Years ago when I first moved to New York, I spent nearly every free minute walking street after street, block after block, mile after mile—a chance to explore streets and neighborhoods and parks, to savor the surprises and odd juxtapositions that only cities provide. A cheese shop next to a book store next to a dive bar beside a lamp shop neighboring a candy store selling obscure foreign licorice.
I know that many of you may prefer a natural setting. I too love a good stroll in the mountains, by a river or through a forest. Better yet, how about a forested, mountainous area with a beautiful river or lake? Or, how about a hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, traversing geological epochs and ending up at the bank of the Colorado River? (So what if it was 10 miles back up and I almost didn’t make it in 100 degree-plus August heat?)
But given my druthers, there’s something about city walks, offering endless chances to people-watch, experience cultures, and discover restaurants and neighborhoods that happen best on foot (rain or shine). Maybe it’s a purposeful historical or architectural walking tour with a knowledgable guide. Perhaps it’s more aimless than that, like when my wife and I made the surprise discovery of the perfect Turkish eatery and a sidewalk table in an unknown Berlin neighborhood. Or that stroll we took a year ago around Royal Street in New Orleans, peering into boutique shops and galleries and coming upon the most chill jazz band playing on a street corner? These experiences never would have happened if we relied on Uber or a taxi or cruised by on bicycle.
There’s something about the pace of a good walk. Yes, even if I do move a bit slower in the early morning hours as the sun’s coming up, I do like to move pretty fast—sometimes to my wife’s chagrin. No wonder during recent travels we put on five, six, seven miles a day and barely noticed it until I checked my day’s steps.
What about you? What’s your favorite place to walk? Would you rather be in a city or out in undistracted nature? And how often do you take the chance? Perhaps you’d like to share that most frequent stroll in the neighborhood where you live.
As always, I look forward to reading your answers and the opportunity for this community to hear from each other.
Enjoy these Saturday prompts, including occasional breaks from the “sturm und drang” of the body politic? I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber, if you’re not already, to sustain these posts and all the other writing.
*Photo Credit: Central Park in New York City by Julieanne Birch via Getty Images.
Yes, my sauntering, strolling, defying gravity, searching for sunlight, is now writing poetry. One of my books is titled Searching for Light. Wonderfully vital life, but very different than when I was young. Be well, dear searcher.
Ahh, I also love to write, just haven't had time with work being so busy. I was hoping starting something here would be my muse, but... did I mention time? And energy? I love that you use poetry and it satisfies the same way.
Funny, though -- my very first entry was the naming of my substack -- how I used to use Moth2Flame (beating my head against something painfully impossible) and JustMe and others, but somehow Searching for Sunlight struck the right note of hope and progress.
Always glad to meet a fellow Searcher along the way. You take gentle care of yourself!
I live in Prague, Czech Republic. I love to walk the Medieval streets of the Old Town as well as the beautiful forest near my home. But mostly I just love to walk! It reminds me that there is a world beyond my computer screen!
Prague is such a beautiful city. We enjoyed walking there as well! Will also have to add other wonderful European cities like Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, and Budapest. Enjoyed walking them all!
I must preface my comment by noting that you said “years ago” you loved walking in a city. Me too. But these days, there are some serious safety issues to consider when walking in most any city, certainly mine. And walking or running in most any park, if alone, is also risky. When my mom and dad retired, years ago, I bought them a parking-included, membership to the Milwaukee County Zoo. They loved walking all the pathways there, and did so multiple days every week in more temperate months. There were plenty of benches, lots of trees, green spaces, lagoons, children to watch, animals to watch, snacks to eat, friendly people everywhere and *no* car/truck traffic, whatsoever. A very safe beautiful place, wheelchair and Walker friendly. I have bought a membership for myself. And plan to use it liberally.
2. Old growth forests in the Smoky Mountains. Joyce Kilmer forest takes the prize.
3. Paris, early in the morning, before tourists are out and when small merchants are setting up and taking deliveries for the day. Any city is completely different at different times of day.
I am 77 - I live in Indiana directly across from downtown Louisville, Ky. I live 1 block from the river. I love walking along the river - even though it is paved. There is also a walking bridge that I enjoy walking over when it is not so hot. My daughter bought me a dog stroller so I can walk across the bridge when it gets cooler (dogs are not allowed on the bridge unless in a stroller or backpack). I walk Emi every morning - about 2 to 3 miles. When my grandmother was in her 90's she told me to never stop walking - she said if you do, you won;t be able to, So I walk every day :)
Mount Rainier National Park. I live 1-2 hours away (depending on which trailhead I’m going to), and the hiking there is fabulous. Not a lot for beginners, most trails have some elevation gain (it is a mountain after all!), but incredible views and scenery.
I live in Peekskill, NY on the Hudson River. My City designed the river walk a few years ago, and I love to do the walk each morning- I can usually do 5 miles. The Hudson is not the ocean, but it’s wide, and has hills all around. There is such a calming effect water has upon the soul, and I always feel good when I return home. I take the Hudson Line train to Manhattan every Sunday and walk from Grand Central to my family who live on E 12th Street. Quite a different walk but enjoyable for different reasons. I love watching people, and enjoy seeing the many dog walkers out on Sunday morning. Walking is such a wonderful activity.
A walk in nature is always a gift, the silence accentuates the birds singing and the wind in the trees. Right now, I would like to be walking in Vienna, Austria. While the inner city is always fun, hopping on a street car, and looking for an interesting spot is so easy there, with so much history. An outdoor market catches your eye so off you go. The fruits and vegetables are all so tempting, I have to remind myself that I already have plans for dinner. The breads from the bakery are even more tempting, so I move on to a churchyard where Beethoven was originally buried. I always choose to go in winter as I like to experience winter. Living in California, winter can be wet we hope, but hardly ever cold.
I appreciate you asking as it brought back memories and makes me look forward to my next visit!
Drop me in a city and I’m home - nothing to do with courage but affinity. New York is home on every street. Midtown to lower east side, or up to the 80s. Down 42nd to the U.N. Then along the water. Or Athens where I’m fully home. Paris in winter.
Aug 5, 2023·edited Aug 5, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
I have never walked in London, Vienna, Prague or Berlin. I did walk in Mexico City where I was taken aback by beggers and soldiers with rifles in front of many buildings, thinking those things could never happen in my America. (a sarcastic Ha ) I pushed my baby in his stroller along Hudson Terrace in Fort Lee, NJ and saw the GW Bridge, but I always had to wash his little bald head when back to apartment as air was dirty. I liked walking through the Paramus, NJ malls. But best of all, I liked the walk home from high school. My dad gave me $2.25/week for school lunch and bus tokens. To have a nickle in my pocket, I saved on the tokens and walked home. The town - Bradford, PA, usually the coldest town in the state . There were two routes. One was past The Dresser Mansion built in 1903 at a cost then of a million dollars, 28 rooms, a ballroom,decor from Europe.A classmate of mine on occasion, walked that far with me, for his mother had married the then present Dresser, so he lived there. Dresser Industries was concerned with oil, gas pipelines, etc, (Bradford is oil country. Lots of wells screeching day and night in the surrounding area.) participated in supplies for WW II and also the Manhattan
Project. I am still in touch with him on occasion through Classmates. This way also passed by what everyone said was a 'red light" street. If some of us were out cruising, we would dare drive down it.
In the winter, I wore white rubber boots , and they rubbed so bad while walking, I had raw red rings
on each leg.
The other route went through Main Street past the stores, the diner, the library and the building where my dentist had an office on the second floor. Daddy bought a new car and would never drop me off below the office window thinking that the man would see the car and charge more. One day, the owner of the jewelry store came out and asked me if I was interested in an after school job. Of course. So I addressed envelopes containing advertisements to town residents. I saved my money for a pair of white leather roller skates the store also sold. The owner charged me full price. (eye roll!)
Which ever route I took, my dog was always waiting for me on the corner near my house. Somehow, dogs have an unexplainable awareness of time.
I live in what has been described as a dystopian hellhole called San Francisco. This city is built to walk. At only 7x7 miles it's definitely human scale. Yes we have plenty of diversity to keep things interesting.
My son and family live in SF, and I was so very angry with the guy who called it a hellhole. I love walking in SF, each area is so diverse and it’s like visiting several cities rather than one. No matter how many homeless are on the streets, SF is a special place for me. I used to run an agency in Westchester, NY for homeless families, so they don’t frighten me, and I try to chat with them when I meet them. They are simply people who have had bad luck, fallen on hard times, often have health issues and need help. But this country only sees poverty as some kind of sinfulness. We are all a paycheck, or a healthcare emergency away from being homeless, and must never forget that. I could go on, but that’s changing the topic of walking.
Muir Woods. Even when it's hot, it's cool under the redwoods. The fragrance is something between freshly sawn lumber and petrichor. ... The other place is any trail in the Pisgah Forest in North Carolina. The forest has, hands down, the sweetest, clearest air I've ever breathed.
My favorite way to see San Francisco, a city I have lived in or near since 1980, is via a swim in the beautiful Bay. I belong to a rowing and swim club at the iconic Aquatic Park where one can see the famous Ghirardelli Square, Coit Tower, and Pier 39 from the water which provides a majestic view while we swim among the seals and sea lions, tall ships (museum boats) and a view of Alcatraz to our north in the greater part of the Bay. It’s an exhilarating swim and a lovely view.
I live practically on the San Francisco Bay. One of my favorite walks is a 12 minute drive from my home to Palo Alto’s Baylands Nature Preserve. Migrating birds,resident shore birds and waterfowl, fish, deer, and an occasional bobcat or coyote may all be my companions as I breathe in the salt air and savor the vistas to the east and west. The distance roar of a jet readying to land at SFO reminds me that civilization is not too far away but still, I see only the nature surrounding me. I see the clouds in the sky, not the plane.
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads ~ Henry David Thoreau
I can't really walk anymore, at least not a nice long walk, so I'm envious of those who can. When I was younger, we used to go to NYC every year on the first weekend in December, just for the day. I LOVE New York at Christmas time! We'd spend the whole day strolling around Manhattan, maybe shopping in FAO Schwarz or Macy's, enjoying the sights, sounds, and people watching. In NH there's a park that used to be a zoo - Benson's Wild Animal Farm, I believe it was called - in Hudson, NH. They've made a beautiful walking park out of it. It's about an hour from our home and we've sometimes gone there in mid-morning or early afternoon and spent the rest of the day just strolling around there. Beyond that, Old Orchard Beach in Maine comes to mind. It's a great place to relax, stroll around, and unwind. Wish I were younger or in better shape so I could do those things again!
I also remember, when I was younger, walking around Manhattan. Watching the different people and seeing the different paces of urgency versus strolling of the different people. The different seasons creating a different feel. The smells of Manhattan also change. If I was eating in one of the restaurants I would like sitting by a window so I could continue to watch the people. I recently moved to Londonderry, NH and hear about all the “rail trails” and other trails. This summer has been unusual, either multiple days of rain or days of 90 degree temperatures. Very few normal days. Maybe one day...
If you're in Londonderry then the park in Hudson isn't far from you at all. I'd start there, because it's small enough to kind of get acquainted with the area, yet not boring at all. You're right about this summer! I've never seen one as rainy as this. OH before I forget, there's a wonderful walk along the shore called the Marginal Way, I believe it's in Ogunquit, ME. It's just gorgeous, but don't go on a really hot day. I made that mistake a few years ago myself, and I got heat exhaustion - nothing really serious, but it kind of ruined the whole day for me. Welcome to our neck of the woods, and enjoy!
Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve heard about Old Orchard Beach. I even got a book about it and a map outlining places. The boardwalk seems to be the place there. Sounds like lots of options.
Welcome to New Hampshire. I recommend trying Manchester's Dorr's Pond 1-mile-around-the-pond walk (Livingston Park). Nature, dog walkers (who usually let you pet their dogs), families airing out their children, ducks, a blue heron, a cormorant or two, and water lilies.
I’ll submit 3 - first is in my neighborhood, it’s a lovely walk about 45 minutes includes a creek with visiting egrets, ducks. I have watched the new ducklings learn to swim and grow up and leave for many years. Second: Chicago - walking from the Lincoln Park area through Old Town and Rush Street, Michigan Avenue across the river to downtown, the Art Institute. Third: a walking trail in Tiburon in the North Bay Area - the trail is an old railroad track. It goes along the bay with spectacular views of Mt. Tam, the Golden Gate Bridge, the wondrous fog and if you go far enough, San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. There are ground squirrels, birds, pelicans, boats of all kinds. We love to walk out to a bench under a tree and just watch it all with wonder. It reminds me each time of the first time I visited the Bay Area. Seeing the beauty of the bay, ocean, bridges, mountains was just overwhelming. 2 years later, my family moved here and I am still in awe of the natural beauty.
I most frequently walk or run along the Los Angeles river (many sections are public parks), but my favorite is to walk or hike up off Mulholland Drive, which has some of the best views in the city, and very beautiful sunsets.
Aug 5, 2023·edited Aug 5, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
I walk two to three miles nearly every day in my winding, hilly neighborhood, marveling at hummingbirds, coyotes, bobcats, and occasionally Gila Monsters. But one of the best city walks I will always treasure was on my first solo trip to London, a few months post 9-11. From the Princes' Quadrangle (cheap hotels) on the West End through Nob Hill to some street with an Arabic newsstand next to an Italian coffee shop next to a French patisserie...I'd buy the London Times and USA Today, a chocolate croissant, and a large Amalfi coffee then sit to watch the parade of uniformed schoolchildren, business people, and tourists wander past. On the return to my hotel, I'd traverse the length of Hyde Park along the pond to a gate opening on the street to the Quad. It felt so terribly civilized and structured, a sense of sanity in an unsettled time.
Thank you, Steven, for encouraging us all to get out and experience what's around us, wherever we are.
We just got an off grid cabin, for the summers, in the mountains in NY. Forty acres bordering a state forest on three sides. We have been walking the dogs twice a day and making new trails along the way. Once a week we try and do parts of the Finger Lakes Trail, and picnic along the way. In the winter months we do our SE Georgia small town walks, while picking up litter and staying in shape. It’s nice to be outside and a great bonding experience for our “pack”.
I like walks involving food and wine. Did a guided walk recently (Devour tours) in the city of Bordeaux where we walked with a small group of strangers to visit historic sites in the old part of the city, and small shops stopping to talk with the proprietors and sample their specialties including, pastries, cheese, chocolate and wines. I also like the walk from my cabin on a cruise ship to a fabulous restaurant where I am served food that I didn't have to cook for a change.
In the past, however, I loved to walk in the desert that was behind my house in Arizona. Always on the lookout for the resident “shoulder-less” critters, of course.
Aug 5, 2023·edited Aug 5, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
I live near Mount Vernon - George Washington’s home in Virginia. I love to take my dogs walking there & sit on the Piazza to see the Potomac River unobstructed like it was in his day. Nearby are many local river walks that are like outbound adventures where the dogs navigate the fallen trees and wildflowers abound as you follow the river’s edge.
I was born and raised in NYC where I spent most of my adult life with a few cities thrown in between - Philadelphia, Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Old Town Alexandria, VA. I too have strolled the streets and mews and hidden enclaves of NYC delighting in hidden places like Pomander Walk at 95th and Broadway. I was surprised and delighted at the charming Country Club Plaza in Kansas City with its Spanish architecture and beautiful fountains. And I now live in beautiful upstate NY on the border of the Berkshires where I walk every day up hills and through fields beautiful as a National Park in all (dry) weather. But the place I loved to walk the most - and walk I did constantly for the five years I lived there - was Old Town, with its historic significance, interesting houses, nooks and crannies, and the Potomac riverfront. I encourage everyone who has not been there to visit and then drive up the Potomac Parkway to Mt. Vernon and visit the home of our first venerable president, George Washington. Thank you for giving me this respite from the news to reflect on the beauty and delights of my country, which I love so much.
I grew up in a state with lots of water and woods and green trees, and moving to Dallas-Fort Worth was a radical change. I did find a nature trail that is challenging and the trees grow close to the dirt trails and there are roots to climb over and up and down paths to hike. I prefer that to the typical city "nature trail" that is often paved, or so wide you don't feel enveloped by the trees, and often smooth enough for bicycles -- that is just not the same experience. But the nature preserve of Cedar Ridge borders an escarpment and is a preserve, not a park.
Of course, nothing compares to hiking in the Redwoods. Even San Francisco Muir Woods -- I was delighted to discover the Ocean Trail and Lost Trail -- it's not all the paved for tourists main loop.
Alas, degenerative spine and arthritis has ended my hiking days for the last five years and as much as I yearn to give those a try again, I don't think I could really make it. Gone, too, are hours in presidential museums and the Smithsonians of Washington DC.
But woods -- trails that are narrow, single file, and rugged, not tamed -- that's my sense of peace, safety, aloneness.
I am partial to the natural world. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Now, I am just as happy walking in woods in my Connecticut shoreline community. I lead hikes for groups and the overwhelming majority of the hikers I attract are middle-aged to elderly women. Would love to know where the menfolk are. I'm 71 and many of my hikers are of a similar age. I'd say all are over 50.
My favorite walks were in Sequoia National Park. An 80 degree summer day turned into 70 degrees among the great trees, and you could walk 2 miles without seeing another human. Not as spectacular as Yosemite, but a much more tranquil experience.
We walk almost every morning for fitness, but our true love is walking in a city and getting a sense of the place. Even if it is a city we know well, we'll still get out and walk. We typically do 10-13 miles a day when we're on vacation. Boston, New York, London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Buenos Aires are all favorites!
I like walking in a forest preserve or a park. No cities for me, please. Too peoply. When I lived in Tucson, my favorite thing to do was hike the Tanque Verde trail. The saguaro cacti’s were huge, and there were mountains everywhere.
Aug 5, 2023·edited Aug 5, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
Wonderful trails all around Tucson. Pima Canyon is lovely, too, for very few people and lots of wildlife you don't see in other parts of the Catalinas. Actually saw a wild turkey, bighorn sheep, and a Swainson's hawk all in one day there. Come back to visit when the heat wave ends in November. LOL
My wife and I did virtually the kind of walking tours you describe every trip we took to Rome. We enjoyed every moment of discovery (walking through remnants of the 4th century Servian Wall on our way for a morning coffee was one such moment). We opened every church door we passed and enjoyed the art and architecture of each building. We paused, listened, watched and tried to gain a “sense of place” as we walked about. Every step led us to a new “find”. Thank you for sharing your discoveries in NYC. Maybe we can “follow in your footsteps” if we get a chance.
The Riverwalk in San Antonio, tunnels under downtown Houston, canal banks in east Phoenix,
the hike up Camelback mountain-but ONLY in cool weather, Tucson Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum,
The Drag in Austin, Mogollon Rim in northern AZ, many trails around spectacular Sedona, Pacific Beach in San Diego, anywhere in La Jolla, French Quarter in New Orleans (preferably close to where you can get a beignet sprinkled with powdered sugar) Torrey Pines State Park just outside La Jolla, the Malecon along the ocean in Puerto Vallarta and the Grand Canyon-but only if your hip joints are in good shape for the walk back up the trail.
My wife and I walk to the next neighborhood, ours is a dead end in 2 blocks. We cross the busy road and walk the much longer loop in the other Summerville subdivision. We are now recognized and stop to say hello to those kind people. There is a gentleman that we often see also walking, whom we have found to be a USN veteran and he stops at each house displaying the US flag and salutes that house. Our walks do get interrupted but the pleasant conversations are delightful and give us two octogenarians a brief rest.
I walk every day. In a nearby park, on the rail trail, in my neighborhood. I love the chance to walk in cities we visit or on trails through woods. My all time favorite place to walk, however, is on the pedestrian path which winds through woods and sheep filled fields on Lidingö (outside Stockholm in Sweden) where my grandparents lived. Magic.
I live in L.A. and the Santa Monica mountains are a beautiful place to hike, but I am french, originally, and for Easter my parents when I was a child used to go to le Pyla, near Bordeaux. We would walk in that incredible forest of Les Landes, which is sand and tall pine trees, similar to Monterey pines.
The forest goes along the Atlantic coast down to Spain frontier. Incredibly beautiful. To protect it from fires there are wide cuttings alleys where the brooms planted themselves so you would walk these sand paths among pines and come to these wide open spaces at Easter with yellow brooms flowering... incredible memories.
Forest trails in the Pacific Northwest bring joy and comfort as I am enveloped in the lush greenery of giant trees covered with moss and paths lined with ferns and native plants and grasses. It is a blast for all the senses and a peaceful way to challenge myself with a good uphill climb to an eventual majestic view. The experience recharges my soul.
Oh, Goody. It's time for Steven's Saturday Sing-along again.
As an ardent admirer of Bruce Chatwin's writing, I've thought a lot about walking and about the role of walking in the fundamental underpinnings of human consciousness. After all, we kinda became humans when we stood up (Homo erectus ... no jokes , please.) and, no longer on all fours, realized we could use our front feet to gather, hunt, use tools .... and lamentably, fight. Walking on dirt connects us to Mother Earth in a deep, even spiritual way. Go take a long walk in the forest or on a mountain trail and after a while you'll see what I mean. Every backpacker knows the feeling. There's a spiritual reason that pilgrims on their way to Mecca or walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain don't use bikes and skateboards.
I grew up walking in wilderness regularly. My Dad was a photographer for the National Park Service, assigned to the Four Corners region. We lived in Santa Fe (still my spiritual home and my favorite place to walk) but spent days, weeks, occasionally months at a time in residence at one of the National Parks or Monuments. I once lived for almost 3 months in Grand Canyon Village, on the south rim. It was the early 1950's. There wasn't an interstate highway system yet, so tourism hadn't become a thing. It was a little hard to get there. Route 66 was mostly a two lane highway, and if you braved the Mojave Desert (without car A/C in them days) heading east toward Flagstaff from California through Baker, Kingman, and Williams, or struck out from Albuquerque, trying to get around one slow truck after another for 300 miles to fetch up in Flagstaff before dark, you still had to stay there overnight and then make your way up through Kaibab National Forest to the Canyon the next day. There weren't any crowd.s You REALLY had to want to go there to get there. It was a peaceful place, and I had the run of it. No one cared where I was between dawn and dark. Being young and unafraid, I'd lope down the trail as far as Havasupai and get back in time for dinner. It was like being Huck Finn but without water.
I had a similar relationship to Cañon de Chelly, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Arches, Zion, and Bryce. A kid on the loose in red rock country, back of beyond, armed with an imagination honed by the Westerns I saw at the Lensic Movie Theater in Santa Fe every Saturday when I was at home.
Walking in Red Rock country is still church to me. I always enjoyed a nice stroll along the sidewalks of the cities I've lived in since those halcyon days: New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis. Not San Diego or LA, so much, where everyone drives everywhere. Now I live in Portland, Oregon, lucky enough to have a half-mile nature trail that starts right out my back door. But it's asphalt.
I'm going home next month and I'll walk the serpentine streets of Santa Fe every day. Few streets run for more than 100 yards in the same direction. Paseo de Peralta, a major downtown connector, runs in an almost complete circle. There's an old joke that the streets were laid out by a drunk Mexican on a blind donkey. (DEI Advisory: The majority of Santa Fe's population in those days was Hispanic. The Governor, Mayor, and most city officials were Hispanic. My Dad's best friend, the Chief of Police, was Mexican. Most of my friends and schoolmates were Mexican. The joke was almost certainly invented in the Mexican community where I feel sure I first heard it. So don't anyone get all huffy on me about racial stereotyping !)
I'll walk all day, every day, soaking up the aromas (it's chile harvest season and they'll be being roasted everywhere), and feeling the dirt under my feet, surrounded by the dirt baked into the adobe walls that surround every courtyard.
I'll be walking through my past ... and hoping it's not my farewell tour.
I would just like a body able to stroll again. Enjoy it while you have it, youngens.
TRUTH!
Understood and agree. Degenerative spine and arthritis -- I haven't been able to hike for five plus years.
Yes, my sauntering, strolling, defying gravity, searching for sunlight, is now writing poetry. One of my books is titled Searching for Light. Wonderfully vital life, but very different than when I was young. Be well, dear searcher.
Ahh, I also love to write, just haven't had time with work being so busy. I was hoping starting something here would be my muse, but... did I mention time? And energy? I love that you use poetry and it satisfies the same way.
Funny, though -- my very first entry was the naming of my substack -- how I used to use Moth2Flame (beating my head against something painfully impossible) and JustMe and others, but somehow Searching for Sunlight struck the right note of hope and progress.
Always glad to meet a fellow Searcher along the way. You take gentle care of yourself!
I live in Prague, Czech Republic. I love to walk the Medieval streets of the Old Town as well as the beautiful forest near my home. But mostly I just love to walk! It reminds me that there is a world beyond my computer screen!
Prague is such a beautiful city. We enjoyed walking there as well! Will also have to add other wonderful European cities like Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, and Budapest. Enjoyed walking them all!
I must preface my comment by noting that you said “years ago” you loved walking in a city. Me too. But these days, there are some serious safety issues to consider when walking in most any city, certainly mine. And walking or running in most any park, if alone, is also risky. When my mom and dad retired, years ago, I bought them a parking-included, membership to the Milwaukee County Zoo. They loved walking all the pathways there, and did so multiple days every week in more temperate months. There were plenty of benches, lots of trees, green spaces, lagoons, children to watch, animals to watch, snacks to eat, friendly people everywhere and *no* car/truck traffic, whatsoever. A very safe beautiful place, wheelchair and Walker friendly. I have bought a membership for myself. And plan to use it liberally.
True. Important to be careful.
A three-way tie for first place:
1. Any redwood forest - THAT is a cathedral.
2. Old growth forests in the Smoky Mountains. Joyce Kilmer forest takes the prize.
3. Paris, early in the morning, before tourists are out and when small merchants are setting up and taking deliveries for the day. Any city is completely different at different times of day.
I also love those early hours when a city is waking up.
I am 77 - I live in Indiana directly across from downtown Louisville, Ky. I live 1 block from the river. I love walking along the river - even though it is paved. There is also a walking bridge that I enjoy walking over when it is not so hot. My daughter bought me a dog stroller so I can walk across the bridge when it gets cooler (dogs are not allowed on the bridge unless in a stroller or backpack). I walk Emi every morning - about 2 to 3 miles. When my grandmother was in her 90's she told me to never stop walking - she said if you do, you won;t be able to, So I walk every day :)
Good advice from your grandmother.
So true!
Mount Rainier National Park. I live 1-2 hours away (depending on which trailhead I’m going to), and the hiking there is fabulous. Not a lot for beginners, most trails have some elevation gain (it is a mountain after all!), but incredible views and scenery.
Wherever my dog likes to walk me….Central Park…Carl Schurz Park. She knows where the squirrels live.
I live in Peekskill, NY on the Hudson River. My City designed the river walk a few years ago, and I love to do the walk each morning- I can usually do 5 miles. The Hudson is not the ocean, but it’s wide, and has hills all around. There is such a calming effect water has upon the soul, and I always feel good when I return home. I take the Hudson Line train to Manhattan every Sunday and walk from Grand Central to my family who live on E 12th Street. Quite a different walk but enjoyable for different reasons. I love watching people, and enjoy seeing the many dog walkers out on Sunday morning. Walking is such a wonderful activity.
A walk in nature is always a gift, the silence accentuates the birds singing and the wind in the trees. Right now, I would like to be walking in Vienna, Austria. While the inner city is always fun, hopping on a street car, and looking for an interesting spot is so easy there, with so much history. An outdoor market catches your eye so off you go. The fruits and vegetables are all so tempting, I have to remind myself that I already have plans for dinner. The breads from the bakery are even more tempting, so I move on to a churchyard where Beethoven was originally buried. I always choose to go in winter as I like to experience winter. Living in California, winter can be wet we hope, but hardly ever cold.
I appreciate you asking as it brought back memories and makes me look forward to my next visit!
Happy to hear.
Drop me in a city and I’m home - nothing to do with courage but affinity. New York is home on every street. Midtown to lower east side, or up to the 80s. Down 42nd to the U.N. Then along the water. Or Athens where I’m fully home. Paris in winter.
I have never walked in London, Vienna, Prague or Berlin. I did walk in Mexico City where I was taken aback by beggers and soldiers with rifles in front of many buildings, thinking those things could never happen in my America. (a sarcastic Ha ) I pushed my baby in his stroller along Hudson Terrace in Fort Lee, NJ and saw the GW Bridge, but I always had to wash his little bald head when back to apartment as air was dirty. I liked walking through the Paramus, NJ malls. But best of all, I liked the walk home from high school. My dad gave me $2.25/week for school lunch and bus tokens. To have a nickle in my pocket, I saved on the tokens and walked home. The town - Bradford, PA, usually the coldest town in the state . There were two routes. One was past The Dresser Mansion built in 1903 at a cost then of a million dollars, 28 rooms, a ballroom,decor from Europe.A classmate of mine on occasion, walked that far with me, for his mother had married the then present Dresser, so he lived there. Dresser Industries was concerned with oil, gas pipelines, etc, (Bradford is oil country. Lots of wells screeching day and night in the surrounding area.) participated in supplies for WW II and also the Manhattan
Project. I am still in touch with him on occasion through Classmates. This way also passed by what everyone said was a 'red light" street. If some of us were out cruising, we would dare drive down it.
In the winter, I wore white rubber boots , and they rubbed so bad while walking, I had raw red rings
on each leg.
The other route went through Main Street past the stores, the diner, the library and the building where my dentist had an office on the second floor. Daddy bought a new car and would never drop me off below the office window thinking that the man would see the car and charge more. One day, the owner of the jewelry store came out and asked me if I was interested in an after school job. Of course. So I addressed envelopes containing advertisements to town residents. I saved my money for a pair of white leather roller skates the store also sold. The owner charged me full price. (eye roll!)
Which ever route I took, my dog was always waiting for me on the corner near my house. Somehow, dogs have an unexplainable awareness of time.
I live in what has been described as a dystopian hellhole called San Francisco. This city is built to walk. At only 7x7 miles it's definitely human scale. Yes we have plenty of diversity to keep things interesting.
My son and family live in SF, and I was so very angry with the guy who called it a hellhole. I love walking in SF, each area is so diverse and it’s like visiting several cities rather than one. No matter how many homeless are on the streets, SF is a special place for me. I used to run an agency in Westchester, NY for homeless families, so they don’t frighten me, and I try to chat with them when I meet them. They are simply people who have had bad luck, fallen on hard times, often have health issues and need help. But this country only sees poverty as some kind of sinfulness. We are all a paycheck, or a healthcare emergency away from being homeless, and must never forget that. I could go on, but that’s changing the topic of walking.
Favorite places
1: Aspen Maroon Bells trails after August when tourists head home
2: Kaua’i beaches and trails
Thank you
I love to walk at the Denver Botanic Gardens (or the Los Angeles Arboretum when I'm visiting my grandson in CA).
Muir Woods. Even when it's hot, it's cool under the redwoods. The fragrance is something between freshly sawn lumber and petrichor. ... The other place is any trail in the Pisgah Forest in North Carolina. The forest has, hands down, the sweetest, clearest air I've ever breathed.
My favorite way to see San Francisco, a city I have lived in or near since 1980, is via a swim in the beautiful Bay. I belong to a rowing and swim club at the iconic Aquatic Park where one can see the famous Ghirardelli Square, Coit Tower, and Pier 39 from the water which provides a majestic view while we swim among the seals and sea lions, tall ships (museum boats) and a view of Alcatraz to our north in the greater part of the Bay. It’s an exhilarating swim and a lovely view.
I live practically on the San Francisco Bay. One of my favorite walks is a 12 minute drive from my home to Palo Alto’s Baylands Nature Preserve. Migrating birds,resident shore birds and waterfowl, fish, deer, and an occasional bobcat or coyote may all be my companions as I breathe in the salt air and savor the vistas to the east and west. The distance roar of a jet readying to land at SFO reminds me that civilization is not too far away but still, I see only the nature surrounding me. I see the clouds in the sky, not the plane.
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads ~ Henry David Thoreau
I can't really walk anymore, at least not a nice long walk, so I'm envious of those who can. When I was younger, we used to go to NYC every year on the first weekend in December, just for the day. I LOVE New York at Christmas time! We'd spend the whole day strolling around Manhattan, maybe shopping in FAO Schwarz or Macy's, enjoying the sights, sounds, and people watching. In NH there's a park that used to be a zoo - Benson's Wild Animal Farm, I believe it was called - in Hudson, NH. They've made a beautiful walking park out of it. It's about an hour from our home and we've sometimes gone there in mid-morning or early afternoon and spent the rest of the day just strolling around there. Beyond that, Old Orchard Beach in Maine comes to mind. It's a great place to relax, stroll around, and unwind. Wish I were younger or in better shape so I could do those things again!
I also remember, when I was younger, walking around Manhattan. Watching the different people and seeing the different paces of urgency versus strolling of the different people. The different seasons creating a different feel. The smells of Manhattan also change. If I was eating in one of the restaurants I would like sitting by a window so I could continue to watch the people. I recently moved to Londonderry, NH and hear about all the “rail trails” and other trails. This summer has been unusual, either multiple days of rain or days of 90 degree temperatures. Very few normal days. Maybe one day...
If you're in Londonderry then the park in Hudson isn't far from you at all. I'd start there, because it's small enough to kind of get acquainted with the area, yet not boring at all. You're right about this summer! I've never seen one as rainy as this. OH before I forget, there's a wonderful walk along the shore called the Marginal Way, I believe it's in Ogunquit, ME. It's just gorgeous, but don't go on a really hot day. I made that mistake a few years ago myself, and I got heat exhaustion - nothing really serious, but it kind of ruined the whole day for me. Welcome to our neck of the woods, and enjoy!
Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve heard about Old Orchard Beach. I even got a book about it and a map outlining places. The boardwalk seems to be the place there. Sounds like lots of options.
Welcome to New Hampshire. I recommend trying Manchester's Dorr's Pond 1-mile-around-the-pond walk (Livingston Park). Nature, dog walkers (who usually let you pet their dogs), families airing out their children, ducks, a blue heron, a cormorant or two, and water lilies.
I’ll submit 3 - first is in my neighborhood, it’s a lovely walk about 45 minutes includes a creek with visiting egrets, ducks. I have watched the new ducklings learn to swim and grow up and leave for many years. Second: Chicago - walking from the Lincoln Park area through Old Town and Rush Street, Michigan Avenue across the river to downtown, the Art Institute. Third: a walking trail in Tiburon in the North Bay Area - the trail is an old railroad track. It goes along the bay with spectacular views of Mt. Tam, the Golden Gate Bridge, the wondrous fog and if you go far enough, San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. There are ground squirrels, birds, pelicans, boats of all kinds. We love to walk out to a bench under a tree and just watch it all with wonder. It reminds me each time of the first time I visited the Bay Area. Seeing the beauty of the bay, ocean, bridges, mountains was just overwhelming. 2 years later, my family moved here and I am still in awe of the natural beauty.
I most frequently walk or run along the Los Angeles river (many sections are public parks), but my favorite is to walk or hike up off Mulholland Drive, which has some of the best views in the city, and very beautiful sunsets.
I walk two to three miles nearly every day in my winding, hilly neighborhood, marveling at hummingbirds, coyotes, bobcats, and occasionally Gila Monsters. But one of the best city walks I will always treasure was on my first solo trip to London, a few months post 9-11. From the Princes' Quadrangle (cheap hotels) on the West End through Nob Hill to some street with an Arabic newsstand next to an Italian coffee shop next to a French patisserie...I'd buy the London Times and USA Today, a chocolate croissant, and a large Amalfi coffee then sit to watch the parade of uniformed schoolchildren, business people, and tourists wander past. On the return to my hotel, I'd traverse the length of Hyde Park along the pond to a gate opening on the street to the Quad. It felt so terribly civilized and structured, a sense of sanity in an unsettled time.
Thank you, Steven, for encouraging us all to get out and experience what's around us, wherever we are.
Thanks for sharing your memory, Jude.
I love walking in the foothills. Placer County is beautiful! ❤️
We just got an off grid cabin, for the summers, in the mountains in NY. Forty acres bordering a state forest on three sides. We have been walking the dogs twice a day and making new trails along the way. Once a week we try and do parts of the Finger Lakes Trail, and picnic along the way. In the winter months we do our SE Georgia small town walks, while picking up litter and staying in shape. It’s nice to be outside and a great bonding experience for our “pack”.
I’ll take a day in nature anytime. It’s very therapeutic.
I like walks involving food and wine. Did a guided walk recently (Devour tours) in the city of Bordeaux where we walked with a small group of strangers to visit historic sites in the old part of the city, and small shops stopping to talk with the proprietors and sample their specialties including, pastries, cheese, chocolate and wines. I also like the walk from my cabin on a cruise ship to a fabulous restaurant where I am served food that I didn't have to cook for a change.
In the past, however, I loved to walk in the desert that was behind my house in Arizona. Always on the lookout for the resident “shoulder-less” critters, of course.
I live near Mount Vernon - George Washington’s home in Virginia. I love to take my dogs walking there & sit on the Piazza to see the Potomac River unobstructed like it was in his day. Nearby are many local river walks that are like outbound adventures where the dogs navigate the fallen trees and wildflowers abound as you follow the river’s edge.
Mount Vernon is very beautiful; George chose well.
A secluded beach.
Florence.
A mile of empty beach near our home on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.
I was born and raised in NYC where I spent most of my adult life with a few cities thrown in between - Philadelphia, Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Old Town Alexandria, VA. I too have strolled the streets and mews and hidden enclaves of NYC delighting in hidden places like Pomander Walk at 95th and Broadway. I was surprised and delighted at the charming Country Club Plaza in Kansas City with its Spanish architecture and beautiful fountains. And I now live in beautiful upstate NY on the border of the Berkshires where I walk every day up hills and through fields beautiful as a National Park in all (dry) weather. But the place I loved to walk the most - and walk I did constantly for the five years I lived there - was Old Town, with its historic significance, interesting houses, nooks and crannies, and the Potomac riverfront. I encourage everyone who has not been there to visit and then drive up the Potomac Parkway to Mt. Vernon and visit the home of our first venerable president, George Washington. Thank you for giving me this respite from the news to reflect on the beauty and delights of my country, which I love so much.
My pleasure. I think we all need such respites.
When I lived in NYC I walked all the time. It was always a pleasure to see a new shop or restaurant.
Now I live in the suburbs and walk in beautiful state parks for long hikes.
When I travel I walk every where I can.
I grew up in a state with lots of water and woods and green trees, and moving to Dallas-Fort Worth was a radical change. I did find a nature trail that is challenging and the trees grow close to the dirt trails and there are roots to climb over and up and down paths to hike. I prefer that to the typical city "nature trail" that is often paved, or so wide you don't feel enveloped by the trees, and often smooth enough for bicycles -- that is just not the same experience. But the nature preserve of Cedar Ridge borders an escarpment and is a preserve, not a park.
Of course, nothing compares to hiking in the Redwoods. Even San Francisco Muir Woods -- I was delighted to discover the Ocean Trail and Lost Trail -- it's not all the paved for tourists main loop.
Alas, degenerative spine and arthritis has ended my hiking days for the last five years and as much as I yearn to give those a try again, I don't think I could really make it. Gone, too, are hours in presidential museums and the Smithsonians of Washington DC.
But woods -- trails that are narrow, single file, and rugged, not tamed -- that's my sense of peace, safety, aloneness.
I enjoy walking my dogs throughout my North Tacoma neighborhoods and on the waterfront.
I am partial to the natural world. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Now, I am just as happy walking in woods in my Connecticut shoreline community. I lead hikes for groups and the overwhelming majority of the hikers I attract are middle-aged to elderly women. Would love to know where the menfolk are. I'm 71 and many of my hikers are of a similar age. I'd say all are over 50.
Salt Fork State Park in Ohio....love it.
My favorite walks were in Sequoia National Park. An 80 degree summer day turned into 70 degrees among the great trees, and you could walk 2 miles without seeing another human. Not as spectacular as Yosemite, but a much more tranquil experience.
We walk almost every morning for fitness, but our true love is walking in a city and getting a sense of the place. Even if it is a city we know well, we'll still get out and walk. We typically do 10-13 miles a day when we're on vacation. Boston, New York, London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Buenos Aires are all favorites!
I like walking in a forest preserve or a park. No cities for me, please. Too peoply. When I lived in Tucson, my favorite thing to do was hike the Tanque Verde trail. The saguaro cacti’s were huge, and there were mountains everywhere.
Wonderful trails all around Tucson. Pima Canyon is lovely, too, for very few people and lots of wildlife you don't see in other parts of the Catalinas. Actually saw a wild turkey, bighorn sheep, and a Swainson's hawk all in one day there. Come back to visit when the heat wave ends in November. LOL
I’d love to!!
Getting lost visiting a city is great fun and sense of adventure. Thanks for reminding me.
Best place to wander and get lost is Venice, Italy!
I’m going to put Venice on a new list.
Right now, I can only walk a short distance around my neighborhood. My dog is a slow senior pup AND it is brutally HOT here in NE FL.
Parley's Canyon Trail in SLC is a beautiful place to take a long walk. 🚶
I moved to NYC in 1979. Back then, I would go down to Wall St to stroll around because it was completely deserted.
My wife and I did virtually the kind of walking tours you describe every trip we took to Rome. We enjoyed every moment of discovery (walking through remnants of the 4th century Servian Wall on our way for a morning coffee was one such moment). We opened every church door we passed and enjoyed the art and architecture of each building. We paused, listened, watched and tried to gain a “sense of place” as we walked about. Every step led us to a new “find”. Thank you for sharing your discoveries in NYC. Maybe we can “follow in your footsteps” if we get a chance.
The Riverwalk in San Antonio, tunnels under downtown Houston, canal banks in east Phoenix,
the hike up Camelback mountain-but ONLY in cool weather, Tucson Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum,
The Drag in Austin, Mogollon Rim in northern AZ, many trails around spectacular Sedona, Pacific Beach in San Diego, anywhere in La Jolla, French Quarter in New Orleans (preferably close to where you can get a beignet sprinkled with powdered sugar) Torrey Pines State Park just outside La Jolla, the Malecon along the ocean in Puerto Vallarta and the Grand Canyon-but only if your hip joints are in good shape for the walk back up the trail.
Oops, I forgot Bouchard Gardens outside Vancouver,
Canada.
My wife and I walk to the next neighborhood, ours is a dead end in 2 blocks. We cross the busy road and walk the much longer loop in the other Summerville subdivision. We are now recognized and stop to say hello to those kind people. There is a gentleman that we often see also walking, whom we have found to be a USN veteran and he stops at each house displaying the US flag and salutes that house. Our walks do get interrupted but the pleasant conversations are delightful and give us two octogenarians a brief rest.
I walk every day. In a nearby park, on the rail trail, in my neighborhood. I love the chance to walk in cities we visit or on trails through woods. My all time favorite place to walk, however, is on the pedestrian path which winds through woods and sheep filled fields on Lidingö (outside Stockholm in Sweden) where my grandparents lived. Magic.
I live in L.A. and the Santa Monica mountains are a beautiful place to hike, but I am french, originally, and for Easter my parents when I was a child used to go to le Pyla, near Bordeaux. We would walk in that incredible forest of Les Landes, which is sand and tall pine trees, similar to Monterey pines.
The forest goes along the Atlantic coast down to Spain frontier. Incredibly beautiful. To protect it from fires there are wide cuttings alleys where the brooms planted themselves so you would walk these sand paths among pines and come to these wide open spaces at Easter with yellow brooms flowering... incredible memories.
Forest trails in the Pacific Northwest bring joy and comfort as I am enveloped in the lush greenery of giant trees covered with moss and paths lined with ferns and native plants and grasses. It is a blast for all the senses and a peaceful way to challenge myself with a good uphill climb to an eventual majestic view. The experience recharges my soul.
Oh, Goody. It's time for Steven's Saturday Sing-along again.
As an ardent admirer of Bruce Chatwin's writing, I've thought a lot about walking and about the role of walking in the fundamental underpinnings of human consciousness. After all, we kinda became humans when we stood up (Homo erectus ... no jokes , please.) and, no longer on all fours, realized we could use our front feet to gather, hunt, use tools .... and lamentably, fight. Walking on dirt connects us to Mother Earth in a deep, even spiritual way. Go take a long walk in the forest or on a mountain trail and after a while you'll see what I mean. Every backpacker knows the feeling. There's a spiritual reason that pilgrims on their way to Mecca or walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain don't use bikes and skateboards.
I grew up walking in wilderness regularly. My Dad was a photographer for the National Park Service, assigned to the Four Corners region. We lived in Santa Fe (still my spiritual home and my favorite place to walk) but spent days, weeks, occasionally months at a time in residence at one of the National Parks or Monuments. I once lived for almost 3 months in Grand Canyon Village, on the south rim. It was the early 1950's. There wasn't an interstate highway system yet, so tourism hadn't become a thing. It was a little hard to get there. Route 66 was mostly a two lane highway, and if you braved the Mojave Desert (without car A/C in them days) heading east toward Flagstaff from California through Baker, Kingman, and Williams, or struck out from Albuquerque, trying to get around one slow truck after another for 300 miles to fetch up in Flagstaff before dark, you still had to stay there overnight and then make your way up through Kaibab National Forest to the Canyon the next day. There weren't any crowd.s You REALLY had to want to go there to get there. It was a peaceful place, and I had the run of it. No one cared where I was between dawn and dark. Being young and unafraid, I'd lope down the trail as far as Havasupai and get back in time for dinner. It was like being Huck Finn but without water.
I had a similar relationship to Cañon de Chelly, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Arches, Zion, and Bryce. A kid on the loose in red rock country, back of beyond, armed with an imagination honed by the Westerns I saw at the Lensic Movie Theater in Santa Fe every Saturday when I was at home.
Walking in Red Rock country is still church to me. I always enjoyed a nice stroll along the sidewalks of the cities I've lived in since those halcyon days: New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis. Not San Diego or LA, so much, where everyone drives everywhere. Now I live in Portland, Oregon, lucky enough to have a half-mile nature trail that starts right out my back door. But it's asphalt.
I'm going home next month and I'll walk the serpentine streets of Santa Fe every day. Few streets run for more than 100 yards in the same direction. Paseo de Peralta, a major downtown connector, runs in an almost complete circle. There's an old joke that the streets were laid out by a drunk Mexican on a blind donkey. (DEI Advisory: The majority of Santa Fe's population in those days was Hispanic. The Governor, Mayor, and most city officials were Hispanic. My Dad's best friend, the Chief of Police, was Mexican. Most of my friends and schoolmates were Mexican. The joke was almost certainly invented in the Mexican community where I feel sure I first heard it. So don't anyone get all huffy on me about racial stereotyping !)
I'll walk all day, every day, soaking up the aromas (it's chile harvest season and they'll be being roasted everywhere), and feeling the dirt under my feet, surrounded by the dirt baked into the adobe walls that surround every courtyard.
I'll be walking through my past ... and hoping it's not my farewell tour.