Book: Walk Four Mile Run: A Chain of Parks (2nd ed)

Walk Four Mile Run: A Chain of Parks by Martin Suydam is the second edition, adding more stories and historical content. It is assembled as nine walking tours along the historic Arlington, Virginia Four Mile Run waterway. Most walks are in Arlington County, but they are also cross, on occasion, into Alexandria and Falls Church.

After some experience doing group walks in Four Mile Run Park and teaching the Walks with Charley class, session walks are structured with the following characteristics:

• Walks featuring the history of South Arlington include many aspects of conventional nature walks (fresh air, birds, plants, trees, and maybe, weather).
• Approximate 2-2.5 mile circuit walks that begin and end at the same location but will generally limit duplicate parts of the route. In some cases, eliminating duplication is not feasible due to restricted access
• Time of walk – approximately 1-1/2 hours
• Mostly flat
• Avoid trails with speeding bike riders (such as the W&OD Trail) and cross as few streets with cars, as possible.
• Stops along the route at locations of historic significance.
• On-the-move narration, employing the use of smart technology such that all members on the walk can clearly hear the instructor, no matter the distance or noise interference.
• Portions that might be considered lecture but the course is more like a guided tour involving history of area, generally from the Revolutionary Era to the present, bird and other wildlife identification, and plant identification.

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Independently published, 2023