"Giving working people from gray cities access to nature" was the goal of the founding generation of the Naturefriends movement, which emerged from the labor movement. The first Naturefriends came together in 1895. On 26.08.1912, the Wiesbaden local group was formed with founding members Karl Demmer, later a city councillor in Neu-Isenburg, the later Wiesbaden mayor Philipp Holl and others. The Schierstein local group was founded on 13.07.1924.

In 1923, the Wiesbaden local group acquired a hunting lodge in the community of Dickschied in the Taunus and converted it into a Naturefriends house with their own work. This enabled many of the members to afford a vacation for the first time. In 1928, another house was built on the site. In 1933, the Naturefriends were banned by the National Socialists, their houses were confiscated and used by Nazi groups. It was not until 1949 that the houses were returned. The association had already been re-admitted in July 1946.

In 2006, the Wiesbaden local group sold its houses. In 1929-31, the Schierstein group built a Naturefriends house on the Freudenberg using a wooden block construction, the Heidehäuschen, which was also confiscated in 1933 and fell into disrepair. The new building from 1955 was replaced in 2015 by a modern clubhouse with overnight accommodation for children's and youth groups. The two local groups merged on May 8, 2009 to form the Naturefriends. With around 350 members, the Naturefriends stand up for the preservation of natural resources and are actively involved in environmental protection.