The summer is a fantastic time to head outdoors and escape to nature. Here are 13 easy ways to find peace and quiet, and get away from it all.
If you're anything like me, you are plugged into something practically around the clock. For work or fun, on phones, laptops, video game consoles, or streaming movies and shows on HDTVs, it's possible you also have forgotten where the off-switch is located. One place it might be is outside, to experience the many benefits of being in nature. The summer is a fantastic time to take a break, unplug, head outdoors, and escape to nature. Here are 13 easy ways to find peace and quiet, reconnect with nature, and get away from it all.
1. Experience Sunrise and Sunset
Sadly, we tend to revel in the beauty of sunrise and sunset only while on vacation, on a cruise ship as the sun rises from and falls below a watery horizon, or from a scenic vantage point. And yet, sunrises and sunsets are every bit magical and awe-inspiring out your back door or bedroom window, from your patio, or while walking around your local park. Spending a few quiet moments at the start or end of a day can be one way to relax in nature. Forget trying to photograph it though, instead either bear witness to the daily splendor with your eyes or watch as a loved one experiences the sunset, as the band Plains sing in their gorgeous song, “I Walked With You A Ways":
My back is to the sunset
'Cause I wanna see your face
Glow in the light at the end of the day
Glow in the light, I'll think of you that way
2. Outdoor Concert or Music Festival
Whether it's local musicians playing at a park near your home or a proper outdoor concert or music festival in a stunning open-air setting like Red Rocks in Colorado or The Gorge in Washington, recharge in nature with live music for a good, and therapeutic, time alongside family and friends.
3. Pick Fruit at a Farm
Cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and more are bursting with flavor this summer. Reconnect with nature and stroll the fields of a farm or orchard to pick your own fruit.
4. Thermal Spa and Hot Springs
Looking to de-stress in nature? Find a thermal spa or hot spring and experience the healing properties of nature's most medicinal kind of water.
5. Outdoor Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness
Do you want to find peace and quiet? Meditating on soft green grass, doing yoga on a paddleboard, or practicing gratitude and mindfulness beneath a canopy of trees in the woods are just a few ways you may find the inner peace you need to de-stress in nature this month.
6. Mountain Biking
Mount your bike and feel the rush of adrenaline that comes with mountain biking, one of the most physically active ways get away from it all.
7. Camping
Spending June nights camping beneath the stars, either tent camping or upscale glamping, is one of the best ways to find peace and quiet while you unwind in nature.
8. Fishing
Do you want to get away from it all and leave behind the conference calls, meetings, school drop off and pickup lines, and more? Escape to nature this summer with rods, reels, lures, and live bait! Keep your phone close to photograph your catch, but far enough away to fully rejuvenate in nature while fishing. Here’s everything you need to know to get a fishing license.
9. Water Sports
Boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, canoeing, and other water sports activities provide people with the perfect opportunity to escape to nature for some valuable peace and quiet. Here are 5 family-friendly summer boat vacation ideas to truly get away from it all back on land!
10. Hiking
There may be no better way to get away from it all than by lacing up boots, filling up a water bottle, applying sunscreen, and going for a long hike. Listen to the birds, watch the breeze rustle the leaves, and stand in awe of the way the sunlight cuts through the canopy of trees or creates dramatic shadows along your trail.
11. Beach Day
Sometimes, all of life's stresses and worries can be pushed out to sea for the day when you spend quality time on a beach, with family, friends, or just a good book and a fresh bottle of SPF50.
12. Horseback Riding
Recharge in nature this summer on the back of a horse! You can find local trails and tours that will guide you through woods, state parks, beaches, and more. You'll really connect with nature by making a connection with a beautiful animal in the great outdoors.
13. Road Trip
One of the ways you can literally get away from it all at home, school, and work is to fuel or charge up your car and take a road trip! Visiting National Parks for fishing, camping, hiking, or simply sightseeing could be the best way for you to unwind in nature this summer. Here are the 4 best summer family road trip ideas!
Looking for more ways to get away from it all and escape to nature? Check out these 30 cheap outdoor summer activities!
