Reviving the Forest Bathing Trend: Travelers Seek Health and Healing Amid Stressful Times

At a recent luxury travel conference in Las Vegas, a group of panelists, made up of journalists and media professionals, declared that forest bathing while on vacation – as a travel trend – was officially a thing of the past. 

Its moment of buzzy popularity had reached an end, the group of experts declared, with what seemed like a collective sigh of relief.

I, for one, was shocked to hear this pronouncement at a time when daily life has never been more chaotic, stressful or challenging thanks to everything from the steeply rising cost of living to the increasing divide among many Americans across the United States.

In times like these, forest bathing while on vacation and the health and wellness benefits associated with contemplative, immersive walks in the forest are more needed than ever. In fact, I would venture to guess that there are few among us who don’t need some elevated sense of peace and refuge amid this current moment in history.

To confirm my suspicion, I reached out to a well-known forest bathing expert, Dr. Mark Ellison, one of the earliest certified forest bathing guides in the United States.

Forest bathing: A cancer-fighting powerhouse that’s here to stay

Mark Ellison has been offering forest bathing walks in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains since 2012, well more than a decade. Meaning he’s been attracting travelers to this activity long before forest bathing became the latest buzzword in the travel industry.

Ellison personally studied with the Japanese pioneers of Shinrin-yoku (the Japanese term for forest bathing) and is now considered one of the top U.S. experts on the practice, which is not merely about walking in the woods, but involves a conscious and contemplative experience of immersing oneself in the sights, sounds and smells of the forest.

After studying in Japan, Ellison created North Carolina’s first and only certified forest therapy trail (one of only 20 such trails in the world).

During his early years in the business (in 2014), Ellison was interviewed for an article in O, The Oprah Magazine, about the walks he was offering. After that, business multiplied exponentially, as is known to happen with anything Oprah casts her gaze upon. To this day, the demand for Ellison’s forest bathing walks continues unabated.

“This is my side business and it really has taken off and has been gaining momentum,” Ellison told me during a recent interview.

“I think there have been a number of things driving it,” continued Ellison. “First it was COVID and all of the things that happened through that. And now, it’s a really stressful time in the world and people are looking for ways to be able to disconnect. And they want to find healthy things to connect to instead.”

There’s also proven cancer-fighting benefits associated with forest bathing. Studies have shown that forest bathing boosts anticancer immunity activity in your body. In fact, a single forest bathing experience can trigger a 50 percent increase in NK cell activity, which plays a role in fighting off cancer. What’s more, that single forest bathing trip allows your NK cell activity to remain elevated for up to a week and sometimes as long as a month.

Evergreen forests in particular have the largest body of supporting research related to their cancer-fighting properties.

“Evergreen forests have a stimulating effect on the immune system and it increases the activity of natural killer cells, which helps build our immune system,” explains Ellison.

That fact has not gone unnoticed by cancer patients, who regularly reach out to Ellison to schedule forest bathing walks. Just three months ago, a woman in the midst of undergoing cancer treatments contacted Ellison to schedule a walk to help strengthen her immune system.

Ellison took the woman on a 2.5-hour walk through Dixon Woods, a tranquil area with shaded trails that ranges in elevation from 3,000 to 4,100 feet. The experience included a 20-minute guided meditation followed by a slow, 30-minute walk along a trail, during which the goal is focusing quietly and mindfully being in the presence of the surrounding trees. The walk ended with a tea ceremony.

It’s an experience Ellison has shared with a steady stream of travelers, including those who are not necessarily cancer patients but are simply seeking to unplug from their fast-paced lives and renew their spirits.

“When you stop, and all that you have around you is the sound of the water trickling down the stream and the wind blowing through the trees and the birds singing, it’s incredibly relaxing,” says Ellison, adding that the experience brought one woman from Miami to tears recently.

“By the end of the walk, she had cried several times,” Ellison continued. “She said, ‘You just took a sledgehammer to the way we live our lives.’ She said, “We don’t live like this.'”

With benefits like these, it’s incredibly unlikely forest bathing will ever be a thing of the past.

Here’s a look at five places (in addition to Ellison’s offering in North Carolina) where you can experience forest bathing while on vacation:

Finger Lakes, New York

The Inns of Aurora Resort & Spa sits on 350 bucolic acres of landscape along Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Here you can take part in an hour-long forest bathing experience while on vacation.

As part of the experience, guests immerse themselves in the healing embrace of the forest for a guided meditation. The activity invites guests to slow down and awaken their senses while gently moving through nature with intention and presence. Like Ellison’s walks, guests here are given the opportunity to pause, listen and be with the trees, the earth and themselves.

Banff Springs, Canada

With the help of Banff’s only certified forest bathing guide, the Fairmont Banff Springs offers visitors the chance to interact with the forest in a deep, meaningful and healing way via its forest bathing experience.

The two-hour session (available March through October) includes a walk into the forest and a series of connective and grounding activities. Before wrapping up, participants focus on personal reflection and take part in a nourishing tea ceremony that incorporates locally foraged ingredients.

Greenough, Montana

Just 35 miles outside of Missoula, the two-Michelin-key property Paws Up Montana offers the ancient Japanese practice of forest bathing on its 37,000-acre ranch. 

Guests can take part in either a 60-minute or 90-minute forest bathing experience here. There’s also an option to couple forest bathing with an apothecary class, breathwork, yoga or sound bathing to further rejuvenate while visiting the year-round resort. 

Jenner, California

Perched atop cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean along 25 acres of Sonoma’s rugged coastline, Timber Cove Resort sits amid Redwoods that are ideal for peaceful forest bathing. And thanks to the region’s temperate weather conditions, the eco resort offers year-round forest bathing sessions. 

Timber Cove’s take on the experience includes listening to the calming soundtrack of rhythmic waves and watching the sun melt into the ocean. Participants are invited to focus on presence, grounding, and reconnection to self and place, while embracing the sights, sounds and scents of the forest.

Kennebunkport, Maine

At the Hidden Pond eco-resort, which features a collection of luxury cottages set amid 60 acres of pristine birch forest in Kennebunkport, guided forest bathing sessions and therapy walks are led by certified forest therapy Guide Jeanne Christie.

The transformative walks are designed to enhance a guest’s sense of place, reduce stress, and create a calming environment that fosters focus and problem-solving.

During the gentle walks, Christie provides instructions (referred to as “invitations”) for sensory-opening activities. That includes the walks kicking off with guided sensory and embodiment exercises designed to establish contact with the present moment and place, followed by a series of connective invitations. 

And much like Ellison’s trailblazing walks in North Carolina, the forest bathing at Hidden Pond concludes with a tea ceremony featuring locally foraged plants.

This article originally appeared in TravelPulse.

Contact My Journey Begins Travel to explore forest bathing while on vacation.