Five Great Places to Walk for Exercise on Vacation

by Tom Bastek
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Wed December 10, 2014

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

With the exception of the last walk on our list today, all of the walks that are written about here are at tourist destinations, offer up great views and people watching, and have plenty of places to stop off for a bite or drink when you are done being healthy.

Jersey Shore Boardwalk - New Jersey

From Seaside Heights to Wildwood to Point Pleasant, the Jersey Shore has long been the place where people rented bungalows for the week or the whole summer to kick back and relax at the beach. But the boardwalk is where the best food, drink and entertainment always were.

For a great walk, stroll the boardwalk in the early morning for a relaxing, beautiful view and come back at night for some of the best big-haired people watching you could ever see. Superstorm Sandy is a thing of the past on the boardwalk, where they are more than ready and willing to take your hard-earned dollars.

Las Vegas Strip - Las Vegas, Nevada

Photo by Ryan Rudnansky

This is another great walk both early morning and late at night. During the twilight hours as the sun comes up there are some of the best walk of shames you could ever imagine and some of the hardest cleanup workers doing their thing before the beginning of another day. At night, the strip turns into a freak show meets gala event with a little bit of every type of person on the street.

Costumed people trying to get money for taking a picture with you, tuxedo and cocktail dressed guests headed to an event dinner and scantily clad women going to the club. Throw a whole bunch of Middle-American tourists wearing more camouflage and John Deere hats than Duck Dynasty and you can see why the three and a half mile walk of the strip is worth every calorie you burn.

River Walk - San Antonio, Texas

Photo courtesy of By Billy Hathorn (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

Originally built as a response to a severe 1921 flood that claimed the life of 50 people, the River Walk today is the thriving center of tourism in the downtown San Antonio area. Restaurants, bars, retail stores and hotels make up the majority of the businesses along the riverfront, and expansions that continued through 2011 have extended the overall length of the trail to 10 miles south and four and a half miles north of city center. Not just a beautiful walk during the day, but when lit at night, the river really comes alive.

Fifth Avenue - New York City

There is no better time to walk and window shop down Fifth Avenue than around the holidays. The problem is you had better get out there really early in order to beat the crowds. Christmas or not, the view of all of the latest trends and fashions in the store window is still stunning any time of the year. If you are a shopper, take the walk from Rockefeller Center north on Fifth Avenue until you get to Central Park and then if you want, you can continue through one of the most beautiful city parks in the U.S.

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You can also hang a quick right on 59^th and walk a half block to FAO Schwartz - highly recommended. Or if you really want a good long walk, go south past Rockefeller Center all the way down to the New York Public Library and the Empire State Building.

Pacific Crest Trail - West Coast

The only true "nature hike" on the list, the Pacific Crest Trail is popping up on a lot of peoples to-do lists because of the recently released Reese Witherspoon movie "Wild." The movie is about a woman's 1,100 mile self-healing hike of the trail. The trail in its entirerty is 2,650 miles long and stretches from Canada to Mexico through the Western States. Along the way you will encounter 1,000 lakes, 60 mountain passes, 24 national forests, 19 canyons, seven national parks and you will pass through six of the seven ecozones in the U.S. Not too shabby of a way to start your day.

There you have it; five places to grab a bit of exercise, do some people watching and possibly stop off and buy your way to happiness if the exercise isn't working. Where else are some great walk sites at tourist destinations? Let me know in the comments below!

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