FreeWalkers welcomes in 2023 with new events,new leaders and new locations to explore - hope you will join us. Check out our 2023 calendar — January and February events are posted and more are on the way. Keep checking in there.
We're entering our 13th year and growing fast. We have a new chapter, FreeWalkers DMV, short for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia., led by Katey Lazarchik and Sarah Abedin. And thank you to these walk leaders: Victor Orlov for leading the Manasquan/Allair
A heart-felt thank you to all who joined us in Alexandria, VA. It was an incredible weekend! This event was a combined fundraiser for both FreeWalkers and the East Coast Greenway Alliance. We raised over $2,000 and will donate $1,000 to support the organization’s mission in appreciation of their support over the past ten years.
We look forward to a continued partnership with ECGA, helping to motivate more people to walk from Florida to Maine. For more information visit: greenway.org.
WHAT'S
MAPLEWOOD, NJ – FreeWalkers, a long-distance walking group based in New Jersey, is hosting a special spring weekend of walking up to 38 miles on the East Coast Greenway. Thetwo-day scenic event will start in College Park, MD, and take walkers on local trails, through theheart of Washington, D.C., and to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia.
Click here to sign up on Eventbrite
"We are excited to meet new people, and reconnect with friends from our previous walks,”FreeWalkers Presi
FreeWalkers is not your typical walking organization. It is unique in many ways. We want you to know what to expect when you choose to walk with us. I hope the answers to the FAQs below will help you prepare and enjoy our walks.
FreeWalkers FAQs:
How far do we typically walk?
Walks vary anywhere from 5 to 50+ miles in one day with most in the 10-30 mile range. Our walks are designed to be interesting and enjoyable and often times challenging, but not competitive. Walking long distances does req
UNION COUNTY, NJ — By accepting a $100,000 grant to support a Rails-to-Trails Feasibility study, the county has taken a first step toward turning a 3.52-mile railroad track between Cranford and Elizabeth into a bike and pedestrian trail.
The Empire State Trail is a grand concept of walking from the Battery in NYC to Canada. It's a sideways-T-shaped trail network -- a 750-mile ribbon unfurling over 130 municipalities in 27 different counties -- will be the longest multi-use recreational trail in the US. Keep that in your back pocket for the next time somebody comes at you with complaints about New York's estrangement from nature. The project is on track for a grand opening in 2020, but much of the work on the EST’s branch from Al
Each year around this time the FreeWalkers take on the always interesting borough of Brooklyn. Its an area steep in history and legend that is always changing and showing some of the best reasons its become a destination for tourists and walking pilgrims.
This year FreeWalker Nancy Jonap guided about 40 of us us on a 12 mile walk with many interesting stops including sections of Brooklyn like Dumbo, Red Hook, Gwanus and Sunset Park. Stops at chocolate, whiskey, wine, beer and other vendors in In
On Saturday November 17, as part of National Take a Hike Day, FreeWalkers is challenging its members to hike 1,000 miles that day. We have events at 5 locations:
You read right, we are expanding out of our normal MidAtlantic area with events in the low country of South Carolina and the Bay Area in Californ
Walking in the Arctic: My Trip in a Nutshell
By Adriane Berg
When you think of the Arctic Circle you may not imagine an ideal place to walk. But, it can be in the summer and even more fascinating in the winter (especially with a husky at your side.)
Our trip (my husband and I) took over one month. This description is much compressed and features only the walks. What it proves is that walking can be part of any journey. Whether a dedicated trek or intermittent day walks, the rewards are infinite.
My
“I know a lot of doctors who can cure you,” said my co-worker when I told him the distance I was planning to walk.
At 12:30 am on Saturday, September 8, there were nine of us in Easton, PA. The night before, some of us had slept very little and some not at all. Perhaps we were all excited but also a bit nervous. After all, what we were about to do was not going to be just a walk around the block. Most of us had never walked 62 miles in one day. In fact, this was maybe the first time that anyone
Records are made to be broken. And, what better example of a walking/hiking feat than to top the time record to hike the Appalachian Trail. Belgian dentist Karel Sabbe now holds the Appalachian Trail (AT) speed record for with a supported hike of 41 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes.
Karel Sabbe crossed the trailhead at Mt. Katahdin in August, completing the 2,189-mile AT faster than anyone before him.The previous record of 45 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes, set by Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy in 2017, stil
Each summer for the past six years, NY Times reporter Nicholas Kristof has hiked sectons of the Pacific Crest Trail. This year they completed their final segment. Read about his adventure and the benefits of planning a family hiking adventure.
NY Times Opinion section - "Six Years, Four Feet, 2,650 Miles"
A few yards away from the banks of the Delaware River in Trenton’s Stacy Park is a bridge so short it hardly serves a purpose. But don’t judge the bridge’s merit by its size. It’s the work of John A. Roebling, the civil engineer who built the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. This little New Jersey bridge was built by Roebling as part of a demonstration project in the 19th century and later gifted to Trenton. It’s said that the structure is modeled on his Niagara Falls Bridge. Named lately as the “Shaky B
If you think walking 40 or 50 miles is a scary proposition, read about a very strange event inspired by Stephen King's psychological horror novel "The Long Walk." First published in 1979, Long Walk is set in a future dystopian America ruled by an authoritarian. The country holds an annual walking contest in which 100 teens must journey, non-stop and under strict rules, until only one of them is still standing alive to receive the prize. A film of the novel is now in production by New Line Cinema
Long walks can improve moods and reduce anxiety, but the benefits may be greatest if the walks take place outdoors rather than in a gym, Many different aspects of exercise are thought to affect how much we like working out. But in general, most experts agree that a workout’s intensity and its duration have the greatest influence on our feelings about it.
In one study, walking had been “more pleasurable” than not walking, even though the walks’ duration had been long. And, walking outdoors was mo
