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Quality Forward, Mission Hospitals Foundation, and Tortoise & Hare Running Outfitters have collaborated on a new walking trail guide for Asheville and Buncombe County, and the guide is now available both in print and online. The new guide, which contains information on 17 different walks, offers suggestions all over the city and county. The recommended walks range from very short and easy to longer and more challenging, creating an obvious opportunity for people who are interested in charting their progress to take more and more challenging routes. In the process, walkers can end up seeing some of the prettiest terrain in Asheville and Buncombe County. The benefits of walking have always been clear, but are becoming increasingly well known. The new walking guide points out that walking strengthens the heart muscle, increases lung efficiency, improves everyday endurance, decreases the risk of heart disease, lowers the resting pulse rate as well as blood pressure, burns calories, alleviates stress and anxiety by relaxing muscles, promotes better sleep, and helps to strengthen bones … those are a lot of great side effects for something as pleasant as walking through one of Asheville or Buncombe County’s beautiful neighborhoods or parks.
The walking guide also offers pedestrian safety tips, and suggests different routes based on different interests (walks through scenic neighborhoods, walks with historical sites, walks in different locales, and walks for aerobic pacing). The description of each walk includes interesting sites to see along the way. The guide also lists the length of each route as well as the level of difficulty. For ease of use, the walking guide is separated into routes through varying parts of the city and county – central, north, east, southwest, and west. Some of the area’s prettiest and most entertaining sections are represented in the guide, including routes through Asheville’s Riverside Cemetery, the Urban Trail (in downtown Asheville), the Kimberly Avenue/Griffing Blvd. neighborhood, Beaver Lake (in north Asheville), Lake Tomahawk (in Black Mountain), Warren Wilson College’s beautiful trails, and the NC Arboretum’s trails (in west Buncombe County). To access the walking guide online, please visit Quality Forward’s web site, Quality Forward web site, click here, www.qualityforward.org. For a printed copy of the guide ($2 per copy), please call Quality Forward at 828-254-1776.
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Walking for health reasons is a great way for many people to get back into the habit of consistent physical exercise, even after taking their good health for granted for extended periods, and is something that most people can continue into their later years. 