Inclusive Outdoor Adventures

Imagine a sun-dappled trail winding through lush, old-growth forest and wetlands, with birds serenading you from the treetops and the earthy scent of leaves and bark in the air. Now, imagine this experience from a different perspective—whether from  a wheelchair, while pushing a stroller, or as someone who has not always felt welcome in the outdoors.

Ensuring that outdoor adventures in nature are available to all visitors, sometimes called equitable access, is crucial to achieving our mission. Historically, parks and preserves have not been created to serve everyone. Diverse communities have always had less access to nature than white communities due to racist housing practices and lack of investment. And preserves and natural areas have been managed primarily for a solo, non-disabled person’s outdoor experience.

Here in New York and around the country, The Nature Conservancy is working to change that and make nature more accessible to everyone.

Building A Better Experience

 “When people think of the word accessibility, their minds might go immediately to things like wheelchair access,” says Kate Berdan, a Nature Conservancy stewardship manager who oversees the accessible preserves program in New York. “That’s an essential part of accessibility, but there are other changes that can make an adventure in the woods more welcoming, too.”

Currently, The Nature Conservancy has five preserves across New York with ADA-compliant parking lots and universal trails accessible to wheelchair and stroller users, as well as a wide variety of visitors with mobility issues. Other preserves offer accessible biking trails and programs that help tackle barriers that might prevent people from visiting our preserves in the first place.

In a survey commissioned by The Nature Conservancy, respondents who self-reported having spent no or limited time in nature also cited obstacles such as lack of transportation, concerns about safety, and unfamiliarity or low confidence with trail markers and maps.

Some of the changes The Nature Conservancy is implementing at New York preserves in response include improved trail markers and high contrast signage for people with visual disabilities, programs to help provide transportation, and a wider range of outdoor experiences like adaptive mountain biking. The Nature Conservancy also collaborates with organizations such as Latino Outdoors, Hunters of Color and Outdoor Afro, who are leaders in tackling inequities in access to nature, to co-organize events that help more people feel safe and welcome in the outdoors. “By doing so, we are hoping to build community, better meet community needs and expand our own perspective,” says Berdan.

We invite you to explore our work on equitable access by visiting one of these preserves. All are free to visit and open year-round from dawn to dusk. For seasonal closures, directions, trail maps to download before your visit, and other information, visit the preserve’s web page.

Wheelchair-Accessible Trails and ADA-Compliant Parking

Accessible Mountain Biking

Adaptive mountain biking caters to a diverse range of people with disabilities, customizing bikes and trail experiences to individual needs, such as tandem bikes that accommodate blind riders with sighted partners and three-wheeled handcycle riders.