Over 2.7 million walkers carry out their favourite pastime as members of walking organisations that are affiliated to the European Hiking Federation ERA, or within local clubs that are part of an ERA member association.
What’s the advantage?
Whichever association or club you choose, you will get to enjoy
- Taking part in guided walks. These are led by experienced and/or qualified leaders, who take part in training and up-skilling programmes. They can offer the highest safety standards (knowledge of the route, judging the level of fitness within the group) and are also able to give information about the landscape, culture and ecology (see also Part 3 „Training opportunities“, the chapter „Competencies list / Training framework “).
- Social contact with many like-minded walkers
- Taking part in activities tailored to your needs, like walking close to your own area, fitness or strenuous walking, walking holidays, long-distance walking, or Nordic walking.
Specific activities
Depending on your walking organisation or walking club, there are different activities on offer e.g.
- Fitness training, like Nordic Walking
- Youth-specific activities like youth camps, long-distance walks, and other programmes
- Walking for and with disabled persons
Walking for health
Walking for health is the answer if you
- want to stay fit through light but regular activity
- have health problems, but want to keep actively mobile with an appropriate activity
- want to get back into walking
Guided/led walks
We hope we could convince you how interesting it is to avail of the guided walks offered by our members. Below you find links that will get you directly onto the homepages of ERA members. There is bound to be a walking club in your area that offers walks that you can join. Simply click on the link of the appropriate organisation and look for guided walks.
We wish you every success.