Happy 2006! Take a hike.

Earlier this week when we were hurting from the evils of drink, we got this advice over and over: exercise. Realizing you may have had a bit of liquor last night -- and keeping in mind that weather may soon make this impossible -- we suggest a series of walking/hiking resources. Because the air might do you good.

The new book Walking LA by Erin Mahoney has a great set of walking tours that includes diners and shopping in LA's most interesting nooks and crannies. It's available at local bookstores -- that is, if it didn't sell out for xmas.

The downloadable LA Conservancy's self-guided walking tour is of the fabulous old architecture of downtown Los Angeles. (Bonus with this: see what remains of the Giant Village that wasn't.)

There are 233 nature hikes in LA/Riverside/Orange Counties on LocalHikes.com. The site includes dozens of reader/hiker reviews and often has recent news about the trails in the comments. You might want to try the 3.5 mile Malibu Creek hike, which includes a pretty lake and a rock wall used in Planet of the Apes.

If you'd rather be a couch potato -- or it starts to pour -- walk vicariously with Walking In LA. The site's proprietor has been photographing his walks since 2002 (that's 4 years, now), and he walks all over: Lincoln Heights (where the above photo was taken), Watts, El Monte, Franklin Hills, Long Beach. There are some videos tucked in there, too.

But really, a walk can't hurt, can it? (We know. It hurts.)