Hey! Miles Howard here. I’m an author, journalist, and urban trail creator based in Boston but frequently wandering. I’m passionate about outdoor recreation, walkable environments, and the question of who has access to these spaces. My writing often spotlights the activists, creators, and policy makers who are dismantling historic socioeconomic barriers to these places and making them more inviting and inclusive. As an urban trail creator (and the founder of one of Boston’s newest urban trails), my work involves getting people outdoors and spotlighting the hidden connections that exist between built spaces, conservation land, and our communities.
I kicked off my editorial career as a writer for The Boston Phoenix and an opinion contributor to WBUR—Boston’s NPR station. Since them, my work has been featured in National Geographic, The Boston Globe, The New Republic, Lonely Planet, VICE, the Washington Post, Southwest: The Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Shelterforce, Boston Magazine, Dwell, and NBC News,
In 2022, I founded the Walking City Trail—a 27-mile urban hiking trail across Boston that runs from the Neponset River to Bunker Hill, passing through parks, urban woodlands, community gardens, and other green spaces. The Walking City Trail has been featured by NPR, Outside, The Boston Globe, and ABC’s Chronicle. Each year, I offer guided section hikes along the trail—including nocturnal winter hikes! I also offer consultation services on the evolving art of urban trail planning for cities and nonprofits. Click here to learn more about the Walking City Trail.
I also publish Mind the Moss, a weekly newsletter about unusual hiking in New England’s wilderness areas, cities, and suburbs. Click here to read and subscribe to the newsletter.
Finally, I’m the author of three books (number four is currently the oven):
- MOON NEW ENGLAND ROAD TRIP (2021), a guide to New England’s most storied and overlooked regions, linked by an endless spiderweb of scenic roads.
- MOON NEW ENGLAND HIKING (2020), a guide to some of the most rugged and spellbinding hikes in the northeast (not to mention, nearby craft breweries.)
- THE EARLY VOTERS (2017), a reported chronicle of Millennials coming of age in America’s post-recession landscape and contemplating their political power.