About Great Outdoors

Great Outdoors is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer +) organization dedicated to the enjoyment of outdoor recreation. We are the largest gay outdoor recreational organization in Southern California and include chapters in:

Los Angeles
Orange County/Long Beach
Palm Springs
San Diego
Santa Barbara

Our outings including hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, urban stair walks, and everything from Rainbow Roller Skate nights, museum tours, Gay Picnics! and whatever our members can think of. We are a member of IGLOO, a network of gay and lesbian clubs and organizations throughout the world dedicated to outdoor activities of a non-competitive nature. Come enjoy the natural world with us! 

Most of our events are free and open to non-members. Annual memberships are $25 per person, and includes the GO e-newsletter, "first dibs" e-mail notifications for events, discounted member rates for GO outings, members trips, socials, parties and more. Join or renew now!

​If you would like to know more about Great Outdoors and its other chapters, visit the GO Corporate website.

 Great Outdoors History

The group was founded in 1978 by gay leaders who felt the time had come for a viable, healthy alternative to the bars. The community reacted with great enthusiasm and in August 1978, over 75 men and women from San Francisco to San Diego backpacked into Big Sur. Since that time, Great Outdoors has grown to over 800 members and continues to thrive, introducing new generations of the gay community to the Great Outdoors! 

Great Outdoors was started in 1978 by Greg and Paul. Among many discussions, they wondered if it would be possible to offer an alternative place where Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender people could meet and socialize outside of the bars. Paul, a catholic priest, suggested that it would be interesting to introduce the gay world to the phenomena of camping, hiking, getting dirty. Paul took Greg for a drive up the Big Sur coast. Greg fell in love with Big Sur and Great Outdoors was born.

First they came up with a marketing slogan: "OUT OF THE BARS AND UNDER THE STARS." Then they added basic values: Great Outdoors would offer outdoor activities with a range of ability requirements, from day trips to weekend camping. They would make affordable so that everyone could participate. They kept annual dues low and made trips reasonably priced. To encourage non-member participation in trips while encouraging them to join, they added low additional fees. They tried to offer opportunities for including people restricted by age or disability.

Their first outing was the July 4th weekend in the Los Padres National Forest. They had a fee for each person which included provision of food and some supplies. They arrived at the campsite for the weekend, refrigerated the food in a nearby mountain stream, established a latrine, organized tent sites and opened a fire pit. On Sunday morning, Paul conducted a worship service. Standing on top of a boulder, the tops of pine trees below and the Pacific Ocean behind, he was surrounded by the sounds of nature. The campers were men and women ranging in age from the early 20s to people in their 50s. The two men received a marvelous response from all participants.

Greg and Paul returned to Riverside and spent the next two years developing the organization. They promoted the organization, found locations and activities and published a magazine called GO! They assembled it on Paul's kitchen table. Greg established the original design for the Great Outdoors logo: the words Great Outdoors, a mountain in the background, a cloud on the right and the rays of the sun radiating from the G of Great. New chapters added new elements to the logo. Los Angeles added the palm tree, Orange County/Long Beach the rainbow and an extra cloud. Riverside added a Hot Air Balloon and Santa Barbara added dolphins. New chapters have continued this tradition: Palm Springs added a Joshua tree and San Diego added California poppies.

In 1981, the first annual conference was held in Palm Springs to establish the organization's By-Laws. To read the article - click here. By-Laws were adopted, allowing a new group of people to assume the leadership of Great Outdoors. Greg and Paul could step back. There have been chapters as far away as San Francisco and Phoenix. Today five chapters continue the work started over thirty years ago by two men trying to make a difference in their community. Greg and Paul still have great affection for Great Outdoors and are happy that it continues to promote the fundamental values which they instilled into it. Here's to many more years of outdoor fun.

- This history was submitted by Father Paul Breton from San Bernardino. 

In 2014, after 30+ years with our original logo, we adopted a new Corporate logo. It was developed and first appeared on t-shirts in the 2012 Palm Springs Pride Parade. It appeared again in the 2013 Palm Springs Pride Parade by our Los Angeles Chapter. The new logo features a mountain scene, followed by the letters "GREAT OUTDOORS." 

In 2019, the LA Chapter began using a Pride rainbow splash behind the logo to emphasize and celebrate our LGBTQ+ focus.

From its humble beginnings, Great Outdoors thrives and proudly welcomes the gay community to discover the Great Outdoors!