When Carlee Bizzell moved from Dallas to Colorado Springs two years ago, she wanted to learn about the city.

Noticing a lack of social media guides to local spots, especially compared with Dallas, she decided to create one, forming the @localsprings account in spring 2021.

“I had originally started localsprings as a way to kind of get out of the house and explore my new city,” Bizzell said. “The amount of influencers that posted where to go or what to eat, there were just so many, and then coming here, there were a few but I really just kind of wanted to get out there and explore even more.”

The account shares local eats, shops and entertainment across the Springs on different social media platforms. So far, it has garnered thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.

“It kind of was helpful for me to get out of the house and meet people and just see what the city had to offer,” she said.

Now, the account is connecting young women around the city to get active with “hot girl walks” — a trend to get people moving.

What is a “hot girl walk” exactly? It’s a phrase for walks around 4 miles long around town or out in nature, with the goal of getting people out of the house to exercise and reflect. The phrase went viral on TikTok at the start of 2021, with women sharing their daily walks with the #hotgirlwalk, which has since amassed more than 658.9M views.

“I just really resonated with the ‘hot girl walk’ because the whole reason I started the account is because I was new to the city. I didn’t know anyone and it was a way to get out,” she said.

But, it wasn’t until last August that Bizzell decided to host the city’s first “hot girl walk.”

“As a young adult, it’s really hard to meet people,” she said. “I feel like most socialization is at a bar and I just I felt like this was the healthier way to have a girls meet up.”

Unlike the original trending hot girl walk, which focuses more on individual activity, the local Springs walk is focused on community, Bizzell said.

“We kind of deviated a little bit from the original TikTok trend of the hot girl walk,” she said. “This one is a little bit more community based. We walk about 2 miles, so it’s just long enough where you start to feel it but it’s short enough where it’s not like an extensive walk.”

The walks are held monthly at Monument Valley Park throughout the year until about October, when the sun starts setting earlier. Bizzell usually announces the dates for the walks around a week out.

Bizzell schedules the walks in the late afternoon following work so that more people can make it, and it usually lasts around 45 minutes.

“We try to do it after work that way to accommodate everyone’s schedules,” she said. “It’s simple enough where it’s not an intimidating invitation, and the amount of girls that will come by themselves, and then throughout the entire walk, you just see them talking to someone the whole time.”

Usually, Bizzell said, between 15 to 30 people attend. She encourages people to bring their dogs or come with a friend. Sometimes, the group will stop by a local business after the walk to grab a bite to eat or get some drinks.

“I mean, it’s just really fun because I also encourage people to bring their dogs so I feel like that kind of helps make it a little more comfortable,” she said.

Walking with the group has even helped build friendships and make relationships stronger, Bizzell said.

“I feel like a few of my friends, I knew of them, and they would come and I feel like that kind of just like grew our relationships,” she said. “An hour of just talking to girls, especially the girls that would come regularly, like builds relationships with them.”

The walk isn’t just good for physical health, Bizzell added. It’s also beneficial to mental health.

“After being in work for like eight hours a day, and just get out in nature and just be surrounded by people who are typically happy to be there.,” she said. “That energy that you get being around people and kind of having to socialize even if you don’t really want to.”

As for advice for those thinking about going, but are unsure, just try it, Bizzell said.

“Even when I go, like I’m a little bit shy myself, and so it’s really kind of expanded my confidence,” she said. “You can tell with the girls like it takes five to 10 minutes before they start getting comfortable. … It really take long for people to start feeling comfortable and make friends.”