Due to the chaos of everyday life, L.A.’s beauty often goes unnoticed. From the green hills to the vast sea, the city’s landscapes offer pure Californian charm. Despite the current infatuation with hiking culture, city-goers lack the downtown block-scaling that East Coasters so enjoy (in the warm season, that is). In L.A. fashion, the promise of the highway may keep people from travelling on foot.
The walking groups of L.A. challenge this concept, providing an array of strolls to recognize. These organizations post routes on their websites and encourage walkers to visit historical locations around the city. Some groups even meet every weekend for a community-building stroll.
Each group reminds the city of its true walking culture, which exists every day in urban areas such as Koreatown and Boyle Heights. L.A.’s authenticity is always found in places where natives live, work, and walk.
Founded in 1998 by urban planner Deborah Murphy, Los Angeles Walks is a nonprofit aiming to transform city streets into vibrant places. The group believes walking is essential to forming community within neighborhoods, and reminds locals of the bustling areas that make for lovely strolls.
Safety largely impacts the Los Angeles Walks philosophy. Volunteer projects often center around pedestrian challenges in certain areas. The group is passionate about accessibility to essential services, such as elementary school drop-offs or navigation to metro stations.
Alexandra Ramirez, executive director of Los Angeles Walks, describes the many ways that citizens can get involved with the nonprofit.
“The best way to get involved is to attend one of our events. Much of our work revolves around making streets safer. Our events center the experiences of immigrants, working-class people, and people with disabilities. Because we work all over L.A. County, we’re encouraging people to use more transit, to walk, to bike, to roll safely around their streets.”
Ramirez highlights the nonprofit’s use of storytelling and art-based work to illustrate the city’s needs. “Some of our projects center around the capital infrastructure program and fast-tracking basic amenities on our public right-of-way, which includes helping our sidewalks and crosswalks to be ADA accessible.”
To get involved with Los Angeles Walks, Ramirez encourages those interested to attend an event. The Pedestrian Advisory Committee meets virtually and in-person every two months. “It’s a way for people to represent their neighborhoods and learn more about the infrastructure projects happening there.”
The Los Angelistas walking group pairs communities with themed walks for local pedestrians. The group organizes weekly on-foot neighborhood tours, highlighting the importance of friendship in outdoor culture.
The women’s walking group reaches its largest numbers in October, as they tour various spooky locations, exploring overlooked L.A. neighborhoods. From murder-themed tours of Los Feliz to the Victorian-lined passages of Angelino Heights, the community discovers festive areas around the city. Some locations have a famous history — such as the home used as a backdrop for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video.
The Los Angelistas have grown to about 7,000 members since formation in 2023, as walkers attend events across the county. Community, culture, and outdoorsy fun come together with the Los Angelistas to create a friendship-filled community, brightening the routine neighborhood walks locals might find monotonous.
Angels Walk LA is a community providing information on self-guided historic walks across the city. The organization primarily focuses on preservation, hoping to keep the city’s history alive. Through neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Wilshire, and San Pedro, the group aims to raise awareness of the community’s cultural contributions.
Created in 1996, Angels Walk LA has aimed to enhance pedestrian environments throughout the county. Route maps feature public transportation routes and safe navigation, reminding Angelenos of L.A.’s potential walkability. Safety is crucial to the organization, as the group works to create sidewalk markers for pedestrians in major impacted areas.
Recently, Angels Walk LA worked alongside MTA representatives and City Council members to develop their own historic urban walking trail through the Bunker Hill district. Destinations are linked together to create a guidebook that illustrates the cultural walk.
Interested walkers may browse the Angels Walk LA website for routes and details. Each location describes the walk’s length, how many miles it spans, and visual highlights of the route.
All across the city, locals are finding ways to make L.A. more walkable. Each group of strolling enthusiasts proves that community is the best way to appreciate the city in its entirety.
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