A hiker's wide-brimmed hat is seen in the foreground, with a view of Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco, seen from atop the Clark Kerr Fire Trail, behind the Clark Kerr Campus at the University of California, Berkeley, on Oct. 18, 2024, in Berkeley. (Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images)
But to Nick Collins, who created the Black-led East Bay hiking group 510 Hikers, the real connection between Black liberation and the outdoors sits deeper than a one-day outing in a park.
“It’s about reclaiming our spaces, it’s about the connection with nature, it’s about the healing,” Collins said. “It’s about providing a platform to allow people to be welcome and invited and feel like they’re a part of a space that they can live healthy in.”
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As a Black kid growing up in the East Bay with outdoorsy parents, Collins said he often found himself one of the only people of color in these spaces.
“As a 10-year-old, you don’t really think much about it,” he said. “You’re more interested in the insects and finding snakes and little reptiles than you are in counting the number of Black people that are there.”
But as he got older, Collins said he began to see the lack of people of color in the outdoor spaces he frequented for the issue that it was. “The local parks that are in Oakland are minutes away from areas in the city that are highly populated with people of color,” he said. “And I wanted to start finding out the reasons behind the barriers keeping people of color from getting to these hiking places.”
So, in 2014, Collins founded 510 Hikers, whose mission is to get more Black people out onto trails and in wild places — and critically, to build “community and connection,” he said.
Once Collins started organizing hikes every Saturday all across the Bay Area, what he found wasn’t a financial barrier, but a comfort one, he said. And one key element was allowing folks “to feel like they didn’t have to leave their neighborhood to go on a hike,” he said — because “the neighborhood sometimes isn’t the physical space.”
“Sometimes the neighborhood is the people that are around you,” Collins said. “So I said, ‘Hey, let’s bring the neighborhood to the outdoors. Let’s bring the ‘hood to the woods.’”
‘We’re out here’
After over a decade, 510 Hikers is still going strong today, with outings nearly every single weekend. (“We’ve hiked every trail in the Bay Area,” Collins said.) The group doesn’t just hike, either — they’ve organized community 5K runs, American River floats and trips all across the Bay Area and far beyond, including a recent trek up Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
Even so, Collins said he plans to take a moment and say a few words to kick off the hike, inviting hikers to reflect on the weight of the last 200 years of history to today that led to them sharing a morning outdoors together.
“Freedom isn’t free,” he said. “And we owe it to our ancestors to love each other and be a community and hike in and enjoy nature.”
“Just a couple of generations ago, we wouldn’t have even been allowed to gather the way we’re gathering now,” he said. “We have to let that sink in.”
Collins frequently begins each hike with a get-to-know-you activity — as it’s so often the people, not the place, that gives these hikes their purpose. If you leave a hike without several new friends and connections, “you missed out,” he said.
He’s well aware of the ripple effect his group has had among hikers of all ages, who tell him they’ve found motivation to lead a more active life and be more in tune with the world and the community around them.
“For a lot of us, this is more than just gathering up and hiking together,” he said. “We understand the impact we’ve had in the Bay Area. We understand the impact we’ve had with each other.”
“It goes beyond safety — there’s a pridefulness,” Collins said.
He’s also committed to promoting the physical and mental health benefits of hiking and being outside, saying that “hiking is kind of like putting vegetables in spaghetti.” He often starts hikes by encouraging participants to close their eyes, put one hand over their heart, and focus on their breath and the sounds of nature around them.
510 Hikers, whose mission is to get more Black people out onto trails and in wild places. (Courtesy of 510 Hikers/Facebook)
“What nature does so often is it starts to thaw out that frozen sense of ours,” he said. “You want to be a place where a butterfly wants to land and … use nature to tune into the nature within yourself.”
If you’re tempted to join Saturday’s Sibley hike, bring water, shoes with traction and a snack — but rest assured that Collins brings extras of everything, just in case.
And just know: “You’re going to catch a vibe and want to come back,” he said. “That’s who we are.”
More outdoor groups and events to join to mark Juneteenth with
Now in its fourth year, the event is an all-ages “daytime ride in celebration of Black joy, freedom, and community,” organizers said. “No Lycra necessary — just roll up in something that feels expressive and free.”
On Saturday June 14 at Pacific Pipe Climbing Gym in Oakland, climbing club Black Rock Collective is teaming up with Touchstone Climbing from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. “for an evening of community, creativity and connection.”
The event will not only welcome new and experienced climbers and raise money for the club, but will also feature an artists market and a raffle, featuring Black-owned small businesses, food and drink vendors and artists.
Now in its fifth year, the Liberation Paddle Out at Cowells Beach on Sunday, June 15, hosted by Black Surf Santa Cruz, promises “a joyous day on the beach” to center Black and BIPOC community members and “experience the transformative power of the ocean together, many for their first time.”
