Imagine stepping into the woods, leaving behind the noise and stress of daily life.

As you pause and breathe, a sense of calm takes over. There’s no rush or destination, only the soothing quiet of the woodland. Welcome to forest bathing, a practice that invites you to reconnect with yourself and nature.

Forest Preserves Mentioned:

• Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve (Long Grove)
• Ethel’s Woods Forest Preserve (Antioch)
• Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve (Lake Forest)
• Fox River Forest Preserve (Port Barrington)
• Grant Woods Forest Preserve (Ingleside)
• Lakewood Forest Preserve (Wauconda)
• Spring Bluff Forest Preserve (Winthrop Harbor)

Selected Links and Sources:

Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs

Every Acre Strong

Horizons subscriptions

Illinois Nature Preserves Commission

“Medical empirical research on forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku): a systematic review,” Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine

“Shinrin-Yoku: A Deep Dive into Forest Bathing,” Treehugger

“Step into Serenity with Forest Bathing,” Summer 2025 Horizons

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If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation’s Every Acre Strong campaign for the Forest Preserves. Your gift willhelp create a $20 million endowment to protect the forest preserves you love, ensuring every acre of habitat we restore remains ecologically healthy. Forever. Learn more and give at LCFPD.org/endowment.

Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org.

This episode of Words of the Woods was hosted and produced by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Featuring writing from Kim Mikus. Expertise from Retta Hennessy and Susmitha Kilaru. Script editing by Jeanna Martinucci, Kim Mikus and Rebekah Snyder. Music and sound effects from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto.

Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.