Thinkwalks Tours
See below and reserve a spot on a Scheduled Tour or plan a Group Tour. Scroll all the way down for costs.
Getting ready for your tour
Tours start on time, so call if you’re running late.
Weather
Most of the year, SF weather is cold and windy.
The tour is still on, even in wet weather.
Call if you’re wondering about an approaching storm.
A few sprinkles won’t stop the tour. You can see for yourself how much rain is due!
Again: Thinkwalks have lots of stopping moments, so dress warmly, especially on windy days. I warned you!
What to Bring
Again, dress warmly!
Bring more than pocket change in case you madly adore the tour and want to pay farther up the scale—and you may want to buy some map or poster goodies from us.
Snacks provided on tours over two hours.
If it’s a bike ride, please test and adjust your bike before the tour.
Join a Scheduled Tour
Please RSVP. Bring friends! If you have already RSVPed for yourself, it’s okay to bring additional people, but nice if you let me know.
Cost: You decide what to pay after you’ve enjoyed the tour.
Please see sliding scale guidelines at the end of this page.
View the full calendar by week, month or in a list.
Plan a Group Tour
Do you have co-workers, members, classmates, or pals you’d like to gather for a Thinkwalk?
Call 415-505-8255 or use the reply box at the bottom of this page to specify:
- Approx. number of people
- Walk, bike ride, Muni, motoring
- Topic requests, ideas (see list below)
- Preferred location, dates & times
Walks or bike rides are always better. Public transit is a great option for some walks.
Private or rental vehicle tours only if you provide the vehicle or request car rental with up to 3 people.
Additional fees may apply for over two hours and for special arrangements.
Frequently requested topics:
- Hidden Streams & Groundwater
- The Founding of San Francisco
- Social Justice Murals
- Street Art History
- The Wiggle Bike Route
- Golden Gate Park
- Hayes Valley
- Lower Haight Neighborhood
- Creeks, Springs & Lakes
- Duboce Triangle Neighborhood & the US Mint
- Alamo Square & NOPA Neighborhood
- The Panhandle of Golden Gate Park
- SF Emergency Water Supplies
- The ARkStorm of 1862
- Transportation History
Sliding Scale Guidelines
All payments for tours are donations.
For individuals, the amount is set by you after you’ve enjoyed a tour.
You earn very little → $10
You’re finally living a stable routine → $15
Your income is stable → $20
Donating to progressive educational purposes feels great → $30
You’re proud to be good at making money → $40
For groups, especially educational groups, let’s talk about creating something within your budget.
The idea behind our sliding scale:
We don’t like turning people away for lack of funds. The tours are worth $30 and more by market rates.
As you’ll see on your tour, your suppo/rt sustains our unusual programs connecting people with the urban and natural context. Thinkwalks tours are presented as community activism and education. They are provided regardless of your financial resources.
And someday Thinkwalks will reach the goal of a living wage for the guide.
Ideally, we would follow the tour with a group discussion about priorities in life, financial resources, generosity, and so on, the way Movement for a New Society used to determine pricing for their workshops, way back in the idealism age. But that approach takes a lot of patience—and patience doesn’t grow on trees (unlike impatiens, as you’ll see when you walk around SF).
Together, we provide these events for reasons that have little to do with money, and of course you’ll appreciate the tours for more than their reasonable cost.
You can also get free tour certificates for your volunteering, such as helping to hand out flyers.
[...] the recommendation of Haighteration blog, I took the ThinkWalks walking tour of the Wiggle on Thursday [...]
Hi Joel,
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this web site. I remember with fondness taking a tour with you (Joe was there also) quite a few years ago. Keep up the good work!
hi! great site! would you export your calendar as iCal so people can add it to their calendar apps (google, yahoo, etc)? this would probably boost attendance, too!
I think this new calendar system will make that easier.
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011 2:00 p.m.
I could show you an old Pony Express stable (1860′s) watering trough cut into the living rock. The stable foundation is still there and it’s still freshwater springhead on 28th street in Noe Valley. That’s why they built a stable there.
[...] thinkwalks AKA joel pomerantz, is offering a walk on the watersheds of laguna honda on sunday, 13 march. if you’re curious about SF water history, how the landscape of SF has changed, or want to traverse some topography west of twin peaks, you can’t go wrong with a thinkwalks tour! start at garden for the environment, 7th ave. (at lawton), 1 PM, $10 – $40 suggested donation. [...]
What a beautiful day to walk the presidio. But even if the weather had provided one of our many grey days it still would have been an amazing walk. These older bones are already starting to feel the miles but that won’t stop me from taking another walk with you. I’ll share your info with friends and relatives.
Thanks so much.
Kathleen