Kingston Gets Walking!

Why Walk More?

You can gain a lot from walking! Here are some walking benefits:

Physical benefits:

• Keeps heart, lungs and muscles fit
• Maintains healthy weight
• Strengthens bones
• Reduces health risks

Psychological benefits:

• Relieves stress and tension
• Helps with a positive body image
• Reduces fatigue and increases energy
• Allows time spent with family and friends 

Learn more details on walking from this pamphlet!

Walking with a group is a great way to stay motivated to get out and have fun at the same time.  Why not try one of the following walking groups!

Rideau Trail Association

• The Rideau trail is a Hiking trail from Kingston to Ottawa
• Hikers come prepared!
• Common meeting location: in front of Canadian Tire along Bath Road, go to gas pumps and you should find the leader with a clipboard
• Cost: money for gas to car pool to walking locations

King’s Town Trekkers Volkssport Walking Club

• A walking club offering fun, family and friendship. Walks take place starting at different locations in Kingston and surrounding area. Members are provided with walk details approximately one week in advance of the walk. Walks typically take place once a week and walkers can complete a 5 km route or a 10 km route.

Nordic Pole Walking/ Urban Poling

•  Best Health Physiotherapy will be offering scheduled, free, Introductory Nordixx Pole Walking Clinics. Contact them for the next clinic date.  You can also join them for ongoing Nordixx Pole Walking group classes.  They can also supply you with a complete line of Nordixx poles and accessories
• Fit to the Core offers Urban Poling classes and clinics.
• For details about location and contact info, check out the Active Places page (check the “poling” or “walking” box and click “go”)
• The YMCA of Kingston now offers urban poling classes!

The Running Room

• Join the walking group at the Running Room!
• Walkers and runners from beginner to advanced are all welcome
• If you wish to turn your walking into a work out and train for walk/run events, you can also join Running Room’s training programs.

Trailhead Kingston

• Gear and guidance to enjoy the outdoors in every season!

Kingston Gets Active Walking Network

This is a community-walking network created in partnership with Kingston Gets Active. The network users communicate via a Facebook page, which has a collection of existing walking programs in the city of Kingston. The goal is to encourage collaboration and communication among existing walking groups and interested walkers. Check out our Walking Facebook page.

Having a map can help with planning walks. Here are some maps to check out!

City of Kingston:

• Urban Area Cycling and Trails:  A great map of all trails in Kingston
• Historic self-guided walking tours
• The K & P Trail:  Includes a K&P Trail map as well as an interactive tour and a downloadable brochure.
• The Rideau Trail
• Local parks in Kingston

Royal Military College (RMC) Maps

• Interested in walking routes around the RMC campus? (Go to the Facebook page and search in the photos section for the RMC map album)

Explore the Arch

• Check out this website for hiking and fitness trails in the Kingston area
• There are also a variety of heritage walking trails for the surrounding area

Scavenger Hunt

• Check out this scavenger hunt that starts at the Girls and Boys club (559 Bagot street) to 169 Earl street
• Walk 30-50 min while answering questions that will develop more of an appreciation of the Kingston environment!

There are plenty of resources out there to help you in your walking quest!

Walking Tours of Kingston: This GPS based app allows users to go on walking tours of Kingston. Offered in 14 different languages, the Walking Tours of Kingston app provides many different walking tours. Each tour varies on length but allows the user to learn the rich history and culture Kingston has to offer all while being active!

Note: This app is only compatible with Apple Products (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch iOS 8.0 or later)

Map my walk: Map your walk or check out what other people have walked in Kingston.

Get Your Move On!

Looking to start walking more? Why not measure your progress with the help of the Pedometer Lending Program.

Pedometers count the wearer’s steps during physical activity and have been successfully used to motivate and increase walking and physical activity patterns.

• Check out a pedometer from your local library and see how many steps you can take in a day.
• Keep track of your steps on a downloadable log sheet and see if you can increase the number of steps you take every day

How walkable is your neighbourhood?
This website rates the walkability of your neighbourhood, taking into account your proximity to amenities.

Active and Safe routes to School:
This website lists a variety of ideas that schools can implement to increase active transportation. For instance, why not join a walking school bus?

Get walking in Kingston at one of these beautiful parks:

• Breakwater Park & City Park–Waterfront trail, splash pad, picnic areas
• Lake Ontario Park–Waterfront trail, splash pad, picnic areas
• Belle Park–Waterfront trails and golfing
• Fort Henry–Walk around the Fort for spectacular views of the lake and Kingston
• Greenwood Park Trail–A lovely meandering trail in Kingston East
• Grass Creek Park–Beach and picnic areas on the St. Lawrence River
• Lemoine Point Conservation Area–Waterfront walking trails (free)
• Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area–Walking, skiing, snowshoeing trails, ice skating, sugar bush, seasonal equipment rental (entree fee)
• Parrots Bay Conservation Area–Walking trails and pond off Hwy 33 past Amherstview (entree fee).
• Rideau Trail, K&P Trail, Cataraqui Trail
• For more information on these parks, look them up on our ActivPlaces search tool (check off “walking” and press “go”).