No Girl Walks Alone

More than a ‘hot girl walk’: How women walking groups across Texas are beyond the trend

‘Brave, strong, consistent, confident and creative’ describe the diverse women who meet every week outside Mañana coffee shop on South Congress Ave every Wednesday evening. The reason? No Girl Walks Alone, an all-women walking group that began in August 2022 to foster community.

The organization was founded by Maddie Scales, who moved to Austin from Oxford, Mississippi in 2022, with plans to start over. In a city where she knew no one, Scales was yearning for the companionship she had left behind in Mississippi. Instead of sitting in her sorrows, Scales took this as inspiration to start her own form of community through No Girl Walks Alone.

“When I was in Oxford, I was a part of a yoga studio that provided a strong community with its members, and I think I was deeply missing that,” Scales said. “My career background is in public health as well as social media so starting a community or organization like this came fairly naturally to me.”

No Girl Walks Alone isn’t alone in the all-women walking group trend. Similar groups can be found in major Texas cities such as Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, along with suburban towns such as Katy and Cypress.

While all groups have the goal of creating community, their core-values vary depending on location. Jessica Monsivais, a marketing communications manager who founded City Girls Walk Dallas prioritizes community outreach.

“It’s more than just a walk,” Monsivais said. “There’s so many groups out there that empower women and girls that I really want to be involved with…being able to after a walk go to a local small diversity-owned business and support them.”

Amanda Ramirez co-founded Cypress Girls who Walk with Erica Morel after meeting on a mom’s group. The two women took inspiration from a New York walking group and built their group on their shared values of community building and healthy living.

Nicole Smith, director of Katy Girls Who Walk, began their group with the help of City Girls Who Walk Houston. What started as a Tuesday evening walk has now expanded to a community that organizes monthly brunch hangouts and pop-up events.

“Women were craving community, so that motivated us,” Ramirez said. “Where I got the idea was out of New York; they had started their walking group and it was just the craze and I remember just thinking what a great way of getting healthy.”

Taking a leap that she hoped would land, Scales began promoting No Girl Walks Alone on Instagram.

“I really focused on making sure the language I used was approachable so anyone felt welcome,” Scales said.

Around the time Scales created No Girl Walks Alone, Austin had a 1.43% increase in population with a median age of 34.2 – a common age within the group. A report from the City of Austin also showed that the city’s population showed that in 2022, 52% of the population was made up of residents born outside of Texas.

Le’Chere Campbell, who moved from Nebraska, found the club refreshing because it let her socialize in a different environment.

“I think it’s easy to meet at a bar, but activities like this challenge you to step out of your comfort zone, communicate more openly and try something different,” Campbell said. “Many of [the women] I met were genuinely seeking new friendships and shared that they, too, found it difficult to make new connections.”

For Scales, her future plans for No Girl Walks Alone is to continue the growth and empowerment she has been able to provide for women.

“I’m someone who is really passionate about connecting people to information, other people, opportunities, & themselves,” Scales said. “I hope I can continue to expand this group in a way that will help people settle into Austin and find community themselves.”