Participants at a "forest therapy" accessible walk in Otis R. Johnson Wilderness Park in Fort Bragg, Calif. on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Center) Disability activist Leslie Krongold leads accessible walking tours on the Mendocino Coast to promote inclusivity and accessibility to natural environments and community-building activities. (Adrian Jung/Leslieís Accessible Walks via Bay City News)

MENDOCINO CO., 8/18/25 – Leslie’s Accessible Walks offer a unique kind of walking adventure, highlighting accessible coastal routes, relaxed group strolls, and the area’s most charming scenery. Mendocino resident Leslie Krongold created the program as a way to bring people together after a life-changing personal experience that left them unable to navigate rough terrain easily.  

Krongold herself underwent such an experience shortly after she and her wife and partner, Jessica Nussbaum, relocated from Alameda, Calif., to the Mendocino County Coast in August 2021. While out on a walk, Krongold fell and realized the progressive neuromuscular condition she lives with had entered a new stage. She could no longer trust her balance and says she began using mobility assistance.

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Mary Rose Kaczorowski is a freelance reporter and occasional correspondent for The Mendocino Voice. She originated from the East Coast, and has worked in the nonprofit sector and public policy space from...