Saturday's Weather Forecast: Perfect For A Walk

Looks like another great day for a walk! According to the Saturday forecast, it will be a pleasant day for The Great Los Angeles Walk, with a high of 75 degrees, and 0% chance of rain. It will be sunny, however, so bring a hat and sunscreen! Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for more info!

Great LA Walk In The News: NBC4, LA Daily News, New York Times All Give Shout-Outs!

Thanks to all the great media coverage over the past few days, we're getting the word out about the Great LA Walk! Among the highlights:

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.

Plan Check Santa Monica Is Our After-Walk Gathering Spot!

What do you do after walking all day to the ocean? Celebrate over food and beverages!

After meeting at the end of the walk and taking some pictures (and perhaps viewing an awesome sunset), we'll be heading to Plan Check's Santa Monica location (1401 Ocean) to celebrate! (I wish I had the money to pay for all of us, but alas, you're on your own with covering your food/drink.)

If you're not familiar with Plan Check:

"Plan Check Kitchen + Bar has multiple neighborhood restaurants located in Los Angeles, serving modern American comfort food in a small plate format along with unique cocktails, premium whiskeys and craft beers. Plan Check Kitchen + Bar is also the home of Ketchup Leather™. This innovative square of deliciousness makes the Plan Check signature burger unique--not only does it add great flavor, it also prevents the burger buns from getting soggy! One might never think about ketchup the same way again."

See you on Saturday!

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2017 Press Release

THE 12th ANNUAL GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK HITS BEVERLY BOULEVARD AND MORE, FROM DOWNTOWN TO THE OCEAN ON NOV. 18

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 9, 2017) -- Hundreds of Angelenos will hit the sidewalks on Saturday, November 18 for The Great Los Angeles Walk 2017 – the annual event that dispels the myth that “nobody walks in L.A.”

This year, for the twelfth edition, the Great Los Angeles Walk (http://www.greatlawalk.com) is traversing one of the city's oldest boulevards: Beverly!

Participants will meet at the courtyard in front of the Japanese American National Museum, in downtown Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.

From there, Walkers will walk down 1st Street, and pass by downtown's Civic Center (including Grand Park and City Hall), Walt Disney Concert Hall; the street then turns into Beverly Blvd., and from there, Walkers will pass through Historic Filipinotown, Rampart Village, Koreatown, the Original Tommy's location, Fairfax/La Brea, Pan Pacific Park, CBS Television City, Beverly Grove, the Beverly Center, West Hollywood and Cedars-Sinai. In Beverly Hills, Beverly Boulevard ends, and the Walk will switch to Santa Monica Blvd. to the ocean.

The Great Los Angeles Walk will conclude with an after party in Santa Monica at a location to be announced later. Walkers will be encouraged to utilize Metro buses and its Expo Line, which offers public transportation at the finish of the walk back to downtown.

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; and in 2016, it returned to Pico.

The Great Los Angeles Walk grew from dozens of participants to hundreds, and continues to expand each year 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 the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. Weekly, 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 hashtag of The Great Los Angeles Walk is #glaw. Social media users can follow along all day on the walk's official Twitter feed, @greatlawalk, as we continually post our location.

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The Great Los Angeles Walk 2017 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

[Click on map for closer view]

OK, you know the drill by now: Is walking 17 miles even humanly possible? (When you're taking your time on an all-day leisurely stroll, sure!) "Can I bike it? (Yes!) Take the Metro? (Of course!) Bring a dog? (Sure!) Quit half way through? (Whatever you want!) Are you personally driving me back to my car? (Well, no.)

Here it is, the unofficial Frequently Asked Questions roundup for the GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK 2017! (This will be updated with new information as it comes available!)

1. WHEN/WHERE? Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 -- the Saturday before Thanksgiving, like we do every year. We're meeting in the Japanese American National Museum courtyard.

Feel free to get there early and grab breakfast (there's plenty of great spots in Little Tokyo). At 9 am we'll gather for a pep talk and some info about the day. Then, we're off, some time after 9 am! THE WALK HAPPENS, RAIN OR SHINE! (We had light rain one year, but it cleared up by mid day.)

Also: there are no restroom facilities available at the start point, as the museum doesn't open until 11. So make sure you do what you gotta do before you arrive.

2. WHO? We're expecting 300 or so urban hikers this year. We're taking RSVPs at greatlawalk(at)mail(dot)com (yes, "mail," not "gmail") and on Facebook, but RSVPs are not necessary. We'll take anyone who shows up too!

3. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? C'mon, it's completely free! But you're on your own when it comes to lunch, dinner, water, etc. So don't forget to plan accordingly.

4. WHAT'S THE PATH? From the Japanese American National Museum, we'll make our way down 1st, through downtown, to where it morphs into Beverly Blvd. Then we'll stroll down Beverly -- through East Hollywood, Hollywood, the Fairfax District, and Beverly Hills  until we get to the end, at Santa Monica Boulevard. Then we hike down Santa Monica Blvd. to the ocean.

After hitting the ocean and taking celebratory photos, we'll then celebrate nearby at an after party (Location TBD).

We strictly walk down sidewalks. As for bathroom breaks along the way, it's up to you to find businesses that will let you go. Coffee shops like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean are usually pretty good for that.

5. WHAT IF I CAN'T GET THERE THAT EARLY, OR DON'T WANT TO START THAT FAR WEST? Just wait for us somewhere on the path and join in once we pass by. Several hikers will be Twittering as well -- including us, at @greatlawalk. Check one of those Twitter accounts to figure out where we are.

6. WHAT DO WE DO ALONG THE WAY? Explore! The whole excitement of exploring L.A. by foot is to get up close and personal with sites you might normally miss while cruising down the street in your car. And there's a lot to see this year, as downtown we pass through Little Tokyo, the L.A. Times building, City Hall and more; later, on Beverly, we'll see the Original Tommy's, CBS Television City, Cedars-Sinai and much more. Beverly is one of the oldest boulevards in Los Angeles.

6. HOW LONG IS THE HIKE? Around 17 miles.

IMPORTANT: This is not a race. Sure, you can sprint all the way to the end, but where's the fun in that? There's no prize for who gets there first. Instead, take a breath, and join the bulk of us as we leisurely stroll toward the end and stop frequently to take in the sights.

7. WHEN WILL WE GET TO THE END? With so many hikers, people will eventually start to space out. Impatient, faster walkers might get there soon after lunch. But the bulk of the walkers will get there around 4.

8. CAN WE BIKE IT? BRING KIDS? PETS? Because you're walking on your own accord -- remember, this is an unofficial gathering of passionate Angelenos walking the streets of their favorite city -- you can do whatever you want. Use your best judgement, of course. We're not responsible for you.

9. WHAT ABOUT INJURIES? Again, there is no infrastructure to our Walk, so you need to take care of yourself just like you would whenever you walk anywhere. Be careful, stay safe and stick with a group of walkers!

10. WHAT ABOUT LUNCH? We'll be taking a lunch break -- probably around an hour or so -- around the halfway point. 

11. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WALK IS DONE? We'll take group photos at the end... and then celebrate by grabbing food and drinks between 4 and 8 pm at a location TBD.

12. HOW DO I GET THERE, OR GET HOME? Either plan with a friend and get to Santa Monica early morning, parking one car, then carpool to downtown (where you'll park the other car). OR: Park at downtown, walk to Santa Monica, then eventually take Metro back to downtown. OR: Park at Santa Monica at 7 a.m., allowing yourself enough time to board a Metro bus to downtown. Traffic's light that time of morning, so the bus ride is relatively quick. And that way, when you arrive in Santa Monica, your car is waiting for you. Check out LA Metro for bus or train times!

13. WHAT SHOULD I WEAR/BRING? Loose, comfy clothing. I'd wear shorts, a t-shirt (and perhaps a sweatshirt, depending on the temperature). Also, tennis shoes... sunglasses... a hat... sunscreen... extra socks... a blister kit (optional, of course -- I haven't brought one, although Band-Aids  are a good idea)... and most importantly, a camera! We'll all be documenting it and posting pics later.

14. HOW CAN I GET A T-SHIRT? T-shirts are now for sale at http://greatlawalk.spreadshirt.com (we don't make any money off of these). But order fast, in order get the shirts in time for the Walk.

15. HOW SHOULD I TRAIN FOR THIS? It's not a marathon, so training isn't really necessary. I suppose you could walk around your neighborhood in the days before hand... but I'd avoid any big gym routine the day before, so you're not sore the day you're hiking. But other than that... I didn't train at all for any of the previous nine walks, and have turned out just fine.

16. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Why not? There's no special reason, no charity, no protest, no issue we're promoting -- other than a passion for Los Angeles. In 2006, I organized our walk down Wilshire to mark my 10th anniversary in Los Angeles. But it was so much fun, and it was a chance to meet so many new people, that we did it again in 2007, down Pico; in 2008, via Sunset and Santa Monica Blvd.; and in 2009, we hit West Adams as we walked down Adams and Washington to Venice Beach. In 2010, we returned to Wilshire for the fifth walk; in 2011, we hit Hollywood; in 2012, it was Melrose's turn; in 2013, it was all about Sunset Boulevard; in 2014, we hit the Valley via Ventura Boulevard; in 2015, it was Olympic Boulevard; and in 2016, we returned to Pico.

It's the Saturday before Thanksgiving as well, so somehow I don't feel as bad gorging on sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie a few days later. And hey, it'll be a cool conversation piece at your holiday party.

17. CAN I SEND IN PHOTOS? READ A RECAP LATER? Of course! We'll have an official GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK 2017 page on Flickr for you to upload your pics. And check out www.greatlawalk.com the Monday after the Walk to read a full recap! Send us links to your own recaps, YouTube videos, etc.

18. IMPORTANT: You are walking on your own volition. The Great Los Angeles Walk is just a casual opportunity to walk with other Angelenos through the city. It's not an official organization of any sort -- and is therefore not responsible for your conduct or anything that may happen during your hike. Be careful, and be respectful of others and of your city.

We've Got a Meeting Place: The Japanese American National Museum!

Every year we try to find a special landmark or location to kick off the Great Los Angeles Walk — and this year we're excited to gather in the courtyard in front of the Japanese American National Museum.

Located at 100 N Central Ave, the museum faces 1st Street (between Central and Alameda). From there, 1st Street passes through Little Tokyo, the Civic Center (including City Hall, the Los Angeles Times building and more) before it morphs into Beverly Blvd. just west of downtown.

There's plenty of spots to grab an early breakfast in the area before joining us, and the location is also next to a Metro Gold Line stop.  Make sure to gather by 9 a.m. in the courtyard on Nov. 18. (There are no restroom facilities available, except perhaps at nearby businesses.)

Here's some back story on the museum:

The mission of the Japanese American National Museum is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience.

We share the story of Japanese Americans because we honor our nation’s diversity. We believe in the importance of remembering our history to better guard against the prejudice that threatens liberty and equality in a democratic society. We strive as a world-class museum to provide a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture.

We promote continual exploration of the meaning and value of ethnicity in our country through programs that preserve individual dignity, strengthen our communities, and increase respect among all people. We believe that our work will transform lives, create a more just America and, ultimately, a better world.

We'll see you on Saturday, November 18! Feel free to hit us up with questions, and don't forget to buy a shirt!

Great Los Angeles Walk 2017 T-Shirts Are Now Available!

Get your shirt now in order for it to arrive before this year's Walk! Wear it proudly on November 18 -- and show everyone that, yep, you spent all day walking down Beverly Boulevard! Click below for the T-shirts... which this year comes in a cool gold hue, with purple lettering! (Yes, a bit Lakers-esque.)

We've just posted a whole bunch of t-shirts at Spreadshirt, including choices for men, women and kids. We don't make any money on these; it's just to get everyone in the spirit. Go here: greatlawalk.spreadshirt.com.

Meanwhile, keep up with info about this year's GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK down Beverly via our website (www.greatlawalk.com) or our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/greatlawalk). And RSVP at our email (greatlawalk@mail.com)!