Outdoor Recreation and Mental Health: Why Time Outside Matters More Than We Think
Living in the mountains, we hear a lot about the physical benefits of getting outside. We talk about cardiovascular health, endurance, strength, fresh air, and the advantages of living an active lifestyle.
We talk less often about what happens psychologically when we step outside.
For many people, outdoor recreation can be an important part of mental health and emotional well-being. A walk through the woods, a mountain bike ride, an afternoon on skis, time beside a river, or simply sitting somewhere with trees and open space can create something that is increasingly difficult to find in everyday life: room.
Room to notice what is happening in your body. Room for your attention to shift away from screens, responsibilities, and constant stimulation. Room to move rather than think. Sometimes, room to feel like yourself again.
Research increasingly supports a relationship between exposure to natural environments and psychological well-being. Reviews of the literature have found associations between time in nature and lower perceived stress, while studies of structured nature-based activities have reported improvements in outcomes such as mood, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. At the same time, the evidence is not uniform, and nature should not be treated as a replacement for mental health care when someone needs it.
For me, the connection between outdoor recreation and mental health isn't only academic. It is one of the reasons I became a therapist.
From Outdoor Education to Mental Health
Before I became a therapist, I spent years working in outdoor education.
I loved being outside, but over time I realized that the landscape itself wasn't the part of the work that interested me most. What fascinated me was what happened between people when we were outside together.
Outdoor education required young people to communicate. They had to problem-solve, tolerate discomfort, navigate conflict, trust one another, try things they weren't sure they could do, and sometimes discover that they were more capable than they believed.
Those experiences made me increasingly curious about the social and emotional processes happening underneath the recreation.
While completing my graduate education in social work and public health, I became particularly interested in the relationship between outdoor recreation and adolescent mental health. Colorado State University interviewed me about that work and my interest in reducing barriers to nature-based mental health programming. You can read that Colorado State University feature about my work in outdoor recreation and adolescent mental health.
One of the things I talked about then—and something I continue to think about now—is that access to the outdoors is not as simple as telling someone to “go outside.”
Where we live, what resources we have, our physical abilities, cultural experiences, transportation, time, money, equipment, safety, and even whether we've historically felt welcome in outdoor spaces can all shape our relationship with recreation.
Nature can be supportive. But access to nature, and feeling safe within it, cannot be taken for granted.
Why Does Being Outside Feel Different?
There probably isn't one single explanation for why outdoor recreation can support mental health.
Instead, several things may be happening at the same time.
We move our bodies.
Our attention changes.
We encounter different sensory information.
We get distance from the environments where our stress normally occurs.
We may spend time with other people.
We may experience mastery, challenge, play, curiosity, or awe.
And sometimes we simply stop staring at the thing we've been staring at all day.
Researchers studying green space and mental health have proposed several possible pathways connecting natural environments with well-being, including physical activity, psychological restoration, stress reduction, and social connection. The strength of the evidence differs depending on the outcome being studied, which is an important reminder that “nature is good for mental health” is more complicated than it sounds.
Still, there are several reasons the outdoors may create conditions that are psychologically useful.
Outdoor Recreation Can Interrupt the Stress Cycle
Stress is not only something that happens in our thoughts.
It happens in our bodies.
When life feels demanding for a long period of time, we may notice muscle tension, irritability, difficulty sleeping, shallow breathing, restlessness, exhaustion, trouble concentrating, or a sense that our bodies are constantly prepared for whatever might happen next.
Getting outside does not magically eliminate those problems.
But changing our environment can sometimes interrupt the pattern.
A systematic review examining nature exposure and stress found that studies generally showed reductions in both perceived stress and physiological measures associated with stress following exposure to natural environments.
That doesn't mean you need to disappear into the wilderness for a week.
For some people, it might mean walking a neighborhood trail after work.
For someone else, it might mean sitting beside the Blue River for twenty minutes.
It could mean cross-country skiing, gardening, snowshoeing, paddleboarding, hiking with your dog, or drinking your coffee outside.
The psychologically useful part isn't necessarily the accomplishment.
Sometimes it is simply the change in environment.
Movement Matters, Too
There is another obvious variable involved in many forms of outdoor recreation: movement.
Physical activity already has an established relationship with health and well-being, so some of the benefit we associate with getting outside may come from the fact that we tend to move when we're there.
But environment may matter as well.
A systematic review comparing exercise in natural outdoor environments with physical activity in outdoor urban environments found advantages for natural settings across several psychological outcomes, although the researchers also noted limitations and variation across the studies.
In other words, going for a walk is useful.
Going for a walk somewhere that feels restorative may offer something additional.
And that distinction matters because outdoor recreation doesn't have to mean intense exercise.
Mental health does not require summiting something.
The Outdoors Can Give Our Attention Somewhere Else to Go
One of the hardest things about anxiety, depression, trauma, and chronic stress is how much mental space they can occupy.
We replay conversations.
Predict what could go wrong.
Analyze what already happened.
Try to solve problems that don't have immediate solutions.
Return to the same memory.
Return to the same worry.
Return to the same question.
The mind can become a remarkably small room.
Natural environments give our attention somewhere else to land.
The temperature changes. Wind moves through trees. The ground beneath us changes. We hear water, birds, people, skis, leaves, or snow. Our bodies have to negotiate terrain. We notice distance and weather and light.
That doesn't necessarily make difficult thoughts disappear.
But sometimes it loosens their grip.
Research involving young people has suggested that exposure to green space may be associated with reduced stress, improved mood, and other aspects of mental well-being, although researchers continue to emphasize that the adolescent evidence base has limitations and that more rigorous research is needed.
I think that nuance is important.
The outdoors does not need to be miraculous to be useful.
Recreation Can Build a Sense of Capability
There is also something psychologically significant about doing something difficult and realizing you can do it.
Maybe you get to the top of the climb.
Maybe you don't.
Maybe you ski something that intimidated you.
Maybe you turn around because conditions aren't right.
Maybe you learn how to fix a bike.
Maybe you get lost and figure out where you are.
Maybe you simply make yourself go outside on a day when your brain told you to stay on the couch.
Healthy outdoor recreation can create repeated experiences of problem-solving, adaptation, frustration, competence, and recovery.
Those experiences can challenge rigid stories we carry about ourselves.
“I can't handle being uncomfortable.”
“I always panic.”
“I have to know exactly what is going to happen.”
“I can't trust myself.”
“I need to get this right.”
Real experiences sometimes provide information that thinking alone cannot.
You don't necessarily convince yourself that you are capable.
You experience yourself being capable.
Outdoor Recreation Can Create Connection
One of the things I noticed most clearly while working in outdoor education was that recreation could create connection without requiring people to sit face-to-face and talk about their feelings.
Sometimes conversation happens more naturally when we're doing something alongside another person.
There is less pressure.
Silence feels more acceptable.
Our attention can move back and forth between the activity, the environment, and the person beside us.
For adolescents in particular, that can matter.
Peer relationships and belonging are profoundly important during adolescence. In my graduate work, one of the questions I became interested in was whether nature-based programming could create another setting for young people who were already receiving mental health care to build connection and supportive relationships.
That idea remains relevant to how I think about mental health today.
Human beings need other human beings.
Sometimes the trail simply gives us somewhere easier to meet.
The Mental Health Benefits of Nature Don't Require Being an “Outdoor Person”
This is particularly important in Colorado.
Outdoor culture here can become surprisingly exclusive.
There is an implicit hierarchy sometimes: how far you went, how fast you went, how difficult the terrain was, how many vertical feet you climbed, what equipment you own, whether you ski the backcountry, whether you know the right terminology, whether your weekend adventure was sufficiently adventurous.
That isn't mental health.
That's performance.
You don't need a $6,000 mountain bike to benefit from being outside.
You don't need to ski.
You don't need to climb a fourteener.
You don't even need to particularly enjoy exercise.
Sitting in the sun counts.
Walking the dog counts.
Gardening counts.
Taking lunch outside counts.
Walking around the block counts.
Watching snow fall counts.
Finding a bench with a view and doing absolutely nothing for twenty minutes counts.
A relationship with the outdoors can be quiet.
Living in the Mountains Does Not Make You Immune to Struggling
There is an interesting contradiction to living somewhere like Summit County.
People travel from all over the world to vacation here. We are surrounded by mountains, trails, ski areas, forests, rivers, and recreation.
From the outside, it can look like the ideal environment for mental health.
And yet people struggle here, too.
Living in a beautiful place does not make someone immune to trauma, anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship problems, grief, burnout, loneliness, or the impact of difficult experiences.
Sometimes it can actually make struggling feel stranger.
There can be an unspoken pressure to think:
I live somewhere people dream about living. Why don't I feel better?
Or:
Everyone around me seems to be doing great. Why am I having such a hard time?
The answer is that geography doesn't erase a nervous system, a history, a relationship, a loss, or a painful experience.
You can be grateful for where you live and still be hurting.
Both things can be true.
When Outdoor Recreation Becomes Another Form of Pressure
It is also worth acknowledging that outdoor recreation is not always psychologically healthy.
Anything can become something we use rigidly.
Exercise can become avoidance.
Achievement can become identity.
Risk can become a way of escaping emotional pain.
Rest days can produce guilt.
A missed workout can feel like failure.
Recreation can stop being restorative and become another place where we demand more from ourselves.
This can be especially difficult in mountain communities where athleticism and recreation are deeply embedded in the culture.
Sometimes the healthiest decision is to go outside.
Sometimes the healthiest decision is to stay home.
Sometimes growth looks like pushing through appropriate discomfort.
Sometimes it looks like noticing that you have spent your entire life pushing and finally allowing yourself to stop.
Mental health isn't measured in vertical feet.
Outdoor Recreation and Trauma
For people who have experienced trauma, the relationship between the body and the environment can become particularly important.
Trauma can affect more than our memories of what happened. People may notice hypervigilance, emotional reactivity, shutdown, disconnection from their bodies, difficulty feeling safe, or responses that seem disproportionate to what is happening in the present.
This is one reason my clinical work does not rely exclusively on talking.
In therapy, I use approaches that can work with experiences beyond the purely cognitive level, including EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and somatic approaches.
Outdoor recreation is not trauma therapy.
But for some people, time outside may provide opportunities to practice noticing sensations, experiencing movement, reconnecting with the body, recognizing limits, making choices, and being present in an environment that feels less constricted.
The distinction matters.
We don't need to turn every hike into therapy.
Sometimes a hike should just be a hike.
Adolescents May Especially Benefit From Spaces That Don't Feel Clinical
Teenagers spend an extraordinary amount of time being evaluated.
Grades.
Sports.
College applications.
Social media.
Friend groups.
Family expectations.
Appearance.
Performance.
Behavior.
For some adolescents, traditional therapeutic environments can initially feel like one more place where an adult is observing them.
Outdoor environments can change that dynamic.
Walking beside someone feels different from sitting across from them.
Doing something together can make conversation less intense.
And shared activities can provide immediate material to work with: frustration, persistence, cooperation, boundaries, confidence, communication, disappointment, decision-making, and connection.
Research examining green space and adolescent mental health has found promising associations with outcomes including stress, mood, emotional well-being, and depressive symptoms, while also emphasizing that the evidence is still developing.
That is part of what originally drew me to this area of research.
It still does.
Access to Nature Is a Mental Health Equity Issue
There is another part of this conversation that we cannot ignore.
Not everyone has equal access to outdoor recreation.
That was something I became increasingly aware of during my years working outdoors and later explored through my combined social work and public health training.
Access can depend on transportation.
Income.
Free time.
Equipment.
Childcare.
Physical ability.
Community infrastructure.
Safety.
Whether someone feels represented or welcome in outdoor spaces.
Previous experiences with outdoor recreation.
Even whether someone grew up being taught that wilderness is a place of relaxation rather than risk.
Telling someone to “just get outside” without acknowledging those differences oversimplifies the issue.
You don't need wilderness to have meaningful contact with nature, and we should not define outdoor well-being around expensive recreation.
A public park matters.
A safe walking trail matters.
Trees in neighborhoods matter.
Green schoolyards matter.
Accessible recreation matters.
Research into green space and mental health increasingly raises this same issue: the availability, accessibility, and quality of natural environments matter, not simply their existence.
How Can You Use the Outdoors to Support Your Mental Health?
You don't need an elaborate plan.
In fact, if going outside becomes another item on your self-improvement checklist, you've probably missed the point.
Try paying attention instead.
Notice how you feel before you go outside.
Notice what happens twenty minutes later.
Notice which environments settle you and which environments stimulate you.
Notice whether you prefer moving quickly or moving slowly.
Notice whether you feel better outside alone, with a friend, with your partner, with your kids, or with your dog.
Notice whether competition makes recreation more enjoyable—or ruins it.
Notice what happens when you leave your headphones at home.
Notice whether you're actually enjoying the activity or simply proud of yourself for completing it.
There isn't a universally correct way to be outside.
The useful question is simpler:
What happens inside you when you're there?
When Getting Outside Isn't Enough
There are real mental health benefits associated with nature, recreation, movement, and connection.
But there are also limits.
You cannot hike your way out of every traumatic experience.
You cannot exercise enough to resolve every relationship pattern.
You cannot ski fast enough to outrun grief.
And insight alone doesn't always change the responses our bodies have learned over years.
Sometimes we need a place to actually work through what is happening underneath the surface.
That's where therapy can be useful.
My work focuses on helping adults and adolescents understand and move through the experiences and patterns that continue to show up in their lives. I work with people who are often quite self-aware already—they understand the problem, but understanding it hasn't necessarily changed it.
For that reason, my approach incorporates therapies including EMDR, IFS, somatic work, and other approaches that allow us to work with more than the intellectual story.
If you are looking for therapy for adults and adolescents in Summit County, you can learn more about what therapy with Nurturing Wellness looks like here.
For people whose past experiences continue to feel present in their bodies, EMDR therapy in Summit County may offer another way of working with experiences that talking alone has not shifted.
And for people who find themselves repeatedly fighting with different parts of themselves—the critic, the achiever, the avoider, the caretaker, or the part that shuts down—Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) can help us become curious about what those parts are trying to protect.
Mental Health Doesn't Have to Happen Only Inside Four Walls
One of the reasons I have remained interested in outdoor recreation throughout my career is that it reminds us that mental health doesn't exist separately from the rest of our lives.
Our environments matter.
Our bodies matter.
Relationships matter.
Movement matters.
Access matters.
Play matters.
Rest matters.
And sometimes healing involves discovering what helps us feel more connected—to ourselves, to another person, or to the world around us.
For some people, the outdoors is one of those places.
It doesn't have to fix everything.
It just has to give us somewhere to begin.
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If you are in Summit County and ready to explore what individual therapy, EMDR, or IFS can look like for your specific situation, I would be glad to talk. The first conversation is just a conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is outdoor recreation good for mental health?
It can be. Time outside may help reduce stress, support mood, encourage movement, and create opportunities for connection and restoration. The benefits do not require intense exercise—walking, gardening, sitting outside, or spending time near water can all count.
Can spending time outside help with anxiety or stress?
For some people, yes. Natural environments can shift attention away from repetitive thoughts and provide new sensory input, movement, and space from everyday stressors. Outdoor time can be a useful support, but it is not a replacement for mental health treatment when treatment is needed.
Does outdoor recreation help teenagers?
Outdoor activities can give teens opportunities for movement, social connection, confidence, problem-solving, and time away from highly structured or performance-focused environments. Some teens also find it easier to talk while walking or doing an activity alongside someone.
Do I have to be “outdoorsy” to benefit?
Not at all. You do not need to ski, mountain bike, hike long distances, or climb mountains. Sitting in the sun, walking your dog, visiting a park, gardening, or taking lunch outside can all be meaningful ways to spend time in nature.
Is outdoor recreation a substitute for therapy?
No. Outdoor recreation can support mental health, but it cannot resolve every experience, relationship pattern, or trauma response. Therapy can provide a place to work more directly with the patterns or experiences that continue to create distress.
Where can I find a therapist who understands Summit County, Colorado?
Nurturing Wellness in Breckenridge offers individual therapy, EMDR, and IFS for adults and adolescents in Summit County. Laura Landrum, LCSW, is a certified EMDR therapist who has lived and practiced in this community for over a decade. Telehealth is available throughout Colorado and Mississippi.
Crisis Resources
If you are in crisis or need immediate support, please reach out.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
Colorado Crisis Services: Call 1-844-493-8255 or text TALK to 38255
Paragon Behavioral Health Connections: Call (303) 691-6095 or email contact@paragonbhc.org — paragonbhc.org
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
About the Author
Laura Landrum, LCSW, LAC is a certified EMDR therapist and licensed clinical social worker based in Summit County, Colorado. Before becoming a therapist, she spent years as a backcountry guide, which is a longer story than it sounds. She works with adults, adolescents, and children in Breckenridge and throughout Colorado via telehealth. She is direct; she does not flinch at hard things, and there is nothing you can bring into the room that is going to send her running.
