About us
**FreeWalkers.org** is a social network dedicated to exploring life on foot, for walkers and hikers interested in participating in long-distance walking events in the Mid-Atlantic region. Membership is free and open to everyone. We support each member's effort to reach their own goals of fitness and enjoyment as we walk together, explore our surroundings, and promote pro-pedestrian interests.
FreeWalkers has thousands of members and hosts dozens of long-distance walking events each year in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, as well as many in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Most walks are supported by mass transit for easy access and return, and are between ten and fifty miles in length. Some walks are longer multi-day or shorter distance events. We have all kinds of walks, but we are most known for our longer distance walking events. Some of our walks offer shorter 5k to 10k options.
Walkers are free to move at their own pace and distance. It is not necessary for a walk to be completed or timed, only enjoyed. Our walks expose members to countless locations of scenic beauty, historic importance, and pedestrian convenience, all with the benefit of social support, event organization and the opportunity to engage with interesting fellow walkers.
We are an IRS-approved 501(c)3 non-profit and your tax-free donations help us create free and low-cost walks that are interesting, challenging and open to everyone. We manage multiple regional FreeWalkers groups on Meetup. We do encourage joining freewalkers.org and actively supporting our partners and sponsors who help make these events possible. At our website, you can browse photos of our events, learn about our history and mission, and read about the experiences of some of our walkers.
Look for our many walks every year in greater New York City, many parts of New Jersey including Hudson, Union, Middlesex, Somerset, Union, Morris, Monmouth, Mercer and Burlington County; Southeastern Pennsylvania including Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery County; Delaware and greater Washington DC. Join us on nature hikes, city walks, history walking tours, long-distance walks, scenic walks and themed walking outings.
Why you might like to join the FreeWalkers:
• Did you ever wonder how far you could walk?
• Would you like to know more about the places you walk?
• Are you more interested in accomplishing personal goals than winning a race?
• Are you the type of person who can't pass up an interesting challenge or adventure?
• Have you ever longed to get out of your car and experience what a community is really like?
• Do you believe you spend nearly as many calories walking as running but over a longer period of time?
• Are you looking for a sport where social interaction is possible?
• Are you looking for an alternative exercise routine that's both easy on the body and builds endurance?
We look forward to seeing you at our next event. Walk the Walk! It's good for you, good for us and good for the greater community. Get out there for your first FreeWalk, and you will be glad that you did.
Upcoming events
10
Philly 17.76 mile Heritage Trail Freedom Walk
Franklin Square, 7th and Race Sts, Philadelphia, PA, USPlease register for FREE to attend.
Part of a weekend event celebrating America's 250th birthday and the Delaware River Heritage Trail. There will also be cycling, running and other activities, a weekend full of great journeys, surprises, smiles and lots of Delaware Valley energy.
Start: Franklin Square
Finish: Franklin Square
Distance: 2.25 to 17.76mi
Where to find us: south lawn of the square
Optional endpoints: many
Mini: 2.25 mile history loop
Terrain: Paved
Transit: Septa and Patco
Parking: 618 Market St Park (enter on 7th south of Market)
Difficulty: Average
Category: history, urban, scenic
Coordinator: Charles UpdikeThe walking event begins with a 2.25-mile loop tour of Historic Philadelphia that returns to the start before continuing on the Heritage trail.
The second loop is 4.5 miles and takes us through Penn Treaty Park and Fishtown.
The final loop of eleven miles goes across the Ben Franklin Bridge and through various riverfront park spaces and completed segments of the Heritage Tail.
Each loop returns to Franklin Square, where there are food, beverages and bathrooms.
Highlights:
- Franklin Square
- Independence Hall
- Liberty Bell
- Betsy Ross House
- Carpenters Hall
- Washington Square
- Delaware River
- Race Street Pier
- Penn Treaty Park
- Ben Franklin Bridge
- Walt Whitman house
- Cooper River Trail
- Cramer Hill Park
- Cooper's Poynt Park
This walk is part of the 2026 celebration of the Delaware River Heritage Trail. Join us as we walk the trail on these dates:
May 2: Turnpike Gap Challenge, Bristol to Burlington
Aug 15: Delaware River Heritage Trail Loop Walk
(Philadelphia, Camden, Pennsauken, Palmyra, Tacony, Port Richmond)
Aug 29: Lower Bucks Loop Walk, Levittown to Bristol, Fairless Hills
Sep 5: Roebling Ramble, Roebling to Trenton
Oct 3: 17.76 mile Heritage Trail Freedom Walk, Philly and Camden
Oct 17: Bristol Stomp, Bristol to Trenton
Oct 25: Burlington Heritage Trail Walk, Burlington to PalmyraPartners:
The Delaware River Heritage Trail is a scenic multi-use pathway loop highlighting the cultural and natural resources along the upper portion of the scenic Delaware River estuary, linking dozens of communities from Trenton and Morrisville to Philadephia and Camden, connecting active travellers to parks, canals, waterfront views, and colonial and industrial history.
The East Coast Greenway Alliance is a non-profit organization developing a public multi-use 3,000 mile trail from Canada to Key West through New Jersey and New York. Donations and memberships help make this dream trail a reality.
Circuit Trails is 800 miles of interconnected trails in Greater Philadelphia in the making, already one of America's largest trail networks. Once connected, the Circuit Trails will be one of the nation's premier urban trail networks and it will provide multiple benefits to neighborhoods, communities and the region as a whole.More about FreeWalkers:
Our calendar of walks and hikes | About FreeWalkers | Walker stories | Walking tips
New Jersey walks | Pennsylvania walks | New York City walks2 attendees
Endless Summer Walk -- 30 miles -- Matawan to Asbury Park NJ
Aberdeen Matawan, 43 Atlantic Ave, Matawan, NJ, USPlease register for FREE to attend.
Walk thirty miles on trail, bay and beach with us.
Start: Aberdeen Matawan train station. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in.
Finish: Asbury Park.
Distance: 10-30mi
Where to find us: Parking lot north of the tracks. There is a bagel shop for coffee and bathroom there too.
Optional endpoints: Long Branch train station: 23 miles and if you choose you can walk an extra mile to the train station. Return from Hudson Trail on 834 bus.
Terrain: paved, boardwalk, beach option.
Transit: NJ Transit train to Aberdeen/ Matawan.
Return: NJ Transit from Long Branch or Asbury Park.
Parking: Ample FREE parking at Aberdeen/Matawan station
Difficulty: Moderate to Advanced - depending on how far you choose to go.
Category: nature, seashore, scenic.
Coordinator: TBD
Highlights: Henry Hudson Trail, Atlantic Highlands, Sea Bright, Long Branch, Asbury Park
Don't you wish summer would never end?
The FreeWalkers know that feeling well and we aim to push the boundaries of the season each year. This year we are declaring this to be our last summer day - and one that is sure to be a great one for a final summer-like walk.
The Endless Summer Walk is a unique long distance event along the interesting and beautiful New Jersey coast. We start at the Aberdeen/Matawan train station near Keyport in the bay area and work out way east to Sandy Hook then south along the ocean all the way down to Asbury Park for a total of 30 miles - all in one day. Great trails, beautiful views and a great ending in quirky and exciting Asbury Park. This makes for an easy ending as we take the train in Asbury back to Matawan to complete the day.More about FreeWalkers:
Our calendar of walks and hikes | About FreeWalkers | Walker stories | Walking tips
New Jersey walks | Pennsylvania walks | New York City walks3 attendees
Schuylkill Banks Walk -- Philadelphia to Prospect Park
The Porch at 30th Street Station, 30th and Market Sts (northeast corner), Philadelphia, PA, USPlease register for FREE to attend.
Explore a colonial arboretum, gardens, an archaeology museum and a wildlife refuge on the lower Schuylkill.
Start: 30th Street Station, Phila
Finish: Prospect Park Station
Distance: 15mi
Return: train
Coordinator: Charles Updike
Transit: Amtrak, Megabus, NJTransit AC, SEPTA with connections to NJTransit
Optional endpoints:- Trolley from Bartams back to 30th St. (5mi)This walk includes an early visit to the Penn Musem for the Philly 250 celebration of the first peoples of North America, with a new Native American exhibit, with a great walk afterwards.
30th Street to Tinicum through the Schuylkill Banks, Bartram's Garden and John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, all along the East Coast Greenway. Return by train. An interesting exploration of nature tucked into a most industrial city segment. We will get to see the latest progress in connecting the East Coast Greenway through Philly.Highlights:
- Schuylkill Banks- Bartram's Garden- John Heinz Wildlife Refuge- Tinicum ParkPartners:
The East Coast Greenway Alliance is a non-profit organization developing a public multi-use 3,000 mile trail from Canada to Key West through New Jersey and New York. Donations and memberships help make this dream trail a reality.Circuit Trails is 800 miles of interconnected trails in Greater Philadelphia in the making, already one of America's largest trail networks. Once connected, the Circuit Trails will be one of the nation's premier urban trail networks and it will provide multiple benefits to neighborhoods, communities and the region as a whole.
More about FreeWalkers:
Our calendar of walks and hikes | About FreeWalkers | Walker stories | Walking tips
New Jersey walks | Pennsylvania walks | New York City walks2 attendees
Bristol Stomp (Bristol PA to Trenton NJ historic walk and tour)
Bristol PA Train Station, Washington and Prospect Streets, Bristol, PA, USPlease register for FREE to attend.
Guided history tour of Colonial Lower Bucks County
Start: Bristol Station
Finish: Trenton Transit Center
Distance: 4-18mi
Return: SEPTA train
Coordinator: Charles Updike
Transit: SEPTA to Bristol from Philly or NJTransit in Trenton
FreeWalkers Mini: 4 mile loop of Bristol
Optional endpoints: Morrisville: 15 miles (bus), Fairless Hills: 10 miles(bus), Levittown: 6 miles (bus,train), Bristol loop: 4 miles
18 mile walk from Bristol PA to Trenton, NJ
Join FreeWalkers along the East Coast Greenway in our Bristol Stomp, with an improved route visiting additional points of historic interest. This year's walk boasts a trip through Bristol on Historic Bristol Day.
This 18-mile walk through Trenton and Lower Bucks County along the Delaware Canal and East Coast Greenway will take you through Revolutionary battle locations in Trenton, past General Washington's headquarters in Morrisville, through the stagecoach village of Fallsington where William Penn established the first Quaker meeting in America in 1683, into the nation's largest single-developer town of Levittown that pioneered suburban planning, and all about post-industrial Bristol as it undergoes just its latest economic shift and rebirth. We will experience Historic Bristol Day and get to know Robert Morris, perhaps the most undersung of our founding fathers. We will also pass the local hop where the "kids in Bristol were sharp as a pistol," inspiring the 1960s song, The Bristol Stomp.
We will make an early lunchtime stop at the Bristol Amish Market with Pennsylvania Dutch food and all kinds of amazing goodies. Cheesesteaks, hoagies and fast food are available in Morrisville.
Starts at Bristol Station and ends at the Trenton Transit Center, with bus and rail service back to Bristol and Bucks County. Walkers coming from NJ and NY can transfer smoothly from NJTransit to SEPTA by simply crossing the platform to the waiting train in Trenton with about a 10 minute layover. Bristol Station marks the end of the Delaware Canal and is about a 10 minute SEPTA rail ride from Trenton, about 30 minutes from Center City, Philadelphia. Bus and train connection to both Trenton and Bristol are present along the route in Levittown and Morrisville.
FreeWalker Mini: Four mile loop includes tour of Bristol and visit to the Amish Market, and begins and ends at Bristol Station.
The event is FREE and open to everyone.
Highlights:- Mill Street- Bristol Wharf- Radcliffe Street- Bristol Amish Market- Delaware Canal- Falls Township Community Park- Levittown- Historic Fallsington- Summerseat- Morrisville levee / Trenton skyline- Old Barracks- NJ Capitol- Mill Hill ParkThis walk is part of the 2026 celebration of the Delaware River Heritage Trail. Join us as we walk the trail on these dates:
May 2: Turnpike Gap Challenge, Bristol to Burlington
Aug 15: Delaware River Heritage Trail Loop Walk
(Philadelphia, Camden, Pennsauken, Palmyra, Tacony, Port Richmond)
Aug 29: Lower Bucks Loop Walk, Levittown to Bristol, Fairless Hills
Sep 5: Roebling Ramble, Roebling to Trenton
Sep 26: Burlington Heritage Trail Walk, Burlington to Palmyra
Oct 3: 17.76 mile Heritage Trail Freedom Walk, Philly and Camden
Oct 17: Bristol Stomp, Bristol to TrentonPartners:
The Delaware River Heritage Trail is a scenic multi-use pathway loop highlighting the cultural and natural resources along the upper portion of the scenic Delaware River estuary, linking dozens of communities from Trenton and Morrisville to Philadephia and Camden, connecting active travellers to parks, canals, waterfront views, and colonial and industrial history.The East Coast Greenway Alliance is a non-profit organization developing a public multi-use 3,000 mile trail from Canada to Key West through New Jersey and New York. Donations and memberships help make this dream trail a reality.
Circuit Trails is 800 miles of interconnected trails in Greater Philadelphia in the making, already one of America's largest trail networks. Once connected, the Circuit Trails will be one of the nation's premier urban trail networks and it will provide multiple benefits to neighborhoods, communities and the region as a whole.
More about FreeWalkers:
Our calendar of walks and hikes | About FreeWalkers | Walker stories | Walking tips
New Jersey walks | Pennsylvania walks | New York City walks1 attendee
Past events
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