Note: This is a web-only companion piece to Jeannette Cooperman's "Walking the Walk" feature, which appeared in the April 2010 issue.
Local Volksmarch Event Locations (tentative) in 2010
(Check www.ava.org for details and updates)
- March 27: Weldon Spring
- April 3: Belleville, Ill., YMCA
- April 10: Ferguson
- April 17: Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area
- May 1 or 8: Florissant, Valley of Flowers
- May 8: Belleville, Ill.
- May 15: Belleville, Ill., Richland Creek
- May 16: Highland, Ill.
- May 29: Memorial Day
- June 5: Mascoutah, Ill., Ice Cream Festival
- June 25-27: Mid-America Regional
- July 24: New Athens, Ill., Hummingbird
- August 7: St. Peters, Dog Days
- September 11: New Baden
- September 18: Eckert’s Orchard
- October 2: Lebanon, Ill.
- November 23: Belleville, Our Lady of the Snows Shrine, Way of Lights
- December 5: Okawville, Ill.
- December 11: Belleville, Gingerbread
Local Volksmarch Clubs
- Illinois Trekkers Volkssport Club, www.illinois-trekkers.org
- Florissant Valley Walkers, redcaravan@swbell.net
- St Louis-Stuttgart Volksmarch Club, harrison-b3752@sbcglobal.net
Suggested Reading
- Hiking St. Louis: A Guide to 30 Wooded Hiking and Walking Trails in the St. Louis Area by E. P. Harris and Jill S. Harris
- Walking Historic Downtown St. Louis by Charles Brennan and Ben Cannon
- Walking St. Louis by Judith Galas
- Walking With Wildflowers: A Field Guide to the St. Louis Area by Karen S. Haller
- Walks and Rambles in and Around St. Louis by Robert Rubright
- Weekend Walks in St. Louis and Beyond: 35 Town and Country Walks within 150 Miles of the City, by Robert Rubright
10K St. Louis Downtown Walk
The 10K St. Louis Downtown Walk, created by the St. Louis-Stuttgart Volksmarch Club. In 2009, it was voted one of the Top Ten Walks in the Country by the American Volkssport Association.
- Start: Pear Tree Inn, 2211 Market. (The hotel has the route map at its information desk for you.)
- Head east on Market and walk 8 blocks, passing Carl Milles’ Meeting of the Waters sculpture and Union Station, and heading east toward the Arch.
- Left onto Tucker Blvd., walk 6 blocks.
- Right onto Washington Ave., passing through Loft District. Walk 5 blocks.
- Left onto Seventh St., walk two blocks.
- Right onto Convention Plaza, walk 3 blocks, then cross where I-70 cuts into downtown, down into Laclede’s Landing, and walk 3 blocks on Laclede’s Landing Blvd.
- Right onto First St., walk 1 block.
- Right onto Morgan, walk 3 blocks.
- Left onto Third St., curve up and across, heading for Eads Bridge.
- Left onto Eads Bridge, walk out to the second railing cutout, after the lookout, and turn around.
- Head back to the St. Louis side of the river, continue west on Washington Ave.
- Left onto Fourth St., walk 5 blocks.
- Left onto Chestnut, down to the Archgrounds,, across to the Old Cathedral.
- Walk west on Walnut 3 blocks.
- Left onto Fourth St., walk 5 blocks.
- Right onto Cerre St., walk 1 block.
- Right onto Broadway, walk 4 blocks.
- Left onto Clark, passing Busch Stadium.
- Right onto Eighth St., walk 2 blocks.
- Left onto Market, walk 2 blocks, passing Citygarden.
- Left onto Tenth St., walk 2 blocks, passing the Thomas Eagleton U.S. Courthouse.
- Right onto Clark, walk just past 5 blocks to 18th St. and cut through Union Station (you might be hungry by now).
- Left onto Market and walk 2 blocks to your starting point.
For more information about AVA walks, contact Victor Shaff, 314-741-0924, victorjan@juno.com.
