If you want to get outside with other queer people in Austin, the surest thing on the calendar is a free birding walk on Barton Creek, once a month most of the year. There are also two Meetup groups for hiking and camping, a queer camp weekend in Buda, and a statewide group whose Texas chapter has an organizer in Austin.
We’ve listed each one with the last date we could see it doing something. Groups like these come and go, so look at the calendar before you plan around one.
The Short List
| Group | What it does | Latest date we saw |
|---|---|---|
| Let’s Go Birding Together | Free queer-led bird walks | Upcoming: October 25 and November 22, 2026 |
| LGBTQ Outdoors, Texas | Hikes and outings around Texas | Upcoming: October 24, 2026 hike at Brazos Bend |
| Queer Adventurers of Austin | Mostly hikes, plus tubing and kayaking | September 5, 2026, San Marcos River |
| LGBTQ Camping & Outdoor Group | Camping for adults 30 and up | April 2026 camping weekend; June 2026 social |
| Local Queer CampOUT | A camp weekend in Buda | Fall 2026 registration open |
| Rainbow Ranch | An LGBTQ+ campground on Lake Limestone | Open, books online |
Has Something on the Calendar Now
Let’s Go Birding Together
Travis Audubon and The Venture Out Project run a “free monthly nature walk” for “everyone in the LGBTQIA2+ community who is curious about nature, birds, and birding.” Travis Audubon has run the walks “nearly every month” since October 2021, with a break in the hot summer months. The walks are queer-led, and the event page says all experience levels are welcome.
The walk is about a mile on Barton Creek and the Hike and Bike Trail, with 100 feet of climbing. Bring water, comfortable shoes and binoculars. Parking is a small lot with one accessible space, plus free street parking. People under 18 come with a parent or guardian, and pets stay home unless they’re service animals.
- Next walks: Sunday, October 25, and Sunday, November 22, 2026, 8 to 10:30 AM
- Cost: free; donations welcome
- Sign up: October 25 (register by October 23) or November 22 (register by November 20)
LGBTQ Outdoors, Texas Chapter
LGBTQ Outdoors is a national group with volunteer-led state chapters. Its Texas chapter lists six volunteer ambassadors, one of them in Austin. You don’t have to join a chapter or use Facebook to go; you register for events on its site.
Its Texas events this fall are a drive from Austin:
- Brazos Bend hike, Needville, October 24, 2026
- Halloween night hike, Waco, October 31
- Texas Renaissance Festival, Todd Mission, November 14
Local events are free to attend, per its ambassador page. See the full list on its events page. If you’d like more of them in Austin, that page also explains how to become an ambassador.
Active This Year, So Check Before You Go
Queer Adventurers of Austin
The biggest of the groups, with 1,746 members on Meetup. It’s for “LGBTQIA individuals and ALLIES” and says, “While we mainly hike, you’ll have the opportunity to go kayaking, roller or ice skating, and bowling.” It has run 379 events and has a 4.8 rating from 764 reviews.
Its 2026 outings included a Barton Creek hike in January, Bull Creek in March, Enchanted Rock in April, and tubing the San Marcos River on September 5. Nothing was posted for later dates when we checked in mid October.
- Join: Queer Adventurers of Austin on Meetup, then RSVP to an event
LGBTQ Camping & Outdoor Group
A smaller Meetup group “for adults 30+,” with camping trips, bonfires and hikes. It says “All LGBTQ+ identities, genders, and expressions are welcome.”
In 2026 it camped at Lake Bastrop South Shore Park in February and held a family camping weekend at the Yogi Bear Jellystone cabins at Canyon Lake in April, with 29 people. It also met for brunch at Bull Creek and for socials around town. The last event we saw was June 5.
Local Queer CampOUT
Local Queer is an Austin nonprofit that runs events for sapphic and trans people. Twice a year, in May and November, it runs CampOUT at Camp Moody in Buda. Its fall registration page calls it “a queer summer camp for grown-ups”: two nights, tent or car camping, all meals, and things like a ropes course, a drag brunch, field day games and yoga.
- Cost: $160 for the fall 2026 weekend; a tent rents for $20 if you don’t have one
- Help with cost: Local Queer takes financial aid applications on its CampOUT page
- Sign up: fall 2026 registration. Check the dates there before you request time off
Local Queer also runs a monthly Strut Walk Club, posted on its events calendar.
An LGBTQ+ Campground
Rainbow Ranch
If you’d rather camp somewhere that’s queer all weekend, Rainbow Ranch calls itself “the largest LGBT campground in Texas.” It’s outside Groesbeck on Lake Limestone, with almost 700 acres, trails, and fishing “at our pond or off our pier.” It has tent sites, RV sites and cabins. Event weekends alternate with quieter “off” weekends.
- Book: Rainbow Ranch, 254-729-8484
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Before You Go
- Ask how the group handles privacy. Meetup shows the groups you belong to on your profile unless you hide them. Our guide to starting a queer group when privacy matters explains that and other settings
- Ask about the pace. “Short hike” means different things to different people. Ask about distance, shade and how long the group stops
- Ask about access. Restrooms, the trail surface, and whether there’s a shorter option
- Heat. The birding walks take the hottest months off. On any summer outing, bring more water than you think you need
Want to sweat indoors instead? Our list of queer and LGBTQ+ friendly gyms also covers running clubs and sports leagues.
Start One
None of these groups is a queer hiking club that meets every weekend in Austin. If you want one, our guide to starting a group covers the practical side, and we’ll put up a page for it. Send us the group’s name, what you want to do, how people can reach you, and the text you’d like on the page, through our contact form. A first name or a pseudonym is fine.
Last checked: October 2026. Group details and event dates read from each group’s own pages on October 13, 2026. We haven’t been on these outings.
Coming early 2027
Community Circles: six people, one weeknight, the same faces every week
Small, peer-led, free. A place where people remember what you said last week.