Big Parade LA: Walkin’ the City of Angels

And so it comes full circle, as coincidental things tend to do. I vividly remember reading a story last year in the Los Angeles Times about a guy who had mapped out hikes throughout the Silver Lake and Echo Park on the matrix of public staircases that zigzag throughout the neighborhood. The historic steps wind up and down the steep hillsides of the area, and the hike through it is just as much education on the history of Los Angeles as it is an ass-buster. I vividly remember thinking, cool!

As with most things that I remember, I forgot about it.

Fast forward more than a year later, and Curbed LA and Modern Hiker are both promoting the Big Parade LA, a two-day, 40-mile walk through the city of Los Angeles, hosted by writer Dan Koeppel. I’m thinking, where have I heard that name before? Well as you might guess, Koeppel is Mr. StairMaster guy from the Times story. And now he’s introduced his first-ever full city hike.

The “parade” — duly named because it will be more of a leisurely walk than any sort of grueling athletic feat — starts on Saturday, July 18 downtown at the Angel Flight’s Stairway and finishes the following Sunday at the six staircases that lead from Beechwood Canyon to the Hollywood sign. No one is expected to walk the entire route — the Big Parade LA is broken down into many small segments of varying difficulty levels, and there are even kid-friendly spots along the way. Koeppel meticulously mapped out historic and quirky landmarks throughout the city and has incorporated a cross-country trek through Griffith Park and paddleboat segment through Echo Park lake into the parade. (The highly touted marching band fell through…)

Guests are welcome to join in at any point, and are encouraged to follow the Twitter updates for location info on the day of the hike. No need to RSVP or sign up (although signing up on the Facebook page is encouraged) — just look at the map and go. You’ll have to do a bit of deciphering to make sense of the Big Parade’s two route maps, even after memorizing Koeppel’s key. Day 2 is also not completely finished. There is supposedly a timetable that will detail suggested meeting points and times, but I don’t think it’s up yet. For more info, check the blog for updates at BigParadeLA.com.

On a side note, who’s in??