NBC4: City Trekkers Wanted: Free Great LA Walk
Alysia Gray Painter writes: Now sauntering into its 12th year, the free-to-join walk, which takes on a (mostly) single street in Los Angeles, was founded by Mike Schneider of the blog Franklin Avenue.
Mr. Schneider wanted a lively way to head into Thanksgiving week, and a perfect way for LA-loving locals to meet, and a solid way to see the city on foot (a pastime that's not always pursued in our car-focused megalopolis).
The result? A day-long walk from downtown-ish to the ocean.
While past years have covered Wilshire and Pico Boulevards as well as other famous byways, it's ultra Beverly in 2017, as well as a few other streets. The outing will start on 1st Street, at the Japanese-American National Museum, and then it shall head west, joining up with Beverly and, later on, Santa Monica Boulevard, which will eventually lead to the ocean.
Los Angeles Daily News: 12 places to stop along the free Great Los Angeles Walk
Richard Guzman writes: For the past 12 years on the weekend before Thanksgiving, Michael Schneider goes on a walk with a few friends.
But this isn’t just a little stroll through his neighborhood. And he’s joined by more than just a few friends.
The Glendale resident is the organizer of The Great Los Angeles Walk, an annual event where hundreds of people gather at a spot in downtown L.A just to go for a walk through their city, albeit a very long walk.
“I think a lot of it is this sense of community. For one day, you’re walking with a bunch of strangers, but you’re all sort of in it together and you’re doing something unique and different,” said Schneider, reflecting on the appeal of the event.
Each year, the walk begins from a different spot downtown and heads down a chosen street all the way to the beach in Santa Monica.
New York Times' California Today newsletter: The Great Los Angeles Walk
The newspaper writes: The Great Los Angeles Walk lets people see the city from a different vantage point. Sometimes that means the mundane, like an unexplored shop, and sometimes the memorable: the Lakers icon Magic Johnson, the aftermath of a crane collapse, and lots and lots of weddings.
The horde of walkers itself, however, may be the most jarring sight in a sprawling city known for its traffic.
“Every year we manage to surprise people,” said Michael Schneider, the walk’s founder and organizer, “because they don’t expect to see an army of Angelenos walking down the street. It shocks some people, but it inspires others.”
About 40 people participated in the first walk, along Wilshire Boulevard in 2006. Melrose Avenue and a bevy of boulevards — Pico, Sunset, West Adams, Hollywood, Ventura and Olympic — have been explored since.
This year’s 17-mile walk will travel along Beverly, one of the city’s oldest boulevards, for the first time. An expected crowd of several hundred people will begin at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with plans to reach Santa Monica State Beach by sunset. Along the way, walkers will amble past City Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and CBS Television City.
Time Out Los Angeles: The Great Los Angeles Walk
The site writes: Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Great Los Angeles Walk debunks all of those cliches about walking in L.A. Hundreds of walkers start the free urban hike on one side of the city and, nine hours and 17 miles later, end up at the other. You can hop on or off the walk whenever you'd like, and though no reservations are required, RSVPs are appreciated.
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