A new outdoor attraction in Arizona is being billed as the first "grounding park" in the United States.
Grounding, in this context, simply means walking barefoot on natural surfaces. Proponents of the practice, which is also called "earthing" and can also involve lying in the grass or otherwise connecting your body to the ground, believe that touching earth taps into its natural energy. The benefits are said to include lower stress levels and better sleep.
You can now ground yourself by kicking off your shoes and hitting the newly opened Barefoot Trail just outside Flagstaff, Arizona.
What It's Like to Hike the Barefoot Trail
Set in a forested area in Bellemont (about 12 miles northwest of Flagstaff), the park's 1-mile trail features a reflexology path designed to enhance your senses by putting your bare feet in touch with a variety of surfaces, including wood, brick, and stone.
Along the way, there are educational exhibits on the geological and ecological history of Coconino County. You'll also encounter "adventure stations" and kid-friendly play areas, such as mazes and climbable structures.
"We have included mud, water, sand, stone, wood, brick, tires, and rope to engage your foot senses," trail founder Leah Williams told Frommer's in an email. "We also have balance beams, labyrinths, slack lines, zip-lines, wood steps and ladders, and a music garden to interact with."
The park has food trucks and a picnic area, too, according to the Arizona Republic.
Protecting Your Feet While Hiking Without Shoes
To ensure as smooth a walking surface as possible, the trail is cleaned and cleared every morning, promises the park's website, "to provide you the most manicured version of the forest trail." Or pedicured, as the case may be.
If you're concerned about scorching your bare soles due to Arizona's famously high summer temps, Williams reminds us that the park is in the Flagstaff area, which sits at an elevation of around 7,000 feet and therefore tends to have more pleasant temperatures (70s and 80s Fahrenheit/ 21–26 Celsius most of the time) than other parts of the state—though the mercury can peak in the 90s during the thick of summer.
Fortunately, Williams explains, most of the 13-acre park is shaded by ponderosa pines. "But there are definitely open meadows and sections of full sun, especially for our labyrinths," she writes. "During the middle of the day, the ground can get hot if our guests go through the unforested areas where there is no shade to cool the ground."
The best solutions to that issue, per Williams, are hiking the trail in the morning or using one of the drawstring bags provided by the park to carry your shoes so that you can put them on for the unshaded portions.
Writes Williams: "That's all part of the fun—testing your feet in cool, warm, hot, cold, soft, hard, pokey, and smooth surfaces to stimulate blood flow and awaken the senses."
Getting Tickets for the Barefoot Trail in Flagstaff, Arizona
Tickets for the Barefoot Trail are $10 for adults and kids ages 3 to 17 (free for kids ages 2 and under). That price gets you 2 hours of trail time. Advance reservations preferred. No dogs allowed.
For more information or to buy tickets, go to TheBarefootTrail.org.
