Empowering BIPOC in Adventure Travel: 4 Organizations Making a Difference

Whether you’re interested in snowsports or surfing, there are welcoming communities for BIPOC travelers who want to adventure together.

For generations, people of color have been underrepresented in outdoor travel. However, there are groups working to change that by creating welcoming spaces for BIPOC travelers who want to explore the great outdoors.

iBestTravel spoke to four leaders of BIPOC organizations who are building more inclusive outdoor communities—whether it’s in the realm of surfing, hiking, winter sports, or rock climbing—about how they got started, what types of trips they offer, and what’s next for them.

Snow Sports: Annette Diggs, Edge Outdoors

According to the National Ski Areas Association, nine out of ten people on ski slopes are white and 63 percent are male. Annette Diggs, founder of Edge Outdoors, aims to change that. “Our vision is to see the normalization of women of color competing, working, and leading in mountain spaces,” she says. Her nonprofit launched in 2019 at Stevens Pass, Washington, with Vail Resorts later joining as a partner.

Edge Outdoors has expanded to California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, offering ski and snowboard lessons, outdoor events, scholarships, and instructor training for both beginners and advanced adventurers alike. “There’s a community waiting to meet and welcome you, wherever you are in your journey,” Diggs adds.

Climbing: Don Nguyen, Climbers of Color

During his first year as a mountain guide in Washington, Don Nguyen noticed the lack of diversity in climbing. “The culture in the guide service was very homogenous, not only where I was working but across the region,” he recalls. Nguyen, the son of Vietnamese immigrants, co-founded Climbers of Color to provide training workshops, scholarships, mentorship, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Since 2018, this organization has worked with over 300 mentors, teachers, and guides. Additionally, it runs weekly BIPOC climb nights across western Washington. Looking ahead, Nguyen has a partnership with Outward Bound and exclusive programming for women in the works.

Watersports: Marc Chavez, Native Like Water

Though Native Americans have lived along the Pacific coast for thousands of years, forced displacement has often severed their connection to the water. Marc Chavez, who is of Nahua, Michoacán, and New Mexican–Spanish descent, seeks to restore that bond. He founded Native Like Water to help both Natives and non-Natives better understand Indigenous history, culture, and practices, in and out of the water.

The group’s Native-led programming includes surf outings in California, traditional canoeing in Hawaii, and retreats in Jamaica and Panama. “From the moment you pull up at the beach, you start to see things through an Indigenous lens,” Chavez explains. “I’m just glad that we can be a source for that.”

Hiking: José González, Latino Outdoors

“Latinos shouldn’t have to leave their culture at the trailhead,” says José González, creator of Latino Outdoors. What started as an adventure blog 10 years ago in California has blossomed into a thriving nationwide community. In 2022, more than 1,700 participants engaged in 121 outings across 19 states and the District of Columbia.

On these trips, participants are encouraged to bring all aspects of their identity—including the foods they snack on, the languages they speak, the music they love, and for some, their immigrant stories—into wilderness spaces that haven’t always embraced them. While the group primarily aims at those of Latin heritage, all are welcome. “We joke that there’s no ‘Latino card’ you have to present,” González adds.

A version of this story first appeared in the July 2023 issue of iBestTravel under the headline “Follow the Leader.”