The Great Los Angeles Walk 2023 Official Press Release Has Been Sent!

THE 18th ANNUAL GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK KICKS OFF — AND ENDS — AT GRIFFITH PARK, TRAVELING UP AND DOWN FAIRFAX AND WESTERN AVENUES FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON NOV. 18

 

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 6, 2023) -- Hundreds of Angelenos will hit the sidewalks once again on Saturday, November 18, for The Great Los Angeles Walk 2023 – the annual event (always held the Saturday before Thanksgiving) that dispels the myth that “nobody walks in L.A.” 

 

After years of mostly east-to-west journeys, this year’s Great Los Angeles Walk (http://www.greatlawalk.com)  will feature a number of firsts for the event. The 2023 Walk will begin and end in Griffith Park — the first time L.A.’s major park is included in the Walk, as well as the first time the Walk has started and ended in the same place.

 

This year’s Walk will meet at the Griffith Park bear statue (5413 Los Feliz Blvd.) at 9 a.m. on Nov. 18, and then head down to Franklin Ave., where we’ll head west toward Hollywood (and past Highland) to the end, at Wattles Mansion and Garden Park, a little past Runyon Canyon. From there, we’ll take Curson to Hollywood Blvd. and continue to Fairfax Ave.

 

That’s where we’ll turn and take Fairfax Ave. for the first time. Walkers will pass iconic businesses like Canter’s Deli, as well as Television City, The Grove, the Farmers Market, the Academy Museum, the Petersen Auto Museum, the Little Ethiopia restaurants and more. 

 

At Pico, we will head east to Western. And then, we walk back north, up Western, past El Cholo restaurant (celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year) and through the heart of Koreatown. We’ll keep walking north, until we make it back to the Griffith Park bear.

 

All told, this year’s Walk will clock a little under 15 miles. Attendees will be encouraged to explore the city in a safe way, and follow proper safety protocols. From there, they will explore the city, document what they see and share that experience with others. It’s not a race – attendees are encourage to take their time, explore, learn about their city and even build community with others. The Walk will end with a celebration at a venue to be announced later.

 

L.A. journalist and blogger Michael Schneider launched the Great Los Angeles Walk in 2006 as a way to celebrate his tenth year in Los Angeles. Inspired by the book “Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles,” by Kevin Roderick (with research by J. Eric Lynxwiler), he decided to walk the street’s entire length. 

 

In 2007, for an encore, he chose another downtown-to-the-ocean route: Pico Boulevard. The 2008 Walk took on Santa Monica Blvd. In 2009, the event kicked off in the historic West Adams district and walked to Venice Beach via Adams and Washington. In 2010, for its fifth edition, the Great Los Angeles Walk reprised its original Wilshire journey. In 2011, participants marched to the ocean via Hollywood Boulevard. In 2012, the Walk traveled across Melrose Avenue; in 2013, Sunset Boulevard; in 2014, the Walk traveled across the San Fernando Valley via Ventura Boulevard; in 2015, the Walk took on Olympic Boulevard. 

 

In 2016, the Walk returned to Pico; in 2017, it tackled Beverly Boulevard; in 2018, in honor of Jonathan Gold, we walked on 6th Street, including through Koreatown; in 2019, we walked down Colorado Blvd. from Arcadia and Pasadena, and then through Highland Park to downtown via Figueroa; in 2020, the socially distanced edition returned to Wilshire; in 2021, the event retraced the steps of L.A.’s first settlers (Los Pobladores) from San Gabriel Mission to downtown; and in 2022, it once again explored West Adams on the way to Venice.

 

The Great Los Angeles Walk grew from dozens of participants to hundreds, and continues to expand each year – always the Saturday before Thanksgiving -- as more Angelenos join in to explore their city on foot.

 

As always, the Walk is completely free. It is up to the participants to decide how much or how little of the walk they want to do. The Great Los Angeles Walk has been featured in Los Angeles magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. Weekly, KCAL-Channel 9, KABC-Channel 7, LAist.com and KNBC.com. In 2012, the LA Weekly recognized The Great Los Angeles Walk in its "Best of L.A." issue. More recently, the Walk was included in the book "The Best Things to Do In Los Angeles: 1001 Ideas" by Joy Yoon. 

 

The official hashtags of The Great Los Angeles Walk are #greatlawalk and #glaw. Social media users can follow along all day on the walk's official Instagram feed, @greatlawalk, as we continually post our location.