Hiking Club Lodges
If you are an avid hiker who craves the mountains, but disdains heavy packs and freeze-dried food, staying at a hiking club-owned lodge might just appeal to you. The lodges are run by hiking clubs or outdoor education organizations and offer comfortable beds, cozy rooms and hearty meals.
The lodges offer family and co-ed group bunkrooms with a small number of private rooms; bunkrooms sleep from two to 18 people. Amenities at the facilities range from many to minimal. The lodges provide easy access to hundreds of miles of hiking trails across the northeast. Several lodges conveniently sit at trail heads to backcountry huts.
Adirondak Loj
Owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club, the lodge lies in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park at the trailhead to Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in New York. The rustic facility sports a library with deer and moose heads and old trail signs and sits on 32-acre Heart Lake, which offers swimming, canoeing and kayaking.
Joe Dodge Lodge
Owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club, the lodge sits at the base of Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast. Nestled in Pinkham Notch near Tuckerman Ravine, a well-known glacially carved ravine which is a mecca for expert backcountry skiers, the lodge is surrounded by hundreds of miles of hiking trails.
Bascom Lodge
Unlike the region’s other hiker lodges, Bascom Lodge sits on top of a mountain rather than at its base. The rustic stone and timber structure sits on the summit of the 3,491-foot Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. The lodge is owned by the state of Massachusetts and is surrounded by a 12,500-acre wilderness preserve.
Moosilauke Ravine Lodge
Owned by Dartmouth College and open to the public, the lodge sits at the base of the 4,802-foot Mount Moosilauke. The original lodge was built in the 1930s; the current lodge was built in 2017. Run by the Dartmouth Outing Club, the lodge sits amidst scores of hiking trails.
Cardigan Lodge
Also owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club, the lodge sits at the base of Mount Cardigan. The 3,155-foot-elevation mountain is a popular destination because the entire summit lacks vegetation due to a forest fire in the mid-1800s. The lodge is surrounded by a 6,200-acre wilderness preserve and sports a tiny pond for swimming.
Highland Center at Crawford Notch
The most luxurious of the hiking club lodges in the northeast, Highland Center was built by the Appalachian Mountain Club in 2003. Located in the heart of the White Mountains on the Appalachian Trail it offers an infinite number of hiking options and is a short drive to several trailheads of Mount Washington.
Hiking Club Lodges
Adirondak Loj
New York
Adirondack Park
Adirondack Mt. Club
Bascom Lodge
Massachusetts
Mount Greylock (summit)
Operated by State of Massachusetts
Moosilauke Ravine Lodge
New Hampshire
Mount Moosilauke
Dartmouth College
Lodges owned by
Appalachian Mt. Club
in New Hampshire
Cardigan Lodge
Mount Cardigan
Highland Center at Crawford Notch
Crawford Notch
Joe Dodge Lodge
Pinkham Notch