Hit the trails in the coming year for better mental and physical health
By Bob Confer
If you are working on your resolutions for 2026 and looking for ways to improve both your physical health and your mental health, I have a suggestion for you: Get outdoors, often.
I swear by the benefits of being in the wilds on a regular basis.
Hiking varied and rugged terrain, or walking on a flat path more suited to age and ability, is an excellent workout. Don’t let anyone tell you have to jog or run – nicely-paced walks which get the heart rate up and try your legs are more than sufficient. I put on my legs somewhere between 600 and 700 miles every year in the woods and on the trails, a fine companion to what I do on my other days of exercise (going 10 rounds with the heavy bag). In my 50s that has contributed to great cardiac health, impeccable blood work, and other positive factors which health professionals say makes me comparable to someone in their 30s.
As excellent as those outcomes are for the body, it’s the mental side of being in the great outdoors that’s most beneficial.
Life can come at you hard. Most anyone faces at one time or another stresses of work, raising kids, personal losses, finances, and shared community experiences. Some folks also deal with anxiety, depression, addiction, and other mental health issues, whether diagnosed or not. Magnifying the impact all of these matters is the absolute poison that everyone carries in their pockets – your smartphone ties you into social media algorithms that foster negativity, division, resentment, jealousy, and other downers while perfectly being crafted to keep you hooked on screen time with reels, clickbait, and personal echo chambers.
Get away from all of that on the trails. Listen to the birds and the flowing waters. Smell the flowers. Feel the breeze and the sun on your face. Marvel at the smallest of creatures we share this world with. Being one with nature, connecting with the universe, has pronounced positive impacts on mental health. For example, in Japan – an intensely busy society with a stressfully-high focus on dedication to work – the practice of forest bathing is revered; that is, finding peace and calm among the trees and their residents. The outcomes are well-documented when it comes to lowering stress, bringing down blood pressure, and improving general well-being.
You’ll experience all that, and even a different way of understanding and seeing your place in the world, if you make outdoors experiences routine. Give yourself an hour or so a few days a week. Be adamant about it and find the time. Think about it this way: One hour is just one-twenty-fourth (or 4%) of your day.
If you’re a parent and have childcare limitations, and even if you don’t, make the family part of your routine. For 13 years I pushed my kids, who are spread apart in years, in strollers as babies and toddlers on local trails putting all of us in nature, together, for literally thousands of miles over that time. In more rugged locations, they rode in baby backpacks that I wore, and looking over my shoulder could see, and learn about, the natural world from my vantage point. My perspective and wonder were theirs.
Once you find the time, find the place. That’s pretty easy here. New Yorkers, especially those who read this column, are blessed with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to natural public assets.
Readers in Niagara County have the trail network in the Niagara Gorge; Golden Hill State Park; a number of trails and parks such as Royalton Ravine, Lockport Nature Trail, Lytle Nature Preserve, and Bonds Lake; and the Canalway Trail, which I’ve been telling people is the longest wheelchair-accessible trail in the world, ensuring opportunity for all.
Those who hail from Allegany County have the WAG Trail; the Genesee Valley Greenway; 23 state forests totaling 46,400 acres; 7 wildlife management areas covering 11,500 acres; the loop trail at Moss Lake; and the wonderful nature space at Houghton University.
Nature is available.
Nature is invaluable.
Please make it part of your life in 2026 and beyond. The paths before you are the paths to a better way of life.
Happy New Year.
I’ll see you on the trail!
Bob Confer is a WNY writer, businessman, familyman, naturalist, and outdoorsman. He founded Exploring the Western NY Wilds for the same reason he wrote this column: To help you connect with nature. Contact him anytime, Bob@ConferPlastics.com
