LA Chapters (1991); Joel/Craig Mt. San Jacinto Hike, OCLB Chapter (1996)


The 2000’s (4.5 minutes)

  • Overview (18:47)
  • Group of the Year (19:58) 
  • San Diego Re-established (21:13) 
  • International Activism (21:44)

The turn of the millenia brought major technological shifts, and by embracing the digital revolution Great Outdoors was recognized for its efforts leading to being awarded Group of the Year in 2006 by GayOutdoors.org during Corporate Chair Mark Legassie tenure. These tech advancements created greater accessibility for members, including creating a website, emails, online registration, and ‘full-color’ eNewsletters. Each of these used to be done manually before! Mike Boisvert, founder of GayOutdoors.org praised Great Outdoors for its “unrivaled tradition of excellence,” diverse trips, and vibrant community since 1977.

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AIDSLifeCycle Ride, SBVC Chapter (2008)


The 2010’s (3 minutes)

Founder Greg established the original design for the Great Outdoors logo and over the decades Chapters added new elements to the logo to customize the logo based on their geographic identity, for example Los Angeles added the palm tree and Santa Barbara / Ventura County added dolphins. In 2014, we adopted a new Corporate logo that first appeared on t-shirts in the 2012 Palm Springs Pride Parade. In similar fashion, Chapters are encouraged to customize the coloration of the refreshed logo to signify their unique geographic identity. For example, San Diego chose aqua blue to reflect their proximity to the ocean and classic events like snorkeling with leopard sharks and whale watching.

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Historic Great Outdoors Chapter Logos (2014); Palm Springs Pride Parade, PS Chapter (2012)


The 2020’s (3 minutes)

The Great Outdoors has designated USC’s ONE Archive as our official archive, leading to the Club donating 7+ boxes of historical materials like t-shirts, newsletters, and training manuals and other significant memorabilia like the plaque Great Outdoors was awarded by the City of Los Angeles in 1984 and the original Great Outdoors banner from 1980. Founded in 1952, ONE Archives serves as the largest repository for LGBT+ history in the world, making it an ideal fit for Great Outdoors recognition as the oldest LGBT+ outdoors recreation specific groups in the United States. 

If you have any questions or would like to make a donation of historic Great Outdoors materials (e.g., trip photos/videos, newsletters, manuals, etc.), please reach out to our Great Outdoors Archivist via email.

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La Jolla Shores Leopard Shark Snorkel, SD Chapter (2025); USC ONE Archive GO Visit (2024)




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a 501(c)(7) not-for-profit, all-volunteer LGBTQIA+ and Allies organization dedicated to the enjoyment of the outdoors. All rights reserved. Privacy policy