The Mosaic Outdoor Club of Maryland is a non-profit, all volunteer group dedicated to providing all Jews who love the outdoors with the chance to share activities with other Jews of similar interest.   Anyone may come to the events but people under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a guardian.  We are an affiliate club of the National Mosaic organization, Mosaic Outdoor Clubs of America.

Our name Mosaic refers to Moses, who led us out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai and to Israel.   However, our hikes are not as difficult as his. They range from easy to challenging. Hikes are our most common activity because they have the broadest appeal, but we do lots of other things depending on the interests of our volunteer leaders.

The membership of this club extends from Lancaster, PA to Harrisonburg, VA and from Annapolis to Frederick, MD. Most members live in the Washington, DC and Baltimore metropolitan area. Membership dues are currently $15/year for an individual and $21/year for a family. Nearly all of the monies are spent on insurance, activity subsidies, and special mailings. Most activities are free to members. Non-members pay $5 more/event (no one with real financial hardship will be turned away from an event or from membership).

We operate all year long. Our goal is three events per month.  However, the nature of events, frequency, location, difficulty, pace, and distance are largely determined by the volunteers who lead them.  In the summer we tend to leave earlier, drive farther, and perhaps hike longer.  In July and August we try to keep cool in the water during or at the end of the event.  In the winter we have more non-hike events.  Many of our Sundays start cold or rainy but by the time we get out of the car, the weather is great.  Confirm with the leader, however, if the weather looks bad.  You may wish to call first to check about bringing along children or pets.

We promise to wait 15 minutes after the scheduled meeting time before we depart.  After that we leave as soon as possible. When we carpool to events, passengers should reimburse the driver, either based on actual cost or $2/hour of driving/each rider.  For most events each person brings his own lunch and adequate water.  Potluck meals are usually dairy/vegetarian with disposable plates and utensils, but each person should verify for himself/herself the level of kashrut.

Both drivers and riders should announce if they need to be home by a certain hour so that no one will be inconvenienced.  If necessary, we will take early and late cars.  We strive to make our rules as dry and boring as possible, but our events are always fun.  Our group is easy-going and amiable.