About the Club

Buck Ridge Ski Club offers a variety of year-round sports activities. In winter there is downhill and cross-country skiing. Spring, summer, and fall brings hiking, canoeing, rafting, biking, sailing or golf.

Adventuresome History

Buck Ridge Ski Club was founded in 1945 from an idea of Paul Wick for a sports club offering year-round outdoor activities that was family oriented and affordable. In February of that year, Paul and like-minded friends from the Batona Hiking Club, Swarthmore Outing Club, and Westinghouse met to plan the club, with the first meeting of the “XYZ” Ski Club on March 10, 1945.  The name was eventually changed to Buck Ridge—the name of the hills to the west of Philadelphia that could be seen from the statue of William Penn on Philadelphia City Hall.
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Wissahickon Hike 2012 003
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Marsh Creek, Fall 2012 006
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Brandywine Park Hike, DE 2011 004
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From the beginning, the club had an active hiking, skiing, and canoeing  program, with a strong tradition of teaching and innovation.  Early skiers in the club built their own rope tow at Paxon Hollow, near West Chester.  An avid boating contingent developed plans for a sail canoe, and later created a mold for fiberglass kayak production before they were widely mass produced. Early members Eliott Woodbridge, Hollis Butterfield, and Fritz Koenig were instrumental in the formation of the Eastern Pa Ski Council.  Bob McNair, one of the founders, wrote “Basic River Canoeing”, which for years was a standard text used by paddling schools across the country.  He also helped the club run the Red Ridge College of Canoeing for many years.  The club also started the first inter-club canoe slalom, the Brandywine Canoe Slalom, held annually on the Brandywine River in Wilmington until the early eighties.

Buck Ridge Club Today

Today the club continues the tradition of activities in a wide range of outdoor sports.  Close ties are maintained with the Philadelphia Canoe Club, and we are a strong supporter of the EPSC.  Come out and join us!

Becoming a member or renewing is easy! Click the link to the pdf below, print the form and follow the directions to renew your membership or become a member!
BRSC Membership PDF