Welcome to Adventure Walkers!
Adventure Walkers is a Richmond, VA community organization that advocates for getting children into wild outdoor spaces where they encourage children to lead the way in their own outdoor expeditions.
Driven by their innate impulse to play, children can influence the direction of their travel and prompt opportunities to stop and explore the natural environment. We give them time and permission to play, allowing them to explore, imagine, support each other, and take healthy risks.
Though we do go on walks, we are dedicated to the art of stopping, lingering and immersing ourselves in nature with no agenda other than being there.
And we love stories and storytelling!!!
Testimonial
"Jim has a special knack for speaking to children in a way that draws them in. Even the youngest members of our group were listening closely to his direction. During the walk, Jim deviated off the trail, drawing the walkers into a more intimate and challenging experience with the forest, allowing them to make choices in their routes, to experiment with and overcome obstacles on their own or with each other’s help. Adventure Walkers creates just enough of a boundary that children are free to explore nature in a spontaneous way within safe limits. The goal of the walk is not to reach a destination but to engage with the natural space."
-Becky Boncal
Larus Park
Multiple dates available
Imaginations run wild in this "100 Acre Woods" of a forest. A city park on the Chesterfield County line, Larus was the birthplace of our motto "celebrating the lost art of stopping".From tiny creeks, to huge rocks to large mounds of dirt, Larus is a wonderful shady spot to play for a day or a week.
Ages: Preschool and up.
Larus Dates (available):
Fall 2021:
"The Wald, a pilot forest school" ages 3-8
Summer 2022
Year Round:
Five Half Days
tba
Reedy Creek
at Forest Hill Park (FHP)
Reedy Creek (Lower) - Birthplace of our motto, "Adventure Walkers exsist between the concrete and the imagination", the lower Reedy boasts an ankle deep stream, a deep water hole, and concrete tunnels which stir the imaginer and explorer alike. And that is just the first 300 feet of this creek. Also, we never tell about the secret tunnel to the train track, but it is usually found. Ages 6 and up.
Reedy Creek (upper) - A small bit of the Shenandoahs in RVA, this huge stream cascades over large rocks round and flat, often into deep water holes. Unlike other walks with water, the Siren Call of wetness has left even the most stubborn "dry nick" soaked to the bone. Turns out that lunch near the sliding rock drys them out.
Ages 6 and up.
Reedy Creek Dates (available):
Summer 2022:
Year Round:
Five Half Days
tba
James River Parks System
Multiple dates available
James River Park System - Too vast to explore in a day or a week, Adventure Walkers picks the untouched corners in the channels to explore and play in the currents. Floating in the currents and sitting in the tiny rapids has never felt so alive. And we are always in water that even the young ones can stand up in.
Ages: 7 and up.
Five Half Days
tba
