To being surrounded by luscious green and chirps of birds or a terrain of rocks and shrubs – hiking is a wonderful way to reconnect with nature and yourself. Find 3 ways hiking can dramatically improve your life- and places you can go without a car!

As the increase of people moving towards cities and less urban areas- over 50% of people live in cities. People have begun to be far removed from organic nature.

Take in a breath of fresh air and the nature around you

3 Reason You Should Take a Hike:

1. Hiking is not only good for your physical health but also your mental

While it can be quite obvious that walking is no doubt good for your wellbeing. It is a low impact exercise that for the average person, doesn’t put much strain on joints, increases your cardiovascular fitness, lower blood sugar levels while increasing metabolism. Hiking takes walking to another level, from a simple leveled walk to walking up a mountain or going down a sand dune. It can offer more resistances, help with coordination and become a full body workout.

Trekking through the woods have also been shown to dramatically improve your mental health. In a study conducted shows that just a 90-mintue walk in nature can reduce “rumination”(repetitive thought focused on negative aspects of the self)- which is linked to depression and other psychological illnesses. The study also suggest that experiences with nature can lead to a decrease in developing psychological disorders in the future.

2. Reconnection with Nature

In the recent years that where technology seems to have taken over our lives between work, school, and pleasure – it can be hard reducing screen time. With the additive properties of technology, people have begun to stay inside and stationary longer, and connection between people and nature has never before been so low.

The decline of nature knowledge can be witness with the decreasing vocabulary surrounding nature. With more youth growing up in cities – flora and fauna knowledge has decreased so much so, that an increasing amount of people can’t distingue between a blueberry bush and deadly nightshade.

Hiking allows for an immersion outdoors. It allows for the opportunity to explore and get to understand the environment and life around you- from identifying plants to bird sounds. Aside from the physical and mental benefits of hiking, you can also take away a greater appreciation of the world.

3. Allows for Inspiration and Creativity

Being surrounded by a different environment can allow for creative juices to flow. Hiking can allow you to escape certain stressors you could face in everyday life – while making you to focus on the environment, the company you keep, and yourself. If you let it, it can be a type of meditation.

Studies can agree – that time surrounded by the outdoors improves our mental and emotional wellbeing as well a multitude of cognitive benefits. Exposer to nature can help decrease stress and help ease our mental load, and well as potentially increase our attention span. Not to mention – hiking can give you the chance to witness some of the amazing creations of beauty that cannot capture through a screen.

Creativity can flow once your brain feels refreshed, if you are feeling restless, stagnate, or overwhelmed – perhaps it is time to go for a hike.

Plan Your Adventure

If you are from NYC

While there are some major parks throughout the boroughs – like Central Park, Van Courtlandt, Prospect Park ,etc – there is something more impactful in escaping the city entirely. You do not necessarily need a car in order to have access a wilderness trail.

2 Hikes you can Easily access by train:

1. Bulls Head trail– Take the MetroNorth Train from Grand Central to Cold Springs in Upstate. Take a 15- 20 minute walk throughout the delightful town to the trail head. Once you reach the trail head, you have multiple choices in trails and difficulties.
2. Beacon– With Beacon Mountain being the tallest point in the Hudson Highlands of New York, you would not regret the hike. To go, take the MetroNorth to Beacon. You can have the choice of walking or waiting for the free bus to the trail head.

Hiking is truly nature’s therapy and opportunity to reset.

In the wave of mental health and physical well-being, you can simply not ignore the benefits of what nature has to offer. If you do not have the chance to go for a hike- simply walking in the park can also give similar benefits. Happy Hiking!