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The Ultimate Self-Guided Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan: A Local’s Guide

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A self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan including Tribeca, the Hudson River park, the 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, and the Bloody Angle.
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New York City: Home of delicious bagels, excellent pizza, the Statue of Liberty, a lot of people who all walk very fast, and today’s guest post contributor! Jeremy and I visit New York City frequently to see our family, and we’re often overwhelmed by its sheer size. Coming from little San Francisco, where you can literally walk from one side to the other in a day, it’s hard to know where to even start to explore this gigantic city.

So, we asked an expert: Steph from Jet Set Steph, who has lived in New York City for 6 years. Steph recommends tackling just one section of New York at a time. She broke the city into one, manageable, bite-size chunk: Lower Manhattan. And thus, the self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan was born.

This self guided walking tour of NYC covers 4.6 miles and takes you through Tribeca, the Financial District, the South Street Seaport, and a smidge of Chinatown! And because we’re literally never not eating, we also included brunch, dinner, drinks, and even dessert 😉

Hey, want a printable version of this post? We’ve created a printable map of our self-guided Lower Manhattan walking tour! It’s formatted and shortened to fit onto one easy to print page: directions on the front, map on the back. Super handy! Get your FREE New York walking tour printable map by entering your email below:

Get the Lower Manhattan Walking Tour PDF!

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Hey, will this be your first time visiting NYC? Our friends at Two Wandering Soles have an excellent first-timers guide to things to do in New York City and check out these New York tips for ensuring a smooth trip!

OK, ready to start your tour?

Brunch in Tribeca

Your self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan will start in Tribeca, an upscale neighborhood where celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce & JayZ live. But sadly, not Alex Trebek. And the neighborhood isn’t named after him, either. Disappointing.

If I’m being honest, I treat every trip to Tribeca as an excuse to low-key stalk Twsift. If you see her, tell her I said hay girl and that I forgive her for her latest song and her white feminism, because I can tell she’s really trying to do better. By the way, one of my favorite Beyonce music videos, 7/11, was filmed at her apartment in Tribeca. So cool!

  • Stalk Tswift | Address: 155 Franklin Street, New York, NY
  • Stalk Bey | Address: 195 Hudson Street, New York NY

I’m kidding, those aren’t actual stops. We haven’t even started the tour yet! So put down your all-black outfit and your paparazzi camera and don’t call the cops on me because I’ve definitely never tried to sneak into a building by putting on my most fashionable outfit and my “I belong” face/lipstick and walking directly behind anyone who enters and giving a quick “Morning” to the security guards like we already know each other. Never.

So let’s start the tour, shall we?

What’s a day in New York without brunch? Begin your day at Two Hands on Church Street in Tribeca with some of the best #basic fancy toast you can find. Fuel up with an avocado toast on sourdough with chile and lime, smashed peas with ricotta, or mushroom toast with cashew cream and arugula pesto. As an important bonus, this is the perfect spot to post your first Instagram photo of the day. (Ps: tag us! @practicalwanderlust 😉 /shameless plug)

  • Two Hands | Address: 251 Church St, New York, NY
A self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan including Tribeca, the Hudson River park, the 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, and the Bloody Angle.

Discover New York City with this self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan including Tribeca, the Hudson River park, the 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, and the Bloody Angle.  Original photo credit: “New York City – Lower Manhattan” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by James Willamor

Hudson River Park

From the restaurant, head west until you reach the waterfront of the Hudson River. Take a right on Leonard, a left on Hudson, and a right on Harrison and you’ll hit pier 25.

Running along the west side of the island is a 550-acre riverside park called the Hudson River Park. Spaced throughout the park are piers that offer fun (and often free!) activities, like rock climbing, trapeze, kayaking, or living vicariously through other people’s adorable pets (aka dog parks). Check out this sweet interactive map to explore all of the rad activities in the park, and be sure to check the events calendar to see if there’s a pop-up dance party or free movie playing.

Walking along the river is a great way to enjoy some open spaces and greenery, which helps us New Yorkers sometimes forget we live in a concrete jungle.

Continue south along the river for about 15 minutes, until you hit Vesey Street.

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One World Observatory

Exit Hudson River Park onto Vesey Street and head to the One World Observatory at the One World Trade Center. Here, you’ll find some of the best views in the city, 102 floors up.  Here is a fantastic post about what you can except (with some amazing pics to boot)!

Purchase tickets online to save a few dollars – adult prices start at $34. You know what they say about Instagram photos: the best things in Instagram aren’t free. Or something.

9/11 Memorial & Museum

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial & Museum is my #1 recommended thing to do for tourists and locals alike. This sacred space has tackled the difficulty of capturing the history of the attacks while honoring the victims in the most perfect way. From the One World Observatory, head southeast on Fulton St  and turn right on Greenwich Street.

After the museum, take a moment to visit the Memorial and the twin reflecting pools.  

Tickets can be purchased in advance here, which we recommend as it will save you quite a long wait in line. 

Snowy Battery Park in the chilly New York City winter. You'll walk through Battery Park on this self guided New York walking tour.

Snowy Battery Park in the chilly New York City winter. You’ll walk through Battery Park on this self guided New York walking tour. Original photo credit: “Battery Park in the snow” (CC BY 2.0) by Willip Von Ree

Trinity Church Cemetery

I often find it difficult to pick back up into the hum of the city after my experience at Ground Zero, and if you feel the same way, continue south down Greenwich towards the very tip of Lower Manhattan.

If you want to add a bit more morbidity to your day, swing by the Trinity Church Cemetery by hanging a left off of Greenwich at Cedar Street. Then, turn right at Trinity Place and head towards the giant steeple.  You can’t miss it: the building looks out of place by about 400 years. Look for the cemetery, located within the trees of the church grounds.

This gorgeous old church, built in 1697, is a beautiful respite from the bustling city and a great place to sit and think about death for a while. The cemetery is the only remaining active cemetery in all of Manhattan.

Also, it’s home to some of the most famous graves in New York. There’s the oldest: five-year-old Richard Churcher, who died in 1681. And then there’s the weirdest: James Leeson, an innkeeper and mason who died in 1794. His stone has a bunch of weird symbols carved into it that everyone figured was probably some cult or satanic thing, but it turns out it’s just a Masonic Code that means “Remember Death,” which I find almost more unsettling.

You’ll also find the graves of Alexander Hamilton (of Broadway fame. You guys, I’m kidding!), John James Audubon, Alfred Tennyson Dickens, and a lot of Astors. Also, Cuba Gooding Sr, who died this year :(. Here’s a full list of some of the most notable and historical figures buried here.

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Battery Park

After your brief graveyard visit, continue south on Trinity Place until it becomes Greenwich. Then, keep going until you reach Battery Park on the most southern tip of Manhattan.

The gardens and flowers of the Battery Park City Parks make for a perfect place to stroll and reflect.

  • Battery Park | Address: State Street and Battery Place, New York, NY

There are a couple of excellent museums around Battery Park if you’d like to cool off (or warm up, depending on the time of year) while learning some things about some stuff.

Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty

Battery Park is where the majority of the ferries pick up and drop off for visits to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, so feel free to hop on a boat if you’d like to interrupt your walking tour with some sightseeing!

We love this tour that combines a 30 minute tour of Battery Park with an audio tour of Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty, or this hour long ferry tour around the islands, or this fully guided 4-hour shabang. Or, save some cash and just buy entrance tickets + an audio tour for $25 here.

If you’re not in the touring mood, just snap a picture of the Statue of Liberty from afar! 

The Fearless Girl statue is a controversial response to the patriarchy. It's controversial because the creator of the Charging Bull statue was like "um, it is NOT about the patriarchy," and then created a dog statue to pee on the little girl statue, because his fragile masculinity was clearly not at ALL threatened. You can see both of them on Wall Street in our Self-Guided Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan!

The Fearless Girl statue is a controversial response to the patriarchy. It’s controversial because the creator of the Charging Bull statue was like “um, my statue is NOT about the patriarchy,” and then created a dog statue to pee on the little girl statue, because his fragile masculinity was definitely not at ALL threatened. You can see both of them on Wall Street in our Self-Guided Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan! Original photo credit: “Fearless Girl Statue by Kristen Visbal N” (CC BY 2.0) by Anthony Quintano

Wall Street & The New York Stock Exchange

From Battery Park, head north on Broadway until you see the infamous Charging Bull statue, which represents the spirit of hardworking and determined Americans. Or the patriarchy. Art is in the eye of the beholder, so I’ll let you decide.

You’ll also see the much newer but just as infamous Fearless Girl, standing up for women everywhere. Up until recently, she was joined by the contentious Pissing Pug statue, which represents the fragility of masculinity and was sculpted with the tears of privileged white men.

Anyway, contemplate these various statements on today’s society, take a picture for the ‘gram, and keep doing.

Continue along Broadway and you’ll soon see the façade and entrance of the New York Stock Exchange. Here it is: Wall Street.

Pretend you are important enough to be ringing the bell that day and do a few “harrumphs” and “indubitably’s” to fit in with the other suits.

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South Street Seaport

Take a right onto Wall Street and walk east towards the East River. Turn right on South Street and head north until you reach the South Street Seaport, a historic area that was recently renovated after the destruction of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

With events and markets popping up every week, the Seaport has long been edging its way towards becoming the next “it” neighborhood. 

Walk the picturesque cobblestone streets before checking out the recently opened Garden Bar, a flowery oasis that will transport you from New York to The Secret Garden. Or, enjoy happy hour specials at local favorite Fresh Salt.  Or how about searching for Seaport’s hidden speakeasy, Mr. Cannon? I can’t tell you where it is, because it’s secret. Ssh!

  • Garden Bar | Address: 19 Fulton Street, New York, NY
  • Fresh Salt | Address: 146 Beekman Street,  New York, NY
  • Mr. Cannon | Address: It’s a secret! Just kidding, it’s 206 Front St, New York, NY
The Statue of Liberty is a short ferry ride away from Battery Park! You'll see it in the distance from the waterfront in Lower Manhattan during the self-guided walking tour.

The Statue of Liberty is a short ferry ride away from Battery Park! You’ll see it in the distance from the waterfront in Lower Manhattan during the self-guided walking tour. Original photo credit: “Liberty Island and Lower Manhattan” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by James Willamor

Fancy Dinner in the Financial District

While you could no doubt spend the rest of the evening at the Seaport, there’s an incredible French restaurant that has transformed the dining scene in this area. It’s well worth a trip for dinner.

Walk north on Fulton, take a right on Nassau and a left onto Beekman to visit the restaurant, tucked into the fancy schmancy Beekman Hotel. Augustine offers high-end French dishes in a polished interior that is surprisingly not stuffy, considering that it’s in the heart of New York’s Financial District! That said: it is not cheap. If you want cheap, hit up a Halal cart down the street.

But what’s a day in New York without splurging on something truly delicious? This is one expense that’s worth it.

Be sure to try the beef tartare, the roasted leg of lamb, the polenta with roasted peaches and elderflower, or the bone marrow.  Yum.

  • Augustine | Address: 5 Beekman Street, New York, NY
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Doyers Street, The “Bloody Angle”

You’ll walk off your dinner by turning right off of Beekman onto Park Row. Continue for 15 minutes. You’ll pass City Hall on your left.

Continue past the courthouses. Take a right onto Worth Street, a left onto Chatham Square and a left onto the tiny Doyers Street.

This odd little street is one of New York’s oddities: it sits at a 90-degree angle, for starters, which defies New York’s rigid grid system. But its the history of this little street that makes it so weird. You see, Doyers Street is known as the Bloodiest Street in America. Like, the streets used to be stained red with blood. Human blood, mind you. Ick.

The history of the street is rooted in the history of the local immigrant population in Chinatown, rival gangs, and that early-1900’s grit. More murders were committed on Doyers Street by warring Chinese gangs than anywhere else in America, and the corner of Doyers Street became known as “Bloody Angle.” To make it even more fascinating, there are tunnels running beneath the Angle – allowing the then-warring gangs to move around under the city in secret, or escape the scene of a murder.

Here’s some gruesome imagery to guide you on your path down Doyers Street:

Gangsters carrying hatchets would wait around one side of the Bloody Angle until their victims blindly turned the corner. Then they would pounce, slash, and escape via the underground tunnels, leaving the cobblestone street soaking in the victim’s blood. (Source)

Yikes. Oh, but there’s more:

“Law-enforcement officials say more people have died violently at Bloody Angle, the crook at Doyer Street near Pell,” Jane Lii wrote in The New York Times in 1994, “than at any other intersection in America.”

But don’t worry: there hasn’t been any gang violence here for years. At least, since the 1990’s. Things are all good now. You’ll be fine. 

Drinks at a Cocktail Apothecary

You’re actually heading to the scene of the old Chinese Theatre for your 2nd to last stop on the walking tour. Here, you’ll find an absinthe den/apothecary themed cocktail bar, Apotheke. Get a drink to soothe your frazzled, hatchet-wielding-gang-member-addled nerves.

From its tucked-away location to the Belle Epoque theming and events like Prohibition Wednesdays and Absinthe Sundays,  Apotheke delivers a true NYC nightcap experience. Your expertly crafted drink will be created in front of you like a theatre performance, poured into a drink vessel that you might have passed right by in a thrift store, and presented to you as if it were a medicinal tincture rather than a delicious cocktail. As a giant bonus, you can take a mixology class here and learn to create your own mustache-twiddling concoctions!

  • Apotheke | Address: 9 Doyers St, New York, NY

If you’re feeling brave, pop into one of the famous post-murder escape tunnels to make your own getaway.  It’s a lot less scary than it sounds: there are pretty much just businesses there now. But still, cool, right?!

You’ll find an entrance to the tunnel in the middle of Doyers Street, next to the shop Coco Fashion. The tunnel will take you out onto Chatham Square on Bowery.

Dessert in Chinatown

If you’re not feeling up for wandering through the tunnels, how about some ice cream to cap off a long day of exploring Lower Manhattan? You’re in Chinatown now, so end your tour with a lychee, black sesame, or durian (really? durian??) ice cream from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory! You’ve earned this ice cream, dammit. It has been a day.

Congratulations! You’ve walked 4.6 miles and seen the hits of Lower Manhattan in Tribeca, the Financial District, the South Street Seaport, and a touch of Chinatown on our self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan. I hope you enjoy your visit in NYC!

This is going to be you! Jaywalking in New York City just like a local. We should call this the Self Guided Jaywalking Tour of Lower Manhattan.

This is going to be you! Jaywalking in New York City just like a local. We should call this the Self Guided Jaywalking Tour of Lower Manhattan.

Get the Printable Lower Manhattan Walking Tour PDF!

Finding a detailed self-guided walking tour of New York city online is great and all, but pulling out your phone to check every step isn’t a good idea (in fact, we advise against it – that’s how everyone we know has had their phone stolen, including us. Basic travel safety 101).

Instead, we’ve made a printable map of the self-guided Walking Tour of Lower Manhattan! It’s formatted and shortened to fit onto one easy to print page: directions on the front, map on the back. Super handy!

Get your FREE New York walking tour printable map by entering your email below.

Get the Lower Manhattan Walking Tour PDF!

Subscribe below and we'll send you the FREE Lower Manhattan Walking Tour printable map!

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

About Our Guest Post Contributor:  Steph is the blogger behind Jet Set Steph. She was bitten by the travel bug at an early age growing up in Singapore and hopes to share her experiences to encourage more people to book their next adventure. Currently working a full-time job in New York City, Steph takes every chance she gets to hop on a plane and touch down somewhere new – and to share it with all of you! You can follow Steph’s adventures on her blog, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Looking for more things to do in NYC outside of Lower Manhattan? Check out the post!

Psst: Interested in writing us a guest post? Click here.

What are you most intrigued by on this New York self guided walking tour? Leave us a comment below!

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A self-guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan including Tribeca, Hudson River park, the 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, the Bloody Angle, and a smidge of Chinatown. PLUS a downloadable map! The best way to see New York City is by foot! New York Travel | USA Travel | #NYC | NYC Walking Tour | United States Travel Destinations | New York City on a Budget

Pinterest photo credit: “New York City – Lower Manhattan” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by James Willamor

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15 Comments

Comments

  1. Shannon says: September 22, 2017 at 11:46 pm

    Any day that starts with brunch and ends in desert sounds good to me! I love a good walk around a city, especially one with so many icons like the big apple. Would love to visit the fearless girl statue before she disappears. Great itinerary guys!

    Reply
  2. krista says: September 22, 2017 at 11:54 pm

    what a great list! I have always wanted to visit New York before!

    Reply
  3. Tanya says: September 23, 2017 at 4:10 am

    Love the practical lists. This looks doable and fun!

    Reply
  4. Danielle says: September 23, 2017 at 7:01 am

    I wish I had this list when I was in New York last Christmas! I’ll definitely be checking some of these out when I go back!

    Reply
  5. Aimee says: September 23, 2017 at 8:34 am

    This is such a great list. I’ve never been to NYC before but this is going to come in so helpful when I do! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  6. Amanda Koh says: September 23, 2017 at 10:33 am

    I just returned from NYC and never got to do so many things!! We did the free ferry to see the Statue of Liberty but would have love to visit the cemetery and 9/11 memorial too. Plus we love walking so this would be the perfect guide for when we return to NYC in the future 🙂 (although it’s 20 hours from Singapore, I’m definitely going back!)

    Reply
  7. Kate says: September 23, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    What a great tour! Lower Manhattan is so concentrated with sights. One place I’d recommend adding is Fraunces Tavern, a downtown pub that dates back to the 1700s. And it sounds crazy, but they play the COOLEST music on Friday nights! You wouldn’t expect it in a place like that, but I swear it’s true! They have great food, too.

    Reply
  8. Alex says: September 24, 2017 at 4:34 am

    This is amazing and so detailed! Im planning to go to New York for my 30th birthday (still 2 years to wait!) So have saved this for future reference!

    Reply
  9. Britt says: March 30, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    Thank you for taking the time to help those like me and my boyfriend who have no clue what to do or where to go. We are totally looking forward to doing this together!

    Reply
  10. Sandy says: November 6, 2018 at 8:28 am

    Great list. I didn’t see a place to enter an email address for the printable map so hopefully this will do the trick. I would love to receive a copy!

    Reply
    • Lia Garcia says: March 5, 2019 at 8:17 am

      Hey Sandy, to get the map you’ll need to enter your email address in the subscription box and hit subscribe. Then it will be sent straight to your email.

      Reply
  11. george cruz says: November 9, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    great tips!
    thanks

    Reply
  12. Bernie and Jess Watt says: February 2, 2019 at 7:18 am

    As locals too, this is a pretty good selection. There are so many hidden treasures down in the Financial District that you’d never know were even there as a tourist – like the Trinity Bar which is set in a 1920s bank vault. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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  • #ad Visiting a National Park for the first time can be overwhelming. There are seemingly endless miles of rolling mountains, lush forests, potentially unfriendly critters, hiking trails, campgrounds, and scenic roads - where do you even begin?? Can you just roll up with a tent and hope for the best? Will the main road through the park even be open? Do you need to bring a container along on your hike to pack out trash and bodily fluids? Is bear spray REALLY necessary? Is it worth it to buy National Parks annual pass?⁠ .⁠ Ahem, in order: that’s not a good idea; depends on the time of year - if it’s winter, unlikely; yes, and Pringles cans are our personal favorite for that job; yes, but you can rent it rather than buy it since you (hopefully) won’t be using it; if there’s any chance you’ll visit more than one park this year and you support conservation, then YES!⁠ .⁠ Is your head spinning already??⁠ .⁠ When it comes to navigating unfamiliar territory - especially unfamiliar wilderness territory, full of legally protected critters and forests and such - it really helps to have a guide. If you happen to be besties with a friendly Park Ranger, you’re covered! But if not, the next best thing is a guide book, such as @MoonGuides. We used our copy of Moon USA National Parks to help plan and prepare for my very first trip to Glacier National Park. I even took the book with me into the park, and although it’s looking a little worse for wear these days, I think the mark of a truly good book is a bunch of ear-marked, scribbled-on, water-damaged pages, right? ⁠ .⁠ So whether you’re an experienced back-country explorer or you just heard the term Leave No Trace for the first time (ahem: very important, please Google), do some preparation before your trip! Otherwise you risk not only having a crappy time, but you could even harm the environment - or accidentally break a law and end up with a hefty fine. Yikes!⁠ .⁠ Have you ever visited somewhere you weren’t quite prepared for? Did hilarity and/or disaster ensue?! Confess your “oops, my bad” stories in the comments!⁠ .⁠ ⁠ #travelwithmoon⁠ .⁠ This trip was hosted by @glaciermt #glaciermt⁠
  • I found this really perfect leaf in Montana. 🍁 It was the perfect real-life example of a fall leaf, bright red and beautiful. It was the kind of leaf made for crisp fall days and apple picking. The kind of leaf that, once it has delighted fall foliage lovers for a month or so, will gently float to the ground, where it will make the absolute perfect crunch when somebody steps on it, probably wearing knee-high boots and leggings and a sweater and a giant scarf and clutching a hot caramel cider or pumpkin spice latte or something. .⁠ I plucked this incredibly perfect leaf and carried it with me through Montana, periodically stopping to take photos of it in front of things. Lakes. Cabins. Mountains. Fall things. It was the perfect way to begin a perfect fall - my absolute favorite season!⁠🥰🎃 .⁠ ... Then I flew back home to the Bay Area, where September and October are actually summer and it was 95 degrees outside and 92 degrees insight our apartment because nobody here has air conditioning because we don't need it 10 months out of the year because we usually have fall weather year-round. Except during, like, actual fall.⁠ .⁠ So like any normal person, I stocked up on tiny pumpkins and leaf garlands and little signs that say things like "leaves are falling and my coffee is calling" and threw them on every available surface in our apartment. And I DON'T CARE how basic it is because dammit if it isn't going to be fall OUTSIDE, it's going to fall INSIDE MY APARTMENT, 92 degrees OR NOT.⁠😡 .⁠ And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to stare at the photo of this leaf, ignore the weather forecast, and mentally will fall into existence.⁠🧘‍♀️ .⁠ Do you get fall? If so, can I come over? If not, are you EXTREMELY UPSET about it? I'm a full decade into living here and I think I just get angrier about the lack of seasons every single year 😂
  • [INDIGENOUS PEOPLES] On the last day of our trip to Montana, our hosts @glaciermt plied us with wine and invited us to share ways that Montana surprised us. As I reflected, I realized that my trip to Montana was eye-opening in a way I never expected. . I was anticipating beautiful vistas and jagged mountains and rolling hills and bison and ranches and connecting with the great outdoors. (I maybe wasn't expecting the enormous variety of huckleberry foods available on any given menu in Montana - a pleasant surprise!) . What I wasn't expecting was to be hit squarely between the eyes with the realization that I am sorely and shamefully underinformed about Indigenous Peoples in my own country. Montana has several large reservations, including the Crow Nation and the Blackfeet Nation, which we drove right through on our road trip. And I was like, wait... why don't I know ANYTHING about these communities? Why do I keep catching myself thinking of First Americans in the past tense rather than the current tense? . I mean, I like to think of myself as a fairly aware and conscientious traveler. When I visit a new country, I do research on its history and its Indigenous peoples. I can list off several Indigenous communities and languages still thriving in various parts of South America; I can tell you about my homestay with a Sámi family in Arctic Norway. So why do I have such a blind spot when it comes to my own country? . Like, I couldn't tell you a single thing about the Indigenous communities in my own backyard. I don't even know if we have reservations here in California. I honestly don't. Actually, I just googled it. We have 109 tribal communities in California. (I couldn't name a single one of them.) California actually has the highest Native American population in the country. (I had NO idea. Did you?) . Well, my ignorance is going to change. I'm currently compiling resources to educate myself further on Native Americans, past & present. I'd love any educational recommendations you all have, or Tribal tourism experiences! . It's hard to admit my own ignorance, but I'd wager a few y'all may not have stopped to think about it either. So ...have you? (No judgment!)
  • Meet Boxcar! 😍Boxcar is a 1-year old llama who lives in western Montana. He enjoys long hikes through the forest, munching on leaves, and hanging out with his llama friends at @swanmountainoutfitters. I met Boxcar on a llama trek to Bond Falls, and over the course of our 5-mile hike together, we became the best of friends! . ...But it didn't happen immediately. While the rest of my group bonded with their llamas, Boxcar kept his distance. For the first few hours of our hike, he trotted a few feet behind me, ducked his long neck away when I reached out gently to pet him, and generally sassed me.😭 . But like, I LOVE sassy animals. Cat people, amirite?? The harder I have to work for an animal's friendship, the more rewarding it is. Llamas have always been one of my absolute favorite animals. We met tons of llamas in South America and not a single one of them had any interest in being our friend (fun fact: llamas in South America are used as guard animals, so most of the llamas you meet are hard at work!). I've been filled with llama longing ever since. . So, I let Boxcar call the shots. We walked very slowly (my normal speed, tbh) and took lots of long snack breaks. And by the end of the hike, he let me pet him! I think he's even smiling in our selfie! I've never been happier!! . Fun facts about llama trekking: 🍁Domesticating a llama is a painless process for the llama. You basically just get them used to hugs and pets! . 🍁In terms of animal ethics, a domesticated llama living in the mountains is much like a domesticated horse living on a ranch. Swan Mountain treats their llamas excellently and takes good care of them! . 🍁Llamas make excellent pack animals and can carry lots of gear and food on long hikes, which makes them a fantastic accessibility buddy! (You cannot ride them, though.) . 🍁Llamas take a very long time to go to the bathroom but they step politely off the trail to do it, which is adorable. . 🍁When the Swan Mountain llamas aren't hiking, they hang out on a farm and live their fabulous llama lives! . Y'all, my llama dreams came true in Montana! Do you love llamas as much as I do? . Our trip & @llamatreks was hosted by @glaciermt #glaciermt
  • I just returned from Glacier National Park, Montana, and may I just say: DAYUM!🏞️💚 . Glacier is a haven of sweeping valleys carved by ancient masses of glittering ice; gushing emerald and aquamarine water turned crystalline by sloughs of "glacier flour"; towering mountains reflected upside-down in mirror lakes; and bear, moose, and mountain goats happily snacking on hillsides of chokecherries and huckleberries while bald eagles soar in the valley below.⁠ .⁠ You can't help but wax poetic about a place like this, y'all.⁠ .⁠ Although Glacier is one of the most popular National Parks in the country, our visit in mid-September coincided with a lull in visitors, so the massive park never felt too full. We witnessed leaves changing literally overnight, aspens bursting into bright yellows and oranges in valleys that had been green just a day earlier. And our visit timed perfectly with seasonal closures: we drove Going to the Sun Road the day before it partially closed and stayed at Many Glaciers Lodge on the last night of the season. Weather in Montana turns quickly, and although our days in the park were warm and sunny, the temperature on progressively chillier nights was quickly plummeting.⁠ .⁠ I wish I could just talk about how great my trip was and leave it at that. But doing so would be doing a disservice to this magical place. Sadly, the 2 million-year-old Glaciers in Glacier National Park are melting. Scientists predict they will be completely gone in a decade. . Yep. It puts a real downer on these gorgeous photos, doesn't it? . But we can't afford to ignore the facts: climate change is real, and it's already here. We need collective action. We need more Climate Strikes. We need more households & businesses striving towards zero waste goals (yes, that includes you). And we need to commit to offsetting carbon-generating activities like travel.⁠ We'll be offsetting our travels this year by donating to CarbonFund.org and continuing our zero-waste habits at home.⁠ .⁠ Have you visited Glacier NP yet? Did you attend a Climate Strike last week? What actions are you taking to fight climate change? Drop us a comment below! .⁠ Our trip was hosted by @glaciermt #glaciermt
  • I'm pretty sure summer is almost over. It's hard to tell, because Bay Area weather is complete nonsense. Like, yesterday it was 80 inside my apartment but today it's 60 degrees and foggy? What? ⁠ .⁠ In any case, I'm already starting to crave colorful fall foliage and scheming a way to go and see some (because living in California means fall foliage is like, a whole event). You'd think we'd have a really fun little weekend getaway planned for the 3-day weekend coming up, but we do not. Labor Day is always a shocking surprise that sneaks up on us right after we come home from my summer travels and right after school starts, so both Jeremy and I are super frantic and forget to book anything until it's way too late and everything available is massively out of our price range. We don't even have a car to do an impromptu getaway, y'all. It's in the shop. The bumper fell off because both our driveway and Oakland roads are jank AF. Isn't travel blogging just so0o0o000o0o glamorous? Soooo this weekend we'll be staying home and probably like, binge-watching Queer Eye or something.⁠ .⁠ I wish this was an inspiring caption with a pithy, thoughtful little lesson to wrap the whole thing up into a neat, tidy little bow, but it's not and I feel guilty because I haven't posted jack on Instagram all summer so I figured, better some rambling nonsense than nothing, right? ....right???? (See also: Lia feeling guilty that she doesn't post enough about political events; Lia feeling guilty that she hasn't said anything about the Amazon burning; Lia feeling guilty that she chose travel blogging instead of something less privileged/more important, Lia feeling guilty in general.... *ahem* whoops, I just spiraled a little bit, my B.)⁠ .⁠ Anywayyyyyyy, how is YOUR August going? Y'all, it's almost September. Is anyone else shocked & horrified by the manner in which time is moving forwards? Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed with me?! Do you have fun plans for this weekend?! Drop me a comment below so I can spend the next 3 hours reading them instead of responding to my 500+ unread emails! 🙃⁠

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