Registration

 

Caroline is available by appointment for a fee, in addition to occasional FREE tours listed on the homepage.  Accordingly, to arrange for a running, walking, step-on bus tour or presentation at a date/time convenient for you, please contact carcook900@gmail.com

May
2
Thu
RUNGA! @ Masonic Center Grand Rapids
May 2 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Quarterly, we plan to meet outside of the historic Masonic Center, 233 Fulton St. E, Grand Rapids, 49503, on the ground floor of the FREE parking ramp.  We’ll run for 45 minutes through downtown Grand Rapids, with seasonally appropriate tour narration by Caroline Cook, owner of Grand Rapids Running Tours, then move inside the Armentality Movement Arts Center studio with owner, Laura Armenta, for 45 minutes of restorative yoga.  The event is limited to 20 participants…pre-registration is necessary.

Jul
13
Sat
RUNGA! Trail run + yoga at Blandford Nature Center @ Blandford Nature Center
Jul 13 @ 8:30 am – 10:30 am

Combine a trail run with yoga (RUNGA!) and you will experience exercise bliss.  We meet at the Visitor Center of Blandford Nature Center, then hit the trails after a brief lesson on the history of BNC and its buildings, beasts (friendly), and bark.  Our 45 minute run will take us to the adjacent Highlands for 45 minutes of refreshing yoga.  What a delightful way to begin your Saturday in July!

Oct
2
Wed
Month of Scary Walking Tours – Heritage Hill Hauntings @ Masonic Center
Oct 2 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Heritage Hill Hauntings

Are you surprised that there are ghosts on Heritage Hill?  Don’t be.  The stately homes of Heritage Hills may reflect the grace, dignity and formality of another era, but because most of these Victorian dwellings were built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, ghost stories abound. Tenacious and playful spirits are still hanging around.  Some of the accounts are scary, some silly, some believable, some not.  Some are legends from long ago, some are recent.  We will explore this beautiful neighborhood while your guide tells spooky tales that have been passed on to us by either present or once-occupants of the houses. 

Oct
3
Thu
Project 1 by ARTPRIZE Walking Tour @ Rosa Parks Circle
Oct 3 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Learn about the history of ArtPrize and the significance of Rosa Parks Circle and Ecliptic. Your lively guide will introduce you to the magnificent artwork of 4 of the 5 commissioned artists. The creations are strategically placed outside in this historical heart of the city.  You are invited to gaze upon, touch, or climb atop the creations.  The back stories will inspire you. If time allows, you will also learn about other nearby public sculpture.

Oct
9
Wed
Month of Scary Walking Tours – Fulton Street Graveyard @ Fulton Street Cemetery
Oct 9 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Fulton Street Graveyard 

175+ years ago, in 1838, the new village of Grand Rapids opened their first public graveyard – just 12 years after the arrival of Louis Campau. As the first and the oldest graveyard in Grand Rapids history, these humble monuments and graves commemorate fascinating lives of first generation G-Rap colonists. Aren’t you just dying to know WHO? Enjoy a dramatic narrative while we wander through this quiet place of remembrance.  Hop aboard the time machine… and see where original pioneer settlers of Grand Rapids lay in rest. 

Oct
10
Thu
Project 1 by ARTPRIZE @ Rosa Parks Circle
Oct 10 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Learn about the history of ArtPrize and the significance of Rosa Parks Circle and Ecliptic. Your lively guide will introduce you to the magnificent artwork of 4 of the 5 commissioned artists. The creations are strategically placed outside in this historical heart of the city.  You are invited to gaze upon, touch, or climb atop the creations.  The back stories will inspire you. If time allows, you will also learn about other nearby public sculpture.

Oct
16
Wed
Month of Scary Walking Tours – Saints & Spirits of Aquinas College @ Aquinas College
Oct 16 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Saints & Spirits

The bucolic grounds of Aquinas College abound with not only beauty, but historically intriguing stories of earlier lives who traversed the woods, gardens and streams. Learn about the property that was once a dairy farm,  a proper estate, a business college and now a renowned Catholic academic institution. The tour will visit today’s campus buildings that date from the original Lowe family era:  the mansion, carriage house, stables, winery, and gatehouse.  We will also investigate various landmarks on campus which foster superstitious traditions.  And maybe, just maybe, we witness a spirit of haunted Holmdene before we peek at Brookby, a “related” mansion just around the corner.  This tour meets at the front entrance of the college off Fulton, at the Saint Thomas Aquinas sculpture.

Oct
18
Fri
Project 1 by ArtPrize Walking Tour @ Rosa Parks Circle
Oct 18 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Learn about the history of ArtPrize and the significance of Rosa Parks Circle and Ecliptic. Your lively guide will introduce you to the magnificent artwork of 4 of the 5 commissioned artists. The creations are strategically placed outside in this historical heart of the city.  You are invited to gaze upon, touch, or climb atop the creations.  The back stories will inspire you. If time allows, you will also learn about other nearby public sculpture.

Oct
23
Wed
Month of Scary Walking Tours – Grand Rapids Most Haunted @ JW Marriott
Oct 23 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Grand Rapids Most Haunted

Do you believe in ghosts, ghouls, poltergeists, apparitions, phantoms, spooks, psychic phenomena or things that go “bump” in the night? If one person sees a ghost, even if several times, you may blame it on an active imagination; but if two or more people see the same spirit in the same place several years apart, you may just reconsider.  This tour takes you by iconic locations where there have been waaaaay MORE than just two sightings or unusual activity.   There are two questions that we attempt to answer on this spooky journey…Who suffered a tragic death here and is still hanging around?  And is this LEGEND or REAL? 

Dec
16
Mon
Twinklin’ Holiday Lights Walking Tour @ JW Marriott
Dec 16 @ 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm

Twinklin’ Holiday Lights

Are you feeling festive, fun, and frisky?  Come dressed in your finest holiday running sweater or tutu or tights as we celebrate the holiday season together.  Experience downtown Grand Rapids bejeweled and illuminated with both contemporary and nostalgic lighting displays.  The group will wander by uniquely special places, some of which will evoke warm feelings from Christmas’s past.  And as a gesture of community kindness, we will give vouchers for meals at Dégagé Ministries for those we pass who may be in need.