Please remember that I don’t endorse any of the places or organizations I list. I just collect and post them. If any of you know reason why a link should be removed or no longer works, please let me know using the form in the sidebar. And, if you have any additions, let me know that, too.
“Everyone Outdoors” is a blog about “accessible adventures and adaptive recreation in Massachusetts State Parks and beyond”. Lots of very helpful articles about equipment and other concerns as well as places to go.
ABCs of Accessible Trails The makers of Grit Freedom Chair have a series 17 posts about their favorite wheelchair accessible trails throughout the United States. This link is to the last of these pages, since from there, you can link to each of their other posts. Not a lot of details, but beautiful photographs.
News on outdoor accessibility in the UK : http://www.accessmagazine.co.uk/walk-on-the-wild-side/
Accessible Adventures in the Pacific Northwest Videos The US Forest Service has produced a series of videos (33 as of August 2016) narrated by John Williams. These five to six minute videos visit National Forests and Scenic Byways in Washington and Oregon, letting you see just how accessible (or not) many of these wonderful places are.
Accessible Denver is a website which claims to be ” your source for disability-related information for those living in Denver or visiting the mile high city. Use the Resource Guide below to find medical services, businesses and professionals who provide information and assistance to the disabled community.”
Accessible Hiking Trails Maintained by Working With Scouts With disAbilities
Helpful links to information on national and state accessible opportunities.Accessible Nature Travel: A travel guide for folks with wheelchairs, walkers, canes or strollers by Randall Feare is a travel guide to 22 states and British Columbia. There is also a list of valuable links to additional resources.
Assistive Technology Partners is a program through the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus. Their mission is “…to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve their highest potential through the use of assistive technology, by providing exemplary clinical services, consultation, education, research and innovative technology development.” There is a wealth of helpful information on their website. Thank you Elmer George for bringing this program to my attention.
The National Audubon Society sponsors Birdability.
“Please explore this website, where you can find ways to connect with other birders who experience accessibility challenges, as well as helpful links and resources. We invite you to add a Birdability Review to the Birdability Map, and complete the Birdability Birders’ Survey 2020 if you experience accessibility challenges while birding (check out more information below). We hope you’ll watch, listen and learn more about Birdability, what an accessible trail really is, and the steps you can take to make birding more inclusive for everybody! We look forward to birding with you!”BerkshireHiking.com a guide to hiking in the Berkshire Mountains and Litchfield Hills Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York. Accessibility is not directly addressed.
Birding For Beginners from the National Park Service. This link was sent by Jenny wise who points out that, “The beauty of this hobby is that anyone can do it, whether you live in the city or the country. You can be young or old, you can do it any time of the year, and, best of all, it’s free!”.
Birding For All (formerly the Disabled Birder’s Association) seeks “to improve access for people with disabilities to reserves, facilities and services for birding. We have members across the world but the majority live in the UK. There is a separate chapter in the USA.”
Birding Links
Colleen Stewart was kind enough to send these links and more. Mobile Apps for Nature Travel and Birding Trips Gear Kit – what to carry when you go out and bird Helpful Birdwatching TipsBraille Nature Trail is a website created by Evan Barnard, a remarkable high school student who took the lead in creating a Braille Trail near Buford Georgia. The website has links to descriptions of two Braille Trails in Georgia and seven in other states.
Curbfree Cory Lee’s amazing travel blog presents a wealth of first hand information for wheelchair travelers.
General news: www.disabled-world.com
Disabled World “Disabled-World.Com is an independent Health and Disability news source that offers subject areas covering seniors and disability news, assistive device reviews, and articles on everything from helpful tips to disability sports articles.”
EldersCorp “Links to state-by-state resources including ADRCs, caregiver assistance, disaster preparedness, elder abuse, employment training, healthcare fraud, legal assistance, long-term care, Medicaid, Medicare, nutrition, and prescription drug assistance.”
Emerging Horizons contains “travel information for wheelchair users and slow walkers.”
Fatbirder is a comprehensive website with the motto “linking birders worldwide” There is a wealth of information about birding, some of which also gives information about accessibility.
Handicapped American News contains mostly articles by a Dr. Homer Page
Kids in Parks “…an expanding network of family-friendly outdoor adventures” Although aimed at families with small children, many of their trails are suitable for the limited hiker and they do note where a trail is ADA compliant. Trails are described in California, District of Columbia, Maryland, South Dakota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Malia’s Miles Journeys of a Full-time RVer has good descriptions and photographs from her visits to over 21 states, including 15 national parks.
Marjorie Turner Hollman
Ms. Hollman has written four very useful books to help you find places to walk in Massachusetts and Rhode Island: “Easy Walks in Massachusetts” 2nd Ed., “More Easy Walks in Massachusetts” 2nd Ed., and “Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed”. Her latest is “Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are”. Here are her facebook page and her website. Thank you for contacting me, Marjorie!National Recreation Trails Database – This is a great source! From the site: “National Recreation Trails (NRTs) provide for numerous outdoor recreation activities in a variety of urban, rural, and remote areas. Over 1,200 trails in [all 50 states] available for public use and ranging from less than a mile to 485 miles in length, have been designated as NRTs on federal, state, municipal, and privately owned lands.”
Go to their basic search page, choose your state and select “pedestrian – walking/hiking/running” from the Trail Use choices. You can even narrow it down to county. Although accessibility is not always addressed in the descriptions, contact information including phone numbers is given to help you learn if the trail is appropriate for you.
Nature For The Blind is a website containing a wealth of information for connecting people with impaired vision to the outdoors. There is an extensive list of Braille trails in the United States and other countries.
New Mobility by United Spinal Association calls itself “the magazine for active wheelchair users”.
ORIC is…” a not-for-profit partnership of eight federal, state and private organizations. Our staff is one full-time manager, supplied by the US Forest Service, and a crew of volunteers.” Their website offers a comprehensive review of outdoor activities in Colorado.
Outdoors for all: How national parks are addressing accessibility challenges. April 26, 2019 An article by Alexandra Charitan, Managing Editor at Roadtrippers Magazine.
Pocket Ranger Apps. These free apps for mobile devices are guides to many (about 30) of the States’ parks, forests and historic places, as well as to many National Parks. Their usefulness varies between states. Their GPS information might be nice to have in the field, but for general information about the trails, the individual state parks’ websites are easier to use.
Recreation.gov is ” your one-stop shop for trip planning, information sharing and reservations brought to you by 12 federal Participating Partners.”
stateparks.com is an amazing compilation of links and information about public land throughout the United States.
Switzerland
Switzerland Mobility has this wonderful website on non-motorized trails. Within the website is a section on obstacle-free routes.The 25 Best Accessible Trails in America Outside Magazine Jan. 15, 2020 Beautiful article full of useful information by Emily Pennington
The Disabled Traveler’s Companion by Ron and Kay Wilmer, with great photography by their son, Roger Wilmer. This excellent website gives information about five of the National Parks and Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan.
United Spinal’s Techguide lists 41 websites with information on accessible “trails, paths and parks” throughout the United States.
Washington State Accessible Trails actually has links to a lot more places than just Washington State. Unfortunately, the majority of the links do not work at this time (2/14).
There are a number of searchable websites devoted to describing trails. They are pretty useful although most do not address wheelchair accessibility and their estimate of “easy” might not coincide with yours. Here are some of them: AllTrails.com, EveryTrail.com, GORP, Trails.com, American Trails
Wheelchair Wandering
“Wheelchair Wandering” by Jeanine Schmitz is a great source of ideas from her outdoor adventures in a wheelchair. She lives near Seattle so many of her described trails are in the Northwest, including British Columbia and Alberta. Her blog is informative and fun to read.WheelchairWorld.org “….is a collection of reviews and information, found through intensive Internet research or submitted directly to Wheelchair World, that help wheelchair users and other Persons of Reduced Mobiilty (PRMs) to be better informed of the accessibility at their destination of choice and to feel more confident when traveling to, from and around the destination.” Thank you Susie Twydell for contacting me about this useful source of information.
Wheelchairtraveling.com is an outstanding resource. There is information about parks, trails, camping and many other opportunities. There are a great many posts about accessible places in California as well as posts for Virginia, Colorado, Kentucky, Arizona, Hawaii, Wyoming, Alaska, Oregon, South Dakota, Mane, Florida, Utah and British Columbia.