What is an urban hike?

What is an urban hike? Image supplied by Dietmar Rabich

Exploring urban environments

An urban hike is the exploration of an urban environments by foot. Like hiking, it usually involves a long vigorous walk through an unfamiliar terrain and is undertaken by a person (or person’s) seeking a sense of adventure. However, unlike hiking, it takes place within the boundaries of a city rather than a trek through the countryside. 

Urban hiking routes can take you through locations known for their architectural, cultural or historical significance, neighbourhoods characterised by urban decay, or parts of a city distinguished by their inherent beauty such as parks, gardens, woodlands, rivers or coastal locations in a city.

Socio-economic aspects

A key difference between an urban hike and a regular hike is its socio-economic and environmental aspects. An urban hike does not require any special equipment and is therefore accessible to a much wider cross section of society.  An urban hiker will also generally use public transportation to get to the starting point and home again, which is arguably much more environmentally friendly than driving a car long distances to get to a remote location.

To some extent the spirit of adventure and openness to unfamiliar locations that characterises an urban hike is similar to the concept of the dérive (french word for drift) developed by the Letterist international in the 1950’s.  The dérive was an important part of the theory of psychogeography, which examines the impact of a person’s geographical environment on their emotions and behavior.

However, unlike the ‘derive’ an urban hike does not need to be unplanned. Some of the best urban hikes benefit from the utilisation of mapping technology, internet reviews and historical information to discover new facts about a city.

Increasing popularity

During the Covid-19 pandemic urban hiking increased in popularity as people sought out new activities close to home. In San Francisco groups like the Bay Area Adventure Gals emerged to connect people to their local area. 

The great thing about an urban hike is that it accessible to almost everyone. So get out there, either by yourself or with a group of friends, and discover new parts of a city that you never even knew existed!