10 minutes drive or not

[HillCountry]

This question is for retired folks.

For one hour of daily walk, you can do it in the community or drive 10 minutes to a city park with nice views. Which one would you pick?

 

[REWahoo]

I'd probably mix it up so that I would have a change of scenery.

 

[Philliefan33]

If I’m short on time, I walk in the neighborhood. If I’m bored with looking at the neighborhood, I drive to the park.

Actually, I have two different parks within a ten minute drive that I sometimes go for walking. Another is almost 15 minutes away. I usually just walk in my neighborhood but it’s nice to get a change of scenery occasionally. I do the same with the bicycle. I can ride from my house and get to a nice (but hilly) bike path, but sometimes I drive so I can ride on a rail trail.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We do both.

 

[street]

I live right by a walking/bike path that is 4 miles long. I use it often but mostly drive about 15 minutes and hike in the country. I actually hate walking in town but do it because it's convenient for me.

 

[friar1610]

We have a beach and a wooded park each about 10 minutes away in different directions. We mix it up. Sometimes we drive further for other parks/woods/beaches. Variety is the spice of both walking and life.

 

[rodi]

Easy answer for me.... I drive most mornings about 10 minutes to the beach to do my morning walk. But if I have a morning appointment or something, I do a quick walk around the neighborhood.

For me - I have to walk the dog regardless - and we both enjoy it far more at the beach. We have friends we meet most mornings... and you never know what you'll see... today we saw some (crazy) surfers 'shooting the pier'.... surfing between the Scripps Pier pylons. Very dangerous - but exciting to watch. Last week we saw a big group of pelicans divebombing into the water to get fish.... And tomorrow we'll be watching the amazing international adaptive surfing competition (hardcore surfers from around the world.) You can't see that in our residential neighborhood 2 miles inland.

If I have time, and no car available (my son sometimes takes a car) I walk in the local canyon... but I can get there by foot.

 

[MRG]

Not sure how much difference it makes. More about time and conditions.
Walk below our house. Or a short drive to the river. Little longer drive and an hour hike? It's all great.

 

[Sunset]

^^^^^^^^^^ Soooo nice.... I'm jealous...

 

[savory]

For most 10 minute car rides, I would bike to the park, then walk. For car rides 20 min+, I would likely drive.

I guess it depends how you think about your bike. Mine serves as a replacement for my car as much as possible.

 

[Katsmeow]

I walk in my community. There is actually a nature preserve with walking trails about 5 minutes from my house. I don't go there for two reasons:

1. DH and I often want to walk spontaneously and we often take our dog with us, so easier to just go out the front door.

2. The nature preserve is lovely....but there are no restrooms. I don't want to go somewhere and then have to drive back to my house to go to the restroom.

 

[Scrapr]

^^^^^^^^^^ Soooo nice.... I'm jealous...

ditto

we have a park we could walk to (and do) but Oden the Shedder then could not walk much of our trail walk. (he's 14) We also will drive 10 minutes to a large park for a nice walk. Then the usual park 1 block away. He knows that one in his sleep

 

[Scuba]

We live on the beach so normally I walk on the beach path with beautiful views and nature sightings. Often see sea lions, blue herons, and gulls and even sometimes dolphins, very rarely whales. Sometimes I walk on a beautiful street one block inland that has nice homes and is warmer and quieter than the beach.

 

[kitesurfer2]

I have my normal daily 3 mile walk every morning before I start my day. it's a loop. I pick up tire hazards. that walk is for my health as I can no longer run. I can walk to the park a mile away and walk there if I want to step in dog poo . the beach is a 10 , minute drive so I don't walk it often. If I do not walk ,i gain a pound. if I walk twice a day ,i lose a pound. I prefer to walk in the road as people don't walk their dogs in the road, therefore I don't have to watch every step.

 

[DrRoy]

We can walk the neighborhood or a nearby golf course. We hardly ever drive to the park.

 

[RunningBum]

Both. Often the drive is combined with an errand, like grocery shopping.

Safety would be a factor. If my local walk doesn't have sidewalks, or has a lot of road crossings, I'd be more inclined to walk in the park.

 

[Red Badger]

We have three greenways within a 10 minute drive. I go there often for my 3-5 mile hikes. DW, the fur-kid, and I all walk the 'hood most days. We do about a mile.

 

[Ronstar]

I would do both. And bike to the park if the route is bike friendly.

I normally walk/run in the neighborhood. But I sometimes drive 20 minutes to a paved limestone path for a run or bike ride. Exercise is more fun when there is variety.

 

[Dtail]

We do both. Our neighborhood has 1500 houses, so can mix it up with ease.

 

[misshathaway]

Not sure how much difference it makes. More about time and conditions.
Walk below our house. Or a short drive to the river. Little longer drive and an hour hike? It's all great.

Wow. Gorgeous.

 

[misshathaway]

I walk to the hardware store and back. It's all hill, usually dog poop free, and there is only one light. Not scenic. I treat it like a track. Anything of beauty is coming from whatever podcast I am listening to.

It is convenient enough that I seldom skip. Also, if I need something at the hardware store I just bring a backpack.

 

[SumDay]

We do both, depending on the mood and weather, and now rejoice that since we're not w*rking, we have the luxury to decide. And, that's probably the biggest decision we'll make all day.

 

[mountainsoft]

We're not retired yet, but unfortunately we don't have many good walking options here.

We live on a narrow winding mountain road. It's rather steep going either way, and there are no shoulders. People drive way too fast on the road, including many large trucks. We've walked up the road a few times but it's not a safe or pleasant experience.

We're surrounded by gated communities, so even though we live in a rural area there are no properties nearby we can walk on.

Our nearest park is about 20+ minutes away. We occasionally make the drive down there and go for a walk, but it's fairly rare.

If we want to do any meaningful hiking it's at least an hour drive to the closest trails. Sadly we only get to do that 3-6 times a year. Enjoyable but not exactly regular exercise.

So, the reality is we just don't walk much, even though we would enjoy it. We had a treadmill for a couple years, but found that way too boring and ended up never using it.

Mowing our 1 acre yard is probably the most walking I get in on a regular basis and that's only during the summer.

 

[Aerides]

If I have the extra time (and most days I do, being retired) I drive 10 mins to the park. I have a lovely local park with a figure 8, 2 mile enclosed path, that borders a lake the whole way. Lots of nature, and a family of free roaming cats to pet at the end of it - perfect for me!

I like to vary the route and scenery too, so some days I'll drive to the beach and run up and down A1A, or find other park trails, and drive further for something new when I want to.

If I don't have time, for the sake of still fitting in a short run, I'll go around my neighborhood.

 

[HillCountry]

I am surprised that most don’t mind driving 10 minutes for a change. I am talking about daily walk here. I have been working for 20+ years and mostly will take a walk about 30 minutes to 1 hour after lunch. I never, ever, drove away from my office for the walk. I guess I am a boring guy.

This topic came up between DW and me when we are deciding where to build our retirement house. One building site has great community hiking trail linking 2 ponds, but we have to drive 20+ minutes to other interesting places to walk. On another site we have to walk on the street as there is not even sidewalks; but this one is within 10 minutes’ drive to city’s best metro park.