Walking through the weather
Find the easy way there on foot.
Shift shows what you can reach on foot and the closest bus or train. Find better ways to get around, and get rewarded when you try them. Free.
Weather is most people's biggest walking hesitation, but most weather is more walkable than it looks from the warm side of a window. Here's what to know.
1. The right shoes are step one.
Waterproof shoes (any decent pair, not specialty gear) make rain a non-event. Insulated boots make a 25°F walk perfectly comfortable. Non-waterproof shoes are often the real problem people blame on weather.
2. Cold weather is a layering question, not a temperature question.
A light shell over your normal layers extends your comfort range a long way. The "dress like it's 15°F warmer" rule from biking applies here too — you'll warm up within a few blocks. Cover your ears and hands; everything else takes care of itself.
3. Light rain is fine.
A waterproof jacket and a hood handle the typical drizzle that stops people from walking. An umbrella works for steady rain on a calm day; in wind, a hooded shell is better.
4. Hot weather is about pace and hydration.
On 90°F days, walk slower, take a water bottle, stay on the shadier side of the street, and consider a hat. Pre-9 AM and post-7 PM hours are usually perfectly walkable even in summer.
5. Know your bail-out options.
Real bad weather — sleet, lightning, dangerous heat — is the right time to take the T, take a rideshare, or stay home. Walking should be a default, not an obligation. Knowing the bail-out option in advance makes you more willing to start.
One last thing
Most "the weather is bad" conclusions are made by people standing inside dressed for inside. Take a 5-minute walk to the corner and back before deciding it's a no-go day; the answer is usually different than expected.
Try it on your own trip
Type where you're going and see the walking, biking and transit options from where you are, with live arrivals. No app needed.
Plan your tripShift finds the calmest way to wherever you're headed, by bike, on foot or on transit, and gives you credit for every trip you shift.
Related guides
Biking in the rain
Light rain stops feeling like a barrier after the third or fourth time. The minimal gear that gets you there fast.
Cold-weather biking
Dress for the riding body, not the standing-still body. Layering, hands and feet, and what matters most below freezing.
Biking through a Boston winter: Boston, Cambridge and Somerville
Plenty of people around here ride straight through to spring. Where local riders share real-time conditions, how Bluebikes runs in winter, routes to start on in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, and the gear that makes it comfortable.