The Happy Wanderers offer an opportunity to join one of the DMA’s longest tenured groups and enjoy a healthy and interesting walk and new and old fellowships while exploring locations of cultural or historical interest that one might not have previously visited or fully explored.  The Wanderings are primarily in neighborhoods, parks or historic sites in New York City and sometimes in Connecticut.

Recent Wanderings have been to neighborhoods such as Greenwich Village, Sheepshead Bay and City Island, to parks such as Central Park, Prospect Park and the Bronx Zoo, and to historical sites such as Governors Island, Grant’s Tomb, the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York Transit Museum.  A partial listing of Wanderings that have been enjoyed by DMA members during the past decade or so appears below.

 Each Wandering’s destination, route, sights to be viewed, transportation and lunch location are planned by the leader of the Wandering.  Wanderers should bring cash to pay for lunch, refreshments and any entrance fees and a credit card to pay for train, subway, ferry and bus expenses.  Spouses of DMA members are welcome on Wanderings.

Wanderings usually occur on the fourth Thursday of the month.  When a holiday occurs during the week containing the month’s fourth Thursday, the Wandering usually occurs on the month’s third Thursday.  As the Wanderers take winter and summer breaks, no Wanderings typically occur during the winter months of January or February or the summer months of July or August.  The Wanderers remain active during the winter planning future Wanderings and often conducting a Super Bowl pool and March Madness contest.

Beginning in January 2026, Chet Cobb and Harry Bergen are the Leaders of the Happy Wanderers having succeeded David Mace and Joe Spain, who led the Wanderers for many happy years.  Other members of the Happy Wanderers and occasionally third- party guides also lead Wanderings.  John Barston founded the Wanderers in 2002 when he led the Wanderers on a Wandering to lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center.