Liz Thomas held the speed record for the legendary Appalachian Trail. But she also wanted to show why walking in our cities is important for our well-being

When we talk about hiking, we typically think about escaping urban confines and exploring land less touched by humanity. We envision walking through lush landscapes, or scaling mountains that overlook miles of unspoiled terrain. But Liz Thomas, who held the speed record for the Appalachian Trail for five years, and has explored the world on foot, has evolved her approach to hiking over the years.

“I completed my first urban hike in Los Angeles in 2013 and since then, my view of what hiking is has changed,” Thomas tells the Guardian. “It sparked something in me in how I thought about being active, how I thought about the urban landscape, and how I thought about how people interact with nature and their bodies.”

Now dubbed the “Queen of Urban Hiking”, Thomas has since made her way through through San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Portland and Pittsburgh. There was one urban territory she had yet to conquer though: New York City.

Hiking through New York was always on Thomas’ to-do list, but it wasn’t until the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that helps create parks and protect land, reached out to and asked her if she wanted to participate in a urban hike that she took action.

Carter Strickland, the New York and New Jersey Director for TPL, saw Thomas speaking at a conference and learned of her previous hikes. “I realized that it was a great fit and we had the scale of on-the-ground programs in New York that might lend itself to urban hikes,” Strickland says.

Within six months, he and Thomas organized a hike and last month Thomas logged more than 225 miles over nine days. “For New Yorkers, they are used to walking,” Strickland says, “but perhaps they don’t view hiking as a possibility within their own city. We’re hoping with Thomas’ urban hike, we’re able to show city dwellers that it’s possible to explore your own city and experience a little bit of nature without having to venture two hours outside of the city.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Liz Thomas’s hike also took her to 100 parks across New York City. Photograph: Timothy Schenck

The other aim of the hike was to bring awareness to how many New Yorkers don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk from their home. “One thing I learned on my urban hike in New York is that certain neighborhoods have great access, while other neighborhoods don’t. These playgrounds really play an important function in certain neighborhoods, so providing a park in places where there is otherwise a longer walk to a park is an important part of why I partnered with TPL,” Thomas says.

Strickland believes that parks help foster a sense of community that otherwise is hard to nurture. “It’s good for the environment because it provides shade and rainwater and can provide coastal resilience. But it’s also good for mental and physical health, more importantly and it’s good for creating communities where rich, poor, black and white congregate.”

One thing Thomas has learned through urban hiking is how people’s fear of nature can stop them enjoying the outdoors. Walking in the city helps open the door for them to explore their surroundings. “No, it’s not the same as going out into the woods, but it can be equally cathartic,” she says. “And it’s actually more fun in a different way.”

Instead of carting around a tent, Thomas stayed in various Airbnbs throughout the city, and had the chance to explore the city’s restaurants instead of eating camp food. “You become more connected to your surrounding environment when you walk around without a real destination in mind,” Thomas says. “The beauty with urban hiking is, if you decide you’re done, you can stop whenever you want. And with places like New York where public transportation is so accessible, you can hop on a train or bus and head back home when you want.”

Meanwhile, Thomas says interest goes beyond the States. “I recently had someone message me on Instagram from Melbourne, Australia, who said, ‘You know, this is really inspiring me to hike my own city.’ And that feels really good to know that my message is resonating with others in different parts of the world.”

As for her next urban hike, her destination is up in the air. However, the mission will remain the same. “Obviously it’s fun for me but I also I think there’s just so much to learn from experiencing a landscape like going to neighborhoods in your city that you would never normally go to, and experiencing it by foot,” Thomas says. “You also get an idea of what’s it like to live in this as a kid who walks to school in this neighborhood, to be a grandparent who lives across from this park in this neighborhood, and it’s just something you don’t get in that sort of fly by experience that you would have in a car.”



