Volksmarching: America's Walking Club Started in Texas and Nobody Told Us
Volksmarching: America’s Walking Club Started in Texas and Nobody Told Us
Texas born, Texas proud. San Marcos was home — right in the middle of the corridor between Fredericksburg and Shiner, which means we grew up surrounded by the German Hill Country whether we claimed it or not. Cedar-covered ridges, spring-fed rivers, Sunday houses, and a Shiner Bock within reach at almost any hour. Our grandkids call us Oma and Opa. Not because we have a family crest from Stuttgart — just because that’s how it’s done out there.
So when we found out that America’s entire volksmarching tradition — a movement that now spans more than 40 countries and draws 15,000 people to a walk in South Dakota — started in Fredericksburg, Texas, in 1976, we felt personally called out for not knowing about it sooner.
It Started With a Poster in Germany
In 1975, Ken Knopp — a Catholic deacon from Fredericksburg — traveled to Rome for a church meeting, then on to Germany to visit his elderly aunt and uncle. They were avid walkers. The German walking tradition had been going since the 1960s through the IVV (Internationaler Volkssportverband — International Volkssport Federation), and his relatives were deep into it.
Knopp saw a poster. He wrote down the contact information.
He came home to the Texas Hill Country, organized a route through the historic streets of Fredericksburg, and in 1976 hosted the first American volksmarch — the “Walkfest” — at the Vereins Kirche in Pioneer Plaza. About 230 people showed up. From that first walk in a town full of German bakeries, church halls, and Sunday houses, the American Volkssport Association was born.
Today the AVA has 160+ clubs, runs 2,500+ events a year across almost every state, and is fully affiliated with the IVV worldwide network. And their national headquarters is in San Antonio.
It never left Texas.
2026 is the 50th anniversary of American volksmarching. Ken Knopp’s Walkfest in Fredericksburg was 1976. Half a century later, the movement he started in a small German Hill Country town has grown to 40 countries and tens of thousands of walkers. That’s worth a stamp in the book.
What Is Volksmarching, Actually
The German breaks down simply: Volk (people) + marsch (march). A people’s walk. That’s all it is.
No race. No clock. No podium. No competition of any kind. You show up, pick up a map from a start box at the trailhead, walk a predetermined 5km or 10km route through a scenic or historic area, get your book stamped at the end, and go eat something.
Events are open to anyone — no membership required, no fitness test, no training plan. People walk with dogs, strollers, trekking poles, and occasionally wheelchairs. The point is to get outside and move through a place that’s worth moving through.
The IVV Record Book is where it gets interesting for anyone who’s ever chased a race series or a Strava segment. You carry a small booklet — event book and/or distance book — and get an official stamp at each walk. Send the full book to AVA headquarters and you get a patch, pin, and certificate back in the mail. Milestones at 10, 30, 50, 75, 100 different events completed. Distance awards at 500km, 1,000km, and beyond.
It’s a lifelong race with no finish line and no losers. Runners get this immediately.
The Scale Nobody Talks About
Here’s the number that stopped us: 15,000 walkers.
The Crazy Horse Memorial Volksmarch in the Black Hills of South Dakota — a walk to the base of the world’s largest mountain carving, still in progress — draws up to 15,000 participants. It’s described as the most popular organized hike in the United States. The spring event typically pulls 5,000+, the fall event several thousand more.
In 2023, San Antonio hosted an international IVV walking festival that drew participants from 23 countries and 41 states.
This is not a niche hobby. This is a global fitness movement with 50 years of American history, and most outdoor people have never heard of it. The trail running world chases Hardrock numbers and UTMB lottery slots. Meanwhile, 15,000 people quietly walk to a mountain in South Dakota twice a year and stamp their books.
Rockport Is on the Circuit
Here’s the part that really got us.
We live in Rockport. Rockport is a permanent stop on the volksmarching circuit — maintained by the Rockport Trailways Club, the local chapter of the AVA. They run two year-round self-guided routes:
- 6 kilometer walk along the Tule Hike and Bike Trail, passing through natural areas, historic sites, and the waterfront
- 8.5 kilometer walk — same start, longer route
The start box is at the Rockport Community Pool (maps, directions, and stamp inside). Tues–Sat, 7am–7pm. You can walk it any day you’re in town, no registration required.
Polly is getting her stamp book. We’ll report back.
If you’ve ever walked the Tule Trail along the bay — and if you’ve been to Rockport, you have — you’ve walked part of a route that connects to a 50-year-old movement started two hours up the road by a deacon who saw a poster in Germany.
How to Find a Walk Near You
The AVA has an events search at ava.org — searchable by state, city, or club. Year-round self-guided routes are available in hundreds of cities. Live events (with organized start times, larger crowds, sometimes food) happen throughout the year.
The Trek4Free events map → lists outdoor events including walks, trail runs, and conservation events across the country. If your local walking club hosts events, submit them → and get them in front of the Trek4Free community.
If you’re in the Rockport area, check out Rockport Birding HQ → — the bays and wetlands along the volksmarching route are some of the most productive birding habitat on the Texas coast. Bring binoculars.
If You Want to Get Involved
Walk first. No membership required. Find a year-round route on ava.org, grab the instructions from the start box, and go. Pick up an IVV Record Book at any event for a few dollars and start collecting stamps.
Join a local club. The Rockport Trailways Club is the local chapter here. Contact the city’s parks department (361-727-2158 or baguirre@rockporttx.gov) to connect with the club. One conversation and you’re in.
America’s Walking Club is also hosting a free webinar on June 17th at 7pm CST — featuring a speaker from America Walks on their Walking College program, open to all ages. Register at bit.ly/4sOQEaK.
Ken Knopp hosted 230 people in Fredericksburg fifty years ago. Now it’s 40 countries.
All he did was write down a phone number.
The Trek4Free events map → lists walks, trail races, cleanups, and outdoor events across the country. If you’re organizing a community walk or volksmarch event, submit it here →.
