Seattle ICO

Seattle ICO

Seattle Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO) began as part of the Seattle Group of the Sierra Club in 1991, and has grown to become one of the most active ICO programs in the National Sierra Club. The first ICO group was established in 1971 as part of the San Francisco Bay Sierra Club Chapter. There are now approximately 50 groups across the country serving thousands of participants each year. Seattle ICO operates as an all-volunteer organization in partnership with a small group of selected partner schools/nonprofit agencies.

It serves several hundred of Seattle's inner-city youths each year, providing them with opportunities to go hiking, camping, canoeing, sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, backpacking, rafting, kayaking, and more. Currently, Seattle ICO's partner organizations include: Cleveland High School, Madrona Elementary, Asa Mercer International Middle School, Rainier Beach High School, Showalter Middle School, South Shore K-8, Tukwila Elementary School, Washington Middle School, and the EYES Youth Leader team.

Video from our overnight trip to Ingalls Creek, Pine Flats Campground and rafting on the Wenatchee River with Washington MS.

Local News and Information

Riding Ferries, Scouting for Crabs, and Flying Kites

May 1, 2020
Team Madrona Takes a Trip to Fort Warden. Madrona Elementary students were full of excitement as they arrived at the school, eagerly awaiting their day trip to Bainbridge Island where a ferry ride, low-tide beachcombing, and kite making awaited them.

Eventually, the Student Becomes the Teacher

September 17, 2019
Before my first trip, I never went out hiking or did any outdoor activities. I’m an immigrant from the Philippines, and hiking just wasn’t an activity my family was into. When I think about the trips I did with ICO and my classmates/friends - river...

Snowshoeing & Sledding With WMS at Snoqualmie Pass

April 23, 2018
What a perfect day! Those smiles and excitement in the photo above were almost a constant during this Seattle ICO outing up to Snoqualmie Pass with a group of students from Washington Middle School (WMS).