Cold winters, icy sidewalks, and uneven pavement can make outdoor exercise more challenging. During the Inland Northwest’s harsher weather, some in the community turn to mall walking as a safer and social way to stay active in a warmer setting.

Marcia and Leonard Parks have been walking at NorthTown Mall, at 4750 N. Division in Spokane, for 20 years.

"That’s a long, long time,” Leonard Parks says, looking at Marcia Parks to confirm. 

They arrive around 8:50 a.m. and wait in the parking lot.

“Unless they let us in earlier,” Marcia Parks says.

The couple says they like mall walking because it’s “dry and warm” and offers a smooth surface. They typically walk outdoors in the warmer months, until about October, then switch indoors for the winter months, and walk seven days a week. During each visit, they do two laps upstairs and two laps on the lower level.

NorthTown Mall; the Spokane Valley Mall, at 14700 E. Indiana; and River Park Square, at 808 W. Main, all offer opportunities for people to get their steps in.

NorthTown Mall opens at 9 a.m. specifically for walkers, according to Beverly Edgmon, mall receptionist. She says that during her two years working at Northtown Mall, there are typically about “50 mall-walking regulars every morning like clock work.”

The Spokane Valley Mall opens at 10 a.m., one hour before regular business hours. The Valley Mall promotes its walking hours on social media and on its website, which has its own page covering the mall walking hours.

At River Park Square, the north and south doors open around 8:30 to 9 a.m. for walkers, according to a mall concierge. The parking garage opens at 6 a.m. 

Daryl Rheingans, senior general manager of Spokane Valley Mall, says the amount of people they get for mall walkers varies, but it’s “fairly consistent year-round.” 

The average age of walkers is an “older crowd,” he says, but he’s seen families walking with strollers too. He notes that the mall is open for everybody.

“We love having the environment (of the mall) to support the community,” he says.

Spokane Valley Mall has been supporting mall walkers since its opening in 1997, according to Rheingans. 

Cassie Helm has been a fairly regular walker at the Spokane Valley Mall for about 2 1/2 years, at one point visiting four days a week with her grandson during his nap time. On days with poor weather, the mall offered a way to get some movement in while he slept. She says the mall offered a safe walking route.

For Helm, the social aspect was just as meaningful. Seeing others made her feel happy, she says, calling it “a beautiful thing … being friendly with people.”

While she doesn’t walk the mall as often now that her grandson is older and naps for shorter periods, the option is still appealing when the weather doesn’t cooperate. She says she also appreciated the quieter atmosphere compared to a gym, noting that she didn’t have to “yell over a treadmill.” Helm recalls seeing large groups of older walkers who would count her laps as she circled the top floor for anywhere from an hour to 2 1/2 hours.

Walking decreases the risk or severity of various health outcomes including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cognitive impairment, and dementia, according to a study titled "The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms." Walking also improves mental well-being, sleep, and longevity.

For people of all speeds and stages of life, mall walking offers more than exercise, it provides routine, connection, and place to keep moving.