Mindfulness walks in nature

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Mindfulness walks in nature

Mindfulness is a simple form of meditation that focuses on the present moment through paying attention, in a non-judgmental manner, to your senses and surroundings. Practicing mindfulness in nature is a great way to achieve a sense of balance and peace, and to connect with the places that are most meaningful to us.

Doing low to moderate exercise in nature on a regular basis can help to lower blood pressure, improve sleep and increase energy levels. Mindfulness walks take this idea further and help you slow down and focus on the present moment - each step, each breath – feeling calm and relaxed.

Come along for a mindfulness walk at Kinglake National Park

Relax, focus your mind on the present and join Ranger Tony Fitzgerald for a 15-minute mindfulness walk along the Stuart-Judd Track at Jehosaphat Gully at Kinglake National Park, located on the traditional lands of both the Taungurung and Wurundjeri Peoples.

7 Days of Mindfulness in Nature

Kinglake National Park ranger Tony Fitzgerald helped us put together a seven-day program for developing mindfulness in nature. Tony has decades of practice in the field of meditation in nature and says “mindfulness has never been more needed.”

Why not give it a try? You might be surprised by how much you change in just a week.

7 Days of Mindfulness in Nature

Ready to continue your mindfulness journey?

There’s a walking trail to suit everyone’s fitness and abilities. Explore the Parks Victoria website to find your local park. Parks Victoria offers a range of free easy, intermediate and advanced volunteer-led park walks and mindfulness walks for those who prefer a guided group walk experience. Visit the guided park walks page for further information.

Don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes and clothing, and when you finish your walk, take a few more deep breaths, pause and reflect on the calm sense of being in nature. Slowly return to your regular activity.

Other parks to enjoy mindfulness walks

Ferns in the Yarra Ranges National Park.

Badger Weir

Badger Weir Picnic Area is the perfect place to enjoy a picnic or barbecue. Visitors can enjoy fresh mountain air and forest walks passing through ancient fern gullies, across clear mountain streams and meandering among mighty Mountain Ash.

Maroondah Reservoir Park

Maroondah features gardens with stands of native and exotic trees, native animals and birds and walking tracks. Its playground, lawns and cool summer shade make it a popular picnic destination in warmer months.

Rainforest Gallery

Take a stroll through the rainforest. This beautiful walk features a 40m long observation platform (one of only three of its type in Australia) which takes you into the rainforest canopy high above the ground.

A couple in their sixties walk their two flat coated retriever dogs through the Alfred Nicholas Gardens among the changing autumn colours .

Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden

The gardens will delight all year round. In Spring, it is blooming with rhododendrons, azaleas, camelias, kalmias and flowering cherries on the lake. Summer is the time to see hydrangeas, fuchsias, native ferns, rhododendrons and native terrestrial orchids. In Autumn the foliage of maples, beech and the famous golden ginkgos on the lake is stunning. In Winter you will see camelias and the early rhododendrons.

Pirianda Garden

Designed to take advantage of the steep slopes, the terraced garden of Pirianda is distinctive for its combination of botanically important trees, shrubs and perennials with an over storey of large blackwoods and mountain ash towering over the natural fern gullies.

Sherbrooke Falls

Tracks leading from Sherbrooke and O’Donohue Picnic Ground provide the easiest walk to the falls through the attractive landscape of tall Mountain Ash and tree ferns. The falls are most inspiring after rain when the swollen Sherbrooke Creek rushes over the rocks.

A man with an afro wearing a leather jacket and woman wearing a cream knitted jumper turn and walk away from a lake in the Dandenong Ranges Botanical Gardens.

Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden

The Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden (formerly the National Rhododendron Garden) is host to brilliantly coloured blooms of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, cherries and daffodils. Seasonal changes ensure the gardens are a delight all year around.

Olinda-Falls

Starting at the Olinda Falls Picnic Ground, follow the Falls Track. After 300m, you will come to the top viewing platform across Olinda Creek as the steady flow of water cascades over the rocks. A further 140m leads to the lower viewing platform and a small bridge over the creek.

Maits Rest

There is an easy self-guided circuit walk through ancient, cool temperate rainforest at Maits Rest. Maits Rest is renowned for its natural beauty and a must see destination.A wooden boardwalk has been built over the tree-fern gullies and moss covered roots, providing a unique view of the forest.

A couple follow a walking path through luscious rain-forest ferns.

Melba Gully

Melba Gully has prolific plant growth and is a dense rainforest of Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Tree-ferns, with an understorey of low ferns and mosses. Perhaps the most unusual inhabitants of the area are the glow worms, which can be seen at night along the walking tracks.