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Big Parade LA sets off this weekend for an epic 35-mile walk around town (map)
Walkers trek during 2011's Big Parade. Southern California isn't exactly known for being pedestrian friendly. But the two-day Big Parade L.A. aims to smash that stereotype starting this Saturday.
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Big Parade LA sets off this weekend for an epic 35-mile walk around town (map)
Southern California isn't exactly known for being pedestrian friendly. But the two-day Big Parade L.A. aims to smash that stereotype starting this Saturday.
The massive 35-mile walk takes participants from downtown Los Angeles to the Hollywood sign, and it utilizes over 101 public stairways, including the famous Music Box Steps.
In case that sounds terrifying, the whole thing is divided into attached loops so that walkers can peel on — and peel off — at their leisure.
"You can join us for a mile, for an hour, for a full day," said Dan Koeppel, the event's creator and chief coordinator. The event will include historians, live music and food.
"It's a very low-key, walk-slow, giant walk," he summed up.
This is the epic walk's fourth year running. Last year there were only six walkers in places, while the crowd swelled as high as 150 as it "ebbed and flowed."
"The look on people's faces, especially people who are not from L.A. or have never walked in L.A., when they experience this kind of sense of togetherness of this shared walk with people, it kind of surprised me," Koeppel said.
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The walk starts at Angel's Flight in downtown and stops off at the L.A. State Historic Park, the L.A. River, the Music Box Steps and even more.
"The first year it was sheer guesswork when we would be at places," he confessed. "Last year, I'm happy to say, we were only 15 minutes late to anything."
More information can be found at the Big Parade's website.
View a map of the walk's route:
View Big Parade 2012 Day One - FINAL in a larger map
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