The Big Parade Proves You CAN Walk in LA!

This weekend, join a few thousand of your friends and neighbors in exploring your city by foot and proving that pedestrians aren’t an extinct species!

The Big Parade is a two-day walk in Los Angeles, taking place on the weekend of May 2 and 3, 2015. It includes about 80 public stairways over 35 miles, from downtown to the Griffith Observatory. The walk runs on a timetable, and is designed as a series of attached loops, so that people can come and go as they please – join us for a mile, an hour, or an epic walk.

Along the way, there’s music, art, history, guest speakers, and lots of surprises. The Big Parade is 100% free. No donations, no sponsors, no merchandise – just a walk with friends and neighbors.

But the Big Parade is more than just a walk. It is the product of years of walking and the collaboration of multiple people who love to walk in Los Angeles, who each see walking in different ways, and all hope to express that love along the route. The hope is that spontaneous things will happen, but the core of the event will be structured around getting members of each community we traverse to join us; stopping to visit with interesting people and groups along the way; uncovering secret (and not-so-secret) historic and cultural sites along the way; and spreading the message that Los Angeles is – not could be – a walkable city.

This year’s route has fewer stairways, but more trail, including an extended segment along the Los Angeles River. We start downtown at Grand Park, as before, then head north, follow the river, climb into Echo Park for a stairway-rich segment, then finish at Silverlake’s Music Box Stairs on Saturday night. On Sunday, we start at the Music Box Stairs, then head through Silverlake, into Griffith Park, climbing to the observatory, then descending, together, for a special Sunday night party.

To learn more about the walk, see route maps and information, and find ways you can get more involved, visit the Big Parade LA website. See you on the streets!