National Trails Day is June 6
From national parks to neighborhood parks, Americans have a great opportunity to use these spaces to help improve their health. National Trails Day is a great chance to celebrate the many benefits of these priceless resources. So get out and enjoy a park or trail today!
Parks and Trails
National Trails Day is June 6 and provides an opportunity to recognize and appreciate how important parks and trails can be for healthy living. Parks and trails are great places for physical activity and are important for fostering healthy behaviors in all types of people. The Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends[1] that creating or enhancing access to places for physical activity combined with informational outreach is a proven strategy for increasing physical activity. Parks and trails offer excellent opportunities for a variety of fun activities and a variety of options for achieving and maintaining an active lifestyle. In addition to providing chances for active fun, parks are great places to socialize with neighbors or just enjoy the tranquility of nature. From national parks to neighborhood parks, Americans have a great opportunity to use these spaces to help improve their health.
Physical Activity and Beyond
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity, or an equivalent combination of the two each week. Many parks have facilities and features that can be enjoyed at either of these intensity levels. From hiking on nature trails to playing basketball or swimming laps in a pool, pond, or lake, parks offer a wide range of options for active outdoor recreation. Recommended activity levels can be achieved in as few as 10- to 15-minute segments throughout the week, so there is plenty of room to try all the different activities parks and trails offer until you find the ones you enjoy the most.
Though parks are excellent venues for physical activity, they can also contribute to health through more subtle mechanisms. The presence of well maintained parks can promote positive social bonds in a community by providing a place for neighbors to interact in a relaxed setting. These positive interactions may contribute to a better sense of community and an overall improvement in the social context for health and wellness.[2] Aside from these social benefits, the presence of natural settings can also have soothing and healthful effects. Some people will feel better and heal faster when they are exposed to landscapes that have a natural character.[3] Parks are ideally suited for this, especially in highly urbanized areas where bits of nature may be fleeting.
Readily Accessible
In addition to the 391 units of the National Parks System, which covers more than 84 million acres in every state except Delaware, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, there are millions of acres of state, county, and city parks across the nation. By enjoying the parks and trails near your community you are letting policymakers know that parks are important to everyday people. National Trails Day is a great chance to celebrate the many benefits of these priceless resources. So get out and enjoy a park or trail today!
More Information
For more information about National Trails Day and resources for exploring the nation’s parks and trails, check out the following resources:
- National Trails Day
- National Parks Service
- Recreation.gov
- US Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- The Trust for Public Land
- National Environmental Education Foundation
- Guide to Community Preventive Services. Environmental and policy approaches to increase physical activity: creation of or enhanced access to places for physical activity combined with informational outreach activities. Available at http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/environmental-policy/improvingaccess.html. Accessed May 18, 2009.
- Cohen, DA, Inagami, S, Finch, B. The built environment and collective efficacy. Healthy Place 2008;14(2):198-208.
- Frumkin, H. 2003. Healthy places: exploring the evidence. American Journal of Public Health 2003;93(9):1451-156.
Current Features
Need info on a
different topic? See
Links to non-federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
