Trail Therapy: Characteristics of a Healing Trail
For weeks, I’ve been juggling work and life, wrapping up a new manuscript and teaching college writing classes, while moonlighting as an unpaid chauffeur for my not-quite-driving teens and a 7-year-old. Nature has been a source of solace during hectic times like these—so this morning, I slipped out at dawn and set off on a therapy walk under a hazy Rocky Mountain sky.
I’ve maintained a regular therapeutic walking routine since 2024—the year I started writing “Trail Therapy: Finding Wholeness in Nature,” a guided memoir about the mental health benefits of movement through natural settings. Part science journalism, part personal narrative and practical workbook, the project took off when Stacey Beller-Stryer, MD, chief health officer for Park Rx America, prescribed me a custom “Nature Rx” to help alleviate some nagging mental-health woes. As a curious journalist, I soon realized that certain physical trail features—tranquil colors, soft shapes, calming sounds—made some paths more restorative than others. Learning to spot these traits can turn any local walk into a therapeutic experience. Here’s the quick run-down.
Mother Nature’s Palette
Visual environments directly impact our physiology. When a landscape feels serene, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in, signaling the body to relax by lowering our stress response. For sighted trail users, tuning into color is a solid first step toward maximizing the mood-boosting effects of nature. (For blind or low-vision trail users, braille trails and sensory walks offer alternative ways to engage with a landscape.)
A handful of studies indicate that certain colors trigger real physiological responses, altering respiration, heart rate and body temperature. No surprise here: Mother Nature’s preferred color swatches predominate. Research shows that green spaces rich in plant life reduce stress, and blue spaces anchored by water (think oceans, streams, ponds and reservoirs) consistently rank as the most restorative environments of all. When planning a therapeutic walk, try scanning topographic maps, guidebooks and other sources for routes rich in foliage and water features.
Beyond color, human brains are drawn to certain forms. Studies in neuro-aesthetics show that our affinity for round, curved shapes is biologically driven by our sensory motor system. While built environments are flush with sharp, geometric angles, natural landscapes generally supply vast stockpiles of organic shapes, and these irregular forms feel gentle and inviting. Berries, mushrooms, rocks, lily pads, clouds, flower blossoms, snails, jellyfish, hills, sand dunes, water droplets, the moon and … this list is endless!
There’s symmetry in nature, too, and our minds love consonance because, among other things, it’s familiar, easy to process and represents order. So even though pine trees aren’t soft and elliptical like, say, maples and lindens, they are well proportioned and balanced in all the right ways. Trails with soft contours and symmetrical objects give your visual system a chance to rest.
Take Note:
Beauty can definitely be a matter of personal taste. Make a list of 10 natural sights that are appealing to you, then look for them on your next walk or roll.
Music to Our Ears
Viewing nature is wonderful, but for hearing people, listening can be extremely beneficial. Anyone who loves music already knows that sound can transform a mood in seconds by triggering the release of dopamine, the same brain chemical associated with pleasure and reward. Melodious natural sounds have an uncanny ability to bring on mental clarity and lower stress. If you’re hoping for a moment of truth on the trail, skip the earbuds: Mother Nature is happy to DJ.
Birdsong, in fact, is a perfect stand-in for conventional music. Amazingly, humans share more genes governing speech with songbirds than we do with any other primate. Additionally, some scientists suspect that the melodic part of our human language was derived from birdsong sometime within the last 100,000 years. Since human brains are hardwired to respond to speech-like sounds, it makes sense that we’re naturally drawn to avian melodies.
Sound researcher and behavioral health psychologist Joshua Smyth, from Penn State, observed that tuning into songbirds melts away tension. Meanwhile, a landmark study from King’s College in London found that simply hearing birdsong can lift a person’s mood for up to four hours.
Running water is another powerful auditory tool, known to induce rapid relaxation. If you don’t live near an ocean, river, stream or babbling brook, you might have to get creative in order to incorporate this acoustic element into your therapeutic routine. City dwellers can hike to (or past) a destination with a water feature. Start by investigating your local civic centers, urban plazas, city parks, botanical gardens, libraries and landscaped cemeteries. Do any of these places have fountains or water walls? Can you think of more locations to add to the list? Don’t discount places of worship open to the public, where I’ve found beautiful reflection pools. Wherever you go, just be sure to avoid routes with heavy noise pollution.
Sing Along:
Singing makes us feel happier. From what I understand, there’s something about the act of singing, either solo or with a group, that triggers the release of feel-good hormones such as endorphins, serotonin and dopamine. If this invitation won’t make you feel too silly, try singing along with your local songbirds next time you hit the trail. Post-hike, jot down any relevant notes in your journal.
Mood-Boosting Smells
When we enjoy a scent, it enhances our mood. This isn’t just a placebo effect: Studies have found that pleasant smells can lower stress while improving cognitive performance, and healthcare practitioners have experimented with aromatherapy by exposing hospital patients to natural scents such as peppermint and lavender.
Many natural aromas can be catalysts for emotional renewal. In evergreen forests, breathing in the oils released by cone-bearing trees, especially pines and Japanese cedars, can lower stress hormone levels. Meanwhile, urban or suburban walkers might hike past community gardens to inhale relaxing aromas of mints and rosemary. Zesty citrus notes wafting from lemon, orange and bergamot may provide an energetic lift; the floral fragrance of roses, meanwhile, has been shown to help reduce feelings of anxiety. Fresh-cut grass releases chemicals that stimulate the amygdala, lowering cortisol levels.
Unlike sight and sound, though, smell is deeply personal to the individual. Identify natural smells that make you feel happy and connected, and actively seek them out on the trail.
Trail Tip:
For people in urban areas or near business districts: If you want to blend taste with movement, but aren’t quite ready to forage, walk or roll to a local farmer’s market, artisan bakery or favorite coffee shop.
I won’t pretend that my Nature Rx has solved every problem in my life. But spending the last two years (and counting!) taking three 30-minute therapy walks a week—unplugged, fully present—has been a real boon to my emotional health. As the morning haze lifts over the foothills behind my house, I’m reminded that healing doesn’t require some grand escape. All we need is a nearby path with a handful of natural elements and the willingness to pay attention.
To learn more about how trails can incorporate all five senses, check out “Trail Therapy: Finding Wholeness in Nature” on Simon and Schuster’s website.
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