Kick off your walkable shopping season the day after Black Friday, also known as Small Business Saturday. Created by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday is a national day to celebrate and support the local small businesses that boost the economy and invigorate neighborhoods across the country.

Use two feet instead of four wheels to find that perfect gift for everyone on your list and do your holiday shopping on foot right here in Arlington, with help from WalkArlington. You’ll save money you would have spent on gas, gain time you would have wasted trolling for a parking space, and spare yourself the ordeal of holiday traffic, mall malaise, and overall seasonal stress! What’s more, walking reduces your carbon footprint and might even thwart that dreaded holiday weight gain.

Many of Arlington’s Small Business Saturday participants are Car-Free Diet partners located in some of the County’s most walkable, shoppable neighborhoods. And most of these neighborhoods are also featured in WalkArlington’s series of self-guided neighborhood walking tours, known as Walkabouts.

Each of the featured Arlington neighborhoods has its own self-guided Walkabout map so you can plot out your route and bundle your outings. After you’ve made your purchases, you can use the time you saved by shopping locally to explore the rest of the neighborhood on foot!

Here are just a few of the Walkabout routes that offer plenty of pedestrian-friendly shopping opportunities.

Maps for these and other neighborhood Walkabouts are available on-line and in WalkArlington’s handy Walkabouts brochure. Contact info@walkarlington.com for a free copy!

In the meantime, happy shopping and happy walking!

This post was updated in October 2019.