Looking to hike, cycle, or kayak? Outdoor clubs lead the way.

Stephen Peduto, 28, found himself mindlessly scrolling through social media before deciding he craved a more tangible, face-to-face experience with life.

“I Googled ‘Philadelphia hiking club,’” said Peduto, who lives in East Falls. “I figured it had to exist.”

Up popped the Philadelphia Trail Club. Peduto signed up and embarked recently on his first group hike along the Schuylkill River Trail, venturing across a newly added pedestrian bridge near Christian Street.

“It was a great way to spend time that I otherwise would have spent on Reddit or Instagram,” Peduto said.

The cost to join: $10.

About 50 miles away, Frank Carr, 68, was helping volunteers with the Outdoor Club of South Jersey haul pressure-treated lumber weighing up to 100 pounds through a trail at Batsto Village in the Pinelands. On a cloudless day, the group lugged lumber on their shoulders, cajoled wheelbarrows over roots, and straddled shaky log bridges. When the crew was finished, hikers had 130 feet of new bridge to cross a swamp.

“We come out every Tuesday,” said Carr, whose T-shirt was rimmed with sweat. “It’s one way you get to see the results of your labor. It’s pretty rewarding. It’s also a gorgeous day to be out here and appreciating nature.”

The average age of the volunteers that day: Around 70.

A thriving network of hiking, cycling, and paddling clubs — some 100 years old or more — abound in the Philadelphia region. The nonprofits are run by volunteers and sometimes cost less than a cheesesteak. They host hikes and other events almost every weekend, some during weekdays, bringing members to places they might not know exist.

Yet while many clubs are thriving or holding steady, they struggle to find younger members like Peduto.

Many schedule hikes through Meetup. They offer group safety, carry emergency kits, and are usually led by experienced or trained leaders.

Offerings include kayaking, camping, backpacking and even cross-country skiing. Many members say socialization is a big part of the clubs. All have offerings from beginner to expert.

Searching Meetup, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media is a good way to find local organizations.

Here’s a shortcut guide to some of the most active groups, though it’s by no means a complete list.

» READ MORE: Looking for a hike? Take our trail quiz and find one of 24 area hikes

Beth Heymen, president of the 94-year-old Philadelphia Trail Club, said the she joined the club six years ago after an online search.

“Our philosophy is to get outside for the health benefits, the camaraderie,” said Heymen, 61. “To me, gyms weren’t appealing and I knew I wanted some physical activity. With the club, you get outside, you get the physical activity. You’re enjoying nature. It’s great for your mental health.”

The hikes offer various difficulty levels from easy walks to more technical rock scrambling.

The club maintains a fund to support parks where members hike. Heymen hopes to restart the club’s trail maintenance program. She said the group strives for a supportive environment.

“The club’s hikes are not competitive or intense,” she said. “We have a very congenial group of people who help each other out during hikes.”

She said that because the club tends to attract members who are middle-aged and older, members are thrilled, “when the younger people show up.”

Batona is short for Back to Nature. The 96-year-old club charges, “a grand total of $3 a year and $1 per hike,” said club president Abbie Wysor.

The Philly-based club started the 53-mile Batona Trail in New Jersey’s Pinelands in 1961, but the trail is now maintained by the Outdoor Club of South Jersey. Short and long hikes take place in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey.

Wysor said the group originally formed to help Philadelphians access the countryside, and initially relied on buses for transportation. The club has about 170 members, who now mostly travel by car.

“The club provides a sense of camaraderie and friendship,” Wysor said.

She emphasized that members not only get access to experienced hiking leaders, but develop a deeper appreciation of nature.

“We’ll go to places and hikes you haven’t been to before, with people who are knowledgeable, and won’t lead you astray,” Wysor said. “When I was new to the club I found that I was hiking with people have who had a much greater knowledge than I did of plants and the animals that we were seeing and hearing.”

This 50-year-old club is one of the largest in the area with 1,500 members. It costs $25 a year. Besides hiking, the club offers a range of activities such as cycling, kayaking, cross-country skiing, camping, backpacking, and volunteer trail maintenance.

Barbara Berman, club vice president, said there are activities almost daily organized through the website calendar or Meetup. While hiking is the most popular activity, bike rides are held several times a week. Kayaking picks up in summer, and cross-country skiing in winter.

» READ MORE: Meet the retired sisters who maintain 50 miles of rugged New Jersey Pinelands trail

“We have three different meetup groups,” Berman said, “and there’s something going on almost practically every day … There’s usually a hike every day, bicycle rides several times a week, and right now it’s kayaking season.”

Rosemary “Ro” Mason led the recent wooden footbridge project. She and her sister Diane Mason organize volunteer trail maintenance each Tuesday morning.

“Today we are going to replace all the log bridges on the Sand and Water Trail with these pressure treated planks,” Ro Mason told a group of volunteers before the start of the project. The trail follows a logging road from the 1700s.

“It’s a stunning, stunning trail,” Ro Mason said.

Ken Conly, a director at the Philadelphia Canoe Club, describes the group as both a social club and training organization that’s celebrating its 120th anniversary. Unlike many other groups, the Canoe Club has its own grounds, which are located in Fairmount Park at the confluence of the Wissahickon Creek and the Schuylkill. The club specializes in technical instruction.

The club offers classes in flat water kayaking and canoeing, white water kayaking and canoeing, and stand-up paddleboarding. With 245 active members, it doesn’t rent kayaks, but focuses on teaching and hosting events.

Membership requires a sponsorship and approval by existing members. There’s a $25 application fee and varying levels of annual dues up to $180.

The club organizes trips to various locations including the Lehigh River in the Poconos. Instructors are certified through the American Canoe Association and recertified in wilderness CPR every two years.

Conley started the club’s Instagram account to reach younger audiences.

“When I joined the canoe club, I noticed that everybody was a lot older,” Conley said. “I said to the Commodore at the time … we should start an Instagram account so we can let younger people know we exist. That was in 2015 and I’ve been running the Instagram account for the Philadelphia Canoe Club ever since.”

Though it’s often thought of as an educational and advocacy group, the Bicycle Coalition also organizes youth cycling and regular rides for adults on the Circuit Trails, a network of hundreds of miles of local paths.

Chris Gale, the group’s executive director, Greater Philadelphia collaborates with various cycling organizations through regional affiliates and riding clubs including those in Philadelphia and its suburban counties, as well as South Jersey. The coalition just launched a program to teach elementary school children in Kensington how to ride and bought them new bikes.

“There are a lot of riding clubs that we interact with,” Gale said.

He suggests people search on social media sites like Instagram for groups that might specialize in, for example, gravel riding. Area bike shops also post group rides. The coalition website has a link for how to find local cycling groups.

“You can find groups all throughout Philadelphia,” Gale said.

Fernando Ramos, outings leader for Latino Outdoors Philadelphia, said his group hosts monthly events aro d the city and state.

The group is holding its third annual kayaking event in partnership with Discovery Pathways at FDR Park on Friday, June 13th. Discovery Pathways’ goal is break down barrbreakdown families face in getting out in nature.

“It’s one of our largest events of the year and we would love Discovery Pathways to get the recognition for the work they do to make outdoor activities accessible,” Ramos said.