A dose of nature
Chantelle Kite and her son Sage arrive at the hike barefoot.
Her daughter Sophia, a stoic 9-year-old, stands at her side wearing boots, occasionally tugging at her mom’s hand as their guide describes the plans for the trip. Chantelle and Sage, 14, listen patiently, feet naked against the warm pavement as they wait to begin. All three of them know the drill. It’s their fourth or fifth “forest bathing” excursion with Adirondack Riverwalking.
“It’s just reframed our entire experience,” Chantelle explains when the group finally heads off into the woods at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretative Center, known to locals as the VIC. “We don’t do a formal circle or anything, but (forest bathing) is something we can do on our own, too. My kids and I spend hours outside.”
Since 2016, the Kite family and others eager for a dose of Mother Nature have gathered in the shady forests around the Tri-Lakes area for guided forest bathing sessions: immersive sensory journeys into nature and mindfulness. While it’s often mistaken as a walk in the woods, forest bathing is more deliberate. The practice originated in Japan during the 1980s as a way to get city dwellers outside, away from
