The Sacramento Walking Sticks will be hosting newly designed walks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day for everyone to join in on. The walks will both start from the Pioneer Congregational Church Social Hall, 2700 L St, Sacramento 95816 (directly across from Sutter’s Fort). Registration for the New Year’s Eve walk, December 31st, is between 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. and the New Year’s Day walk, January 1st, is between 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. There will be a different 5K (3.1 miles) and 10K (6.2 miles) route available on both days. All the walks are on city streets around the downtown Sacramento area. Flashlights are recommended on the New Year’s Eve walk. Dogs are welcome on all the walks but they are not allowed inside the Pioneer Congregational Church; strollers and wheelchairs will be able to traverse all routes. Rain will not stop these events from taking place.

Volkswalking is a family sport and parents and grandparents are encouraged to bring their children and grandchildren out and get them walking. These events are a wonderful way to see the old year out and see the new one in. This makes for a great new year’s resolution; to get fit, meet new people and see sights in your home town and surrounding areas that you’ve never seen before. 

The New Year’s Eve route will take people thru lively midtown Sacramento to the wonderful holiday light displays in the Fab 40’s. The walks are non-competitive and not timed so people can stop along the way to enjoy the sights and sounds – so long as they return for check-in by 9:00 p.m. at the Pioneer Congregational Church. 

The New Year’s Day route will go through some classical Sacramento residential neighborhoods including Boulevard Park and Mansion Flats. You’ll pass by two of the notorious Dorothea Puente’s houses on both the 4 and 10K walks. The 10K will wind through other historic neighborhoods, chosen for their architectural and historic interest. Everyone must be checked in by 3:00 pm. Each participant will receive a set of written directions with a map for the route they will be walking and typically the route will also be marked. The New Year’s Day route will have an extra sheet of Historical and Interesting Facts sheet that will give the reader’s an historical/architectural tour of the neighborhoods they’ll be walking in. 

The walks are open and available to everyone. They are FREE and there is also an incentive program provided that allows people the opportunity to track their mileage. This incentive program can be started by purchasing a New Walker Packet for $5.00. There is also a limited edition commemorative patch available for $4.00 each.

Volkssporting (translation means sport of the people) originated in Germany in the 1970’s. Many US military families stationed there enjoyed the sport and eventually brought it to America; there are currently just under 300 clubs nationwide. The Sacramento Walking Sticks Club continues to be the largest club in the entire USA with close to 600 members and it offers everyone a wide array of walking and bicycling adventures for people of all ages, including their dogs. 

Walking is one of the most efficient and inexpensive forms of exercise around and it also offers an array of psychological, physical, and spiritual benefits as well. Walking is an exercise that works on you from head to toe as well as from the inside out. People love to go exploring in their hometown as well as in their state but they tend to be more receptive to doing it with others. Volkssporting is a great connector of town festivals and activities with people who would never have ventured there on their own. There’s safety in numbers whether by day or night and meeting new friends along the way is another side benefit. After the walks we like to dine at local eateries wherever we’re at so there’s also another social layer to volkswalking. 

The Sacramento Walking Sticks Club offer group walks on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (5 and 10K routes to choose from) as well as Wednesday night group walks that are always 5K. There are also group bike rides of 25K offered every other Thursday morning throughout the year.  Check out our website’s Calendar of Events link for all the details or you can sign up to receive weekly walk alerts by e-mail.