Tucked in the basement of IM West sits a storage closet packed to the ceiling with various types of outdoor equipment. Sleeping bags, tents, hammocks, hiking equipment and more line the shelves and closets, making the room feel cramped when first walking in.
This small, and somewhat messy, room is the heart of the Michigan State Outdoors Club.
The Outdoors Club is a student organization dedicated to exploring the outdoors, and has become a staple in many students’ lives because of its tight-knit community at MSU.
The organization was founded in 1927 as the Outing Club and is a space for MSU students to go on trips, hike local trails and meet new people who share a love for the outdoors. Members pay $25 annually to access all gear, trips and events..
“Our goal is to be able to take MSU students on trips and be able to see the outdoors in a more accessible way, because living in East Lansing, it's not the most accessible,” senior Olivia Palm, the club’s president, said.
The Outdoors Club has more than 800 students in the club’s GroupMe, according to Palm. On Sept. 3, 2024 they held their first meeting of the new school year outside to accommodate for the amount of students who attended.
“We usually get about 200 people at our meetings, so our little room in IM West is pretty packed,” Palm said.
Palm has been a member since her freshman year, and the organization gave her the opportunity to “escape” during her freshman year. She felt trapped on campus without a car, as MSU freshmen often begin college without their own transportation – making it hard to leave East Lansing. Palm said the club allowed her to get outdoors, especially during the winter months, and experience life outside of campus for a little while.
“It was one thing that I had to look forward to,” Palm said. “It’s definitely the experience that made college for me.”
A unique aspect of the club is its Gear Room, that small space located in the basement of IM West. The gear is for all club members to check out when needed.
“The gear room is a resource for all of our club members who paid dues. Then, you can rent, no questions asked – whether you’re going on an Outdoors Club trip or your own private trip,” sophomore Isaac Rej said.
Rej is one of the club’s “gear rats”, the affectionate term for the executive board members who manage the gear checkouts and inventory.
“Anyone can come to rent; it’s super easy. We do it all the time,” Rej said. “It’s just to try to make the outdoors as accessible as we can for people.”
The executive board sets aside a budget to purchase new gear for the club using the dues collected from members. This year, they bought more sleeping bags and backpacks – now listing 20 sleeping bags and eight backpacks for check out, according to the gear catalog on the club’s website.
Both Palm and Rej said the e-board always tries to take into account what members want to see in terms of gear.
“We always ask the members: what do you want?,” Palm said. “We can buy tents and sleeping bags all day, but one [request] was trekking poles, and we were able to get that.”
From white water rafting in West Virginia to exploring Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, most trips are member-planned; the executive board only assists with some of the preparations.
Junior Meredith Jones, the club’s social media coordinator, planned a small trip for fall break, where 10 club members camped in Oscoda, Michigan for four nights. She explained her favorite part of the trip was spending time with everyone and seeing the beautiful fall colors.
“We had a lot of time to really bond, I got to know those people very well, and I am still friends with them,” Jones, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, said. “We had a lot of great conversations about different things; everyone had different perspectives on something.”
Jones said that the club is not only a way for her to meet other students, but also a way to channel her love for the outdoors. She loves to ski, and has met many other students who share the passion.
“I’ve always retreated to the outdoors when I’ve been stressed or upset,” Jones said. “I think the Outdoors Club is my happy place in terms of the people. I go there and I see the people I love come together for the thing that I love, and it’s a mood booster and a nice little release from the monotony and stress of college life.”
Although the trips and events are what the Outdoors Club is known for, it is the community of students and the accessibility to the outdoors that has truly made the club what it is.
“It brought me out of my shell…it’s such a welcoming group of people, and it’s really cool to see on campus,” Rej said. “The club really brings different groups together.”