• Best Dating Sites for Hikers and Outdoors Enthusiasts. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast looking for other people with similar active lifestyles for friendship or a romantic relationship, keep reading! We’ve rounded up the four best dating sites for outdoor enthusiasts and hikers. 4 Best Dating Sites for Hikers and Others 1.
• OutdoorDating.com is privately own, created from outdoor enthusiasts for outdoor enthusiasts. Our site is 100% real and you will NOT find any fake profiles and messages. We spend many restless hours working on the site and we have only one objective - to improve the service and value of our outdoor community. We believe that offering an online.

Outdoor Duo is a dating and friendship site for outdoor enthusiasts. People intrested in walking, climbing, mountaineering, skiing, canoeing, sailing, and cycling.

There are so many ways to begin the story of a dating site for hunters and anglers: It’s like Tinder, but with real firewood; Where a hook-up isn’t a euphemism; Consider it a fishing expedition where the lucky angler doesn’t throw back their catch; This is one hunting pursuit that (hopefully) doesn’t end in death for one of the participants.

The origin of Hunting4Connections—a relatively new dating site for hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreationists—is actually a lot less frivolous. Its founder, Dana Sacia, wants to use this business to fund a safe house for abused women like her own mother.

Best Dating Sites For Outdoor Enthusiasts

If that’s a cold shower for readers, then understand that there’s a lot more to Sacia’s pursuit than her goal. She also aims to create a sense of community and common purpose, using a shared love of the outdoors as the starting point. She says that Hunting4Connections succeeds when relationships leave the digital medium of her website, app, and social media platform and become real-world meet-ups in America’s woods, waters, trails, and backcountry byways.

The kicker is that her platform isn’t only to facilitate romantic relationships, but also to connect folks with more platonic interests in the outdoors. Looking for a 3-D archery course in your new hometown? Or want to know where to go fishing during your vacation? Sacia hopes to help.

Dating Websites For Outdoor Lovers

In this way, Sacia has always been a matchmaker. The Wisconsinite’s day job is recruiting executives for the financial industry. And, up until now, her side-gig has been administering a popular Facebook page that connects people interested in trading hunts and other outdoor adventures.

But with the creation of a website and members-only community at Hunting4Connections.com, she’s wading into the lucrative and, for some, slightly scintillating world of online dating, with the goal of bringing people together whose common passion is outdoor recreation. Sacia launched Hunting4Connections in late 2019, hoping to build a business around shared interests and passions that go beyond those of the physical variety.

The business is rooted in her website, which attracts several thousand visitors daily and which hosts about 6,000 members who pay a monthly subscription that allows them to communicate with other paying members. Subscriptions cost $19.97 for one month, $39.97 for three months, and $59.97 for six months. A mobile app is in development, and Sacia recently was informed by Facebook that her years-long campaign for advertising approval has been granted, so look for boosted posts on your social media feeds inviting you to connect with folks in your area who share similar interests and demographic profiles.

Hunting4Connections is part of an established trend in online dating and community-building that generates about $3 billion annually. Sites and digital services such as Match.com, Tinder, Bumble, and OKCupid have grown exponentially, especially during the COVID pandemic that discouraged in-person meeting. According to MarketWatch, online dating has become the most popular form of dating for LGBTQ couples, and the second-most popular way to meet partners for straight couples (the first is meeting through mutual friends).

Nearly every mutual interest is served by an online dating service. There are meet-up sites for “lonely, attractive inmates” looking for pen pals, redheads, people with a mutual love of oceans, cats, and sci-fi, the last of whose motto is “Love long and prosper.”

But until now, there hasn’t been a relationship broker devoted to outdoor recreation, says Sacia.

“I would say FarmersOnly.com is the closest thing,” she says. “It started out as a niche, serving to connect just farmers and ag people, but it’s expanded to include a lot more than just farmers, including a lot of outdoor enthusiasts. But they don’t match [users] based on specific outdoor hobbies, which is what separates and defines us.”

The Origin of Online Love for Outdoorsfolk

Sacia points to two formative moments for the origin of Hunting4Connections. The first is a pledge she made to herself as a teenager in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

“I was 19 years old, and said that when I turned 40, I was going to build a domestic abuse safe house to honor my mom’s struggle with domestic violence.”

But Sacia says that when she turned 40, she examined her life.

“I was stuck in a toxic relationship myself, which was very similar to my childhood. I realized I had reached that age when I promised myself I would achieve that tribute to my mom and a way to help women like my mom. But I was stuck. How can you promote a healthy relationship when you’re not in one?”

Sacia is careful to note that not everything about her former marriage was dark.

“My ex introduced me to hunting, and for that I’ll always be grateful,” she says. “I started hunting 13 years ago and my passion for it just consumed me. It was so important to me that it became a big part of my identity. I stated posting everything on Facebook, and I got all these messages in return. Nothing inappropriate, but the gist of many messages was, ‘How do I find a girl like you, who loves to hunt and fish?’ Or, ‘Do you have a sister? Or a mom? Or a cousin or grandma?’ One day this guy literally said to me, ‘I just want to find somebody to share my lifestyle with.’ The lightbulb went off, and I thought, Oh my gosh. I was single, and I knew that when I was ready to date that I would never date someone who didn’t have the same hobbies and passion that I did. There’s a dating site for every niche out there except for people like me. And that’s when I decided that I’d build one.”

Her efforts to build a community around shared interests actually started on Facebook, where Sacia founded a page centered around exchanging hunting and fishing trips. That page, which now has 46,000 members, was the basis for her conclusion that a dating site might have traction.

“When my marriage ended, I wondered how I could continue my education [as a hunter],” says Sacia. “Just because my marriage was ending, I didn’t want my passion for hunting and fishing to end. But I needed to some help. I needed to learn more, and to have people help me learn. I needed a place where it was safe to ask questions and not be judged. I built the group on Facebook for people who love to hunt and fish, and where it’s okay to ask questions and not be judged.”

The group grew quickly, and Sacia repeatedly got invitations for more than just hunting and fishing outings. There was a need among her growing audience for a deeper sort of connection based around shared outdoor interests.

Single Outdoor Women

“I wanted to branch out into a dating site, and I wanted to call it Hunting4TrueLove,” she says “But then I realized that not everyone is searching for love. They’re searching for connections and for deeper meaning around shared values and interests. So that’s how the Hunting4Connections came about.”

Dating Not Just for Hunters and Anglers, But Other Outdoor Enthusiasts, Too

While hunting and fishing are at the center of Sacia’s personal orbit, they’re not necessarily the hub of Hunting4Connections, which has sections devoted to the wider reach of outdoor recreation, including hiking, biking, motor sports, and boating.

“It’s a dating and friending site for outdoor enthusiasts,” she says. “Getting outdoors is what lights the belly on fire, whether that’s kayaking, or biking, hiking, camping, watching outdoor sports, hunting, or fishing. The site allows people to connect, find a date, a relationship, a new friend, or an activity partner.”

But ultimately, Hunting4Connections isn’t about learning where a Ducks Unlimited banquet will be held or finding a crappie-fishing partner. It’s truly a dating site, and Sacia says the next months will be telling for its success.

“At the moment, we have about 6,000 subscribers, and add between 20 and 40 per day,” she says, but she doesn’t share demographic details, regional info, or what outdoor activities subscribers list as their favorites. She also has not commented on whether her site is only for straight singles, or if it’s LGBTQ-friendly.

“I can tell you that we’re about 60 percent male and about 40 percent female,” she says, noting that she wants to appeal to more women. “If you have the women, the men will come.”

Sacia says that so far, because both of Facebook’s resistance and because of pandemic social-distancing restrictions, the site has been more or less blind to geography. That will change in the coming months.

Read Next: Hunting Can Ruin Your Marriage. Or Make It Stronger

“In the beginning of our site, we were more focused on facilitating connections between people, whether they were in neighboring towns or 10 states away. But the success of a dating site is creating opportunities for folks to actually meet up, so you can expect us to do more niche marketing, targeting one state and then another, moving along to build participation within states and even within towns and cities.”

Sacia says the proof of the power of her vision is the number of relationships—and even marriage proposals—that have come from connections consummated by the website.

So, what about her ultimate goal, building a safe house for victims of domestic abuse?

“That remains my fundamental goal,” says Sacia. “It will take some time for the site to be profitable enough that I can quit my day job, but then we’ll create a foundation with that as its purpose. When that happens, I’ll know that this was all for something, even if it took longer than I anticipated back when I was 19 years old and living in La Crosse with the whole world in front of me.”

Combine two of your favorite passions — dating and traveling — and you have a winning combo. You may hear of people traveling far for love, but what about joining a dating app that specializes in travel and activities? After all, isn’t dating about getting OUT there and doing things with somebody while getting to know them in the process IRL vs. just endless messaging? Plus, fun activities and travel destinations make for less pressure on the date — you can concentrate on your mini golf game or trying not to fall off your stand-up paddleboard instead of trying to think of conversation-starters.

In fact, new research even shows that Millennial daters prefer to meet someone while traveling. A recent study by Topdeck Travel, the number one provider of group travel for 18-30 somethings, discovered that one in eight Millennial men hope to find their significant other while on vacation, while one in 20 women do. It may sound counter-productive, but just because one meets someone outside of their city doesn’t mean it has to stay that way — long-distance relationships can eventually morph into same-city ones.

Topdeck’s study, by the research firm YouGov, showed that 1 in 11 postgraduate Millennials did meet an significant other while traveling abroad. Even though texting-based dating apps seem to be more popular than ever, Topdeck discovered that Millennials have other priorities, too — like traveling. And with traveling comes meeting-someone-while-traveling.

Yes, you can use Tinder, OkCupid, or other apps when you travel, but they’re not travel-specific, per se. And, sure, you can use the AroundMe app for date ideas no matter where you are, but to find like-minded daters, check out the travel-and-adventure-minded dating apps below—because there’s no shortage of outlets to meet someone like you, who wants to go explore a new city or activity.

1. MissTravel

MissTravel’s tagline is “Never Travel Alone” and there you can find someone who loves to travel as much as you do. You can send members trip proposals, indicating the location (your city, theirs, or a new place), dates, and what kind of trip you’d like: Luxury, Adventure, Romance, Foodie, Local. You can also choose who pays, you, the other person, or split it 50/50 — no awkward bill-sitting-on-the-table-forever moments.

Recently, Bustle’s Sex and Relationships Editor, Michelle Toglia, tried out this app and flew to Portland to meet Ray, a guy MissTravel paired her with after she chose from five potential matches. I’d try it!

2. MeetMeOutside

This fairly new app does exactly what it advertises — it wants you and your date to meet outside. As I always say, none of us want perpetual pen-pals on dating sites, and MeetMeOutside (MMO) gets you off your phone and out there, doing something you both enjoy. “It’s a dating app that is connecting users based on their shared passion for adventure and an active lifestyle,” MeetMeOutside Co-Founder Rob Hand tells Bustle. “We've made it our mission to take dating from AWKWARD to ADVENTURE. We do this by finding potential matches based on your active lifestyle interests and, once a match is made, we provide you with active date destinations nearby that you can suggest via chat.”

Yep, with this app, no more “What do you want to do?” or “What do you want to do?” exchanges. In the MMO app, users choose icons that rep their favorite things to do, including writing their Top 3 Bucket List items, adding their Instagram accounts, and, in the near future, the ability to connect their fitness trackers and wearables. Then, MMO suggests date locations, like SoulCycle, indoor rock climbing, or black light yoga. It’s a fact that Gen Y (85 million of them now!) is way into dating apps — 4 out of 5 users are aged 18-34 years old — andinto fitness apps and wearables, so MMO combines the best of both worlds.

3. TourBar

With TourBar, you can find a travel partner in the tap of a button on your phone. Some people don’t like to travel alone and, if you’re one of them, you’re in luck. Plus, there is NO PRESSURE to date — you can just use the app to find a local to show you around a new town. Or, if you want to play tour guide, you can show them around your city.

4. TravelMeetDate

Best Dating Sites For Outdoor Enthusiasts Uk

Do you travel a lot for work — or fun — and don’t want to spend your downtime alone? That’s where TravelMeetDate comes in. You can find dates on your flight (!), or once you touch ground. It is a subscription-based app, though, in order to deter spammers, but worth it if it means finding someone fun to hang with, have a fling with, or even fall in love with. You can also post your travel details for other users to see. Who knows? Mr. or Mrs. Right may be just around the hotel bar corner. At the moment, the app is only $5 a month, the price of a fancy cup of coffee, or $40 a year.

5. HowAboutWe

You’ve may have heard about HowAboutWe, the dating app where you fill in the date idea, like “How about we… go kayaking this weekend?” They call themselves the “offline dating site,” and rightfully so. If you’re stumped and cannot think of a date idea to suggest, you can check out AroundMe for inspiration... or, you can see what other users want to go do and choose accordingly.

6. Skout

Skout is all about connecting you to someone with common interests, and it doesn’t have to be for a romantic outcome. You can use it both near and far, in your city or while traveling. Again, what better a tour guide in a far locale than a local? “We know meeting people can be tough, so we’ve made it our mission to bring people together from across the world to explore and embark on adventures together,” according to Skout’s website. “Use your mobile device as your guide to meet new friends wherever you go, a concert at Madison Square Garden, a bus tour in Barcelona, or a local neighborhood bar.” Sounds like a win-win — you could either end up with a new BFF or a new BF or GF.

7. Partake

Partake is a new “anti-Tinder” app where you can find like-minded people to do social activities with. It’s not a dating app, per se, but who knows? You and a fellow Partake-r may click over more than your love of craft beers. Whether a friend of yours cancels on you at the last minute and you have an extra ticket to a concert or want company to check out a new gastropub, you can post your suggestions on Partake — because isn’t it the worst when you no longer want to go to something because you don’t want to go alone?!

“Other meet-up apps are geared towards group gatherings, and dating apps are solely focused on romantic encounters,” Sylvester Fejokwu, Partake’s creator, tells Bustle. “Partake gives users full control over activities and offers something a little more intimate, but without the romantic overtones that come with dating apps.” Sounds great to me, not having that sometimes-awkward romantic pressure, but still doing a fun activity with other people. Speaking of which, you can plan it, as well as who joins you, or you can check out what others have created. Plus, the app is the first social activity app that has a points system that rewards users for enjoying activities with others. Currently, the app is available in New York and Washington, DC, then expanding to other cities.

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Images: Fotolia; Michelle Toglia; iTunes