What to Know
- The Great Los Angeles Walk 2023
- Free; the urban exploration adventure will begin at Griffith Park with visits to Fairfax and Western Avenues
- The outing, which began in 2006, always takes place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a season of sweet but strict traditions, it is often and accurately said. It is, after all, the time of the year when we ardently hew to the things we like to do, and dine upon, with a rigorous attachment.
But sometimes, your cousin arrives not with the canned cranberry (as promised) but rather a cranberry relish, simply to change up the big meal in an interesting way while also paying an appetizing ode to what we loved in the past.
You might say that The Great Los Angeles Walk, another Thanksgiving season tradition, is doing something similar in 2023.
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The free-to-join urban adventure, which began in 2006, has long followed a route that begins somewhere in the eastern half of our metropolis and ends at the ocean.
This means that the lengthy stroll is a real east-to-west experience, something that has remained mostly unchanged over the last 18 years.
But founder Mike Schneider is changing it up, with relish, on Saturday, Nov. 18: Participants will enjoy a north-south route or at least one that mostly travels along north-south avenues.
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And there are two iconic avenues in the coming-up spotlight: Fairfax and Western.
The start point and wrap-up spot? It's the bear statue in Griffith Park. Taking a few other streets to reach Fairfax first and then, later in the day, Western? That will be necessary, of course, so plan on Franklin Avenue and Pico Boulevard.
It's a major multi-mile extravaganza of the outdoorsiest variety, and you are free to walk as much or as little as you like, though arranging transportation back to your car, or a Metro stop, will be a must.
Stopping at local restaurants and shops is also a must for many returnees, while pausing to admire quirky attractions and historical markers is also heartwarming part of the get-to-know-your-city scene.
If you plan on doing the entire route, do plan for this: Everyone who finishes back at Griffith Park will make time to enjoy the sunset, something you're invited to enjoy.
And if the sunset's hues remind you of the color of cranberry, and that you still have to start on your Thanksgiving cooking, well, you will have time: The Great Los Angeles Walk is five days ahead of the holiday, as it is each year.
The nuts, bolts, and tidbits of this terrific community-building tradition? Find them here.
