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When Coastside therapist Wendy Figone takes people out on forest therapy walks, she encourages participants to call trees “she” instead of “it.” Her thinking is rooted in the idea that humans have become so disconnected from nature that they consider living plants to be “other.” By the end of her walks, hikers might become overcome with emotion while they hug those same trees and cry.
This is part of the immersive experience cultivated by Figone, who partnered with the San Mateo County Parks Foundation about a year ago to begin hosting free forest therapy walks. They are aimed at combating the negative effects of our “technology-driven, climate-controlled, fast-paced, often highly stressed daily lives,” according to the American Psychiatric Association.
“It’s the intersection of nature and health and well-being,” said Figone, who is based out of Moss Beach. Figone is certified as a forest therapy guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, a forest therapy guide training school. She held her latest walk in county parks at Memorial Park in Loma Mar on Sept. 12 during national Forest Bathing and Walk Weekend. “How do we get people feeling that connection, instead of trying to capture it? Really, trees are kin.”
During a forest-bathing session, people may walk, meditate, drink herbal tea, make crafts out of natural materials and use their five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) to bring themselves into the present. During Figone’s walks, she asks participants to turn off their phones so they won’t get distracted.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan coined the term forest therapy, or forest bathing — Shinrin-yoku in Japanese — in the 1980s. Figone herself discovered forest therapy during a trip to the country.
“We try to make the case that it’s not a hike for physical fitness — it’s not a nature identification walk, it really is just for the purpose of being in nature,” said Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, a forest-bathing expert and AllTrails’ lead medical director, in a webinar explaining how to forest bathe. “In forest bathing we use a standard sequence so that we do the same thing every time with the goal of taking our participants deeper and deeper from our everyday monkey mind state into what we refer to as the liminal state, and this allows us to just kind of shed the stressor.”
Wendy Figone leads a group forest therapy walk in partnership with the San Mateo County Parks Foundation at Memorial County Park in Loma Mar, Calif. on Sept. 12, 2026. Photo by Karina Patel. 
Melissa Martin picks up a rock from a creek at Memorial County Park during a forest therapy walk in partnership with the San Mateo County Parks Foundation in Loma Mar, Calif. on Sept. 12, 2026. Photo by Karina Patel. 
Two women lie on the ground in Memorial County Park during a forest therapy walk in partnership with the San Mateo County Parks Foundation in Loma Mar, Calif. on Sept. 12, 2026. Photo by Karina Patel. 
Wendy Figone leads a group therapy walk in partnership with the San Mateo County Parks Foundation at Memorial County Park in Loma Mar, Calif. on Sept. 12, 2026. Photo by Karina Patel.
The foundation has sponsored six of Figone’s walks, which run for about three hours each and integrate breathwork and stress release. The partnership began after Figone led a small group forest therapy walk at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach in early 2025 for park rangers.
San Mateo County Parks Foundation Executive Director Michele Beasley participated in that walk and realized it was the type of offering she wanted to bring to the parks to serve as many people as possible.
“Wendy had the program, enthusiasm, knowledge, and ability to deliver forest/coastal therapy and I had the funding, relationships and park access,” said Beasley in an email. “Wendy has invested so much in herself to learn the ins and outs of forest bathing, and I want to compensate her for that investment while also building on the parks foundation’s long-running message that parks are good for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.”
Research on forest therapy
Research has shown forest therapy can have several health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety, and decreasing inflammation in the body. Figone noted that forest therapy also has no side effects.
Through her work, Figone is contributing to a University of Colorado and University of Vermont study on the impacts of forest therapy. Dr. Sara LoTemplio, an assistant professor in Parks, Rec and Tourism at the University of Vermont, is leading the research through the Collective for Nature Immersion Science and Practice.
LoTemplio has given Figone tools to collect data on her walks, allowing her to measure people’s stress levels before and after walks and identify the proper length of a stroll. Figone also has attendees fill out questionnaires about their stress levels. The collective is seeking funding to measure more physiological signals like heart rate variability, according to LoTemplio.
“What we don’t really understand well is some of these context effects,” LoTemplio said. “How long do you need to be in nature to improve mental health? Is it better to be doing a forest-bathing walk or just a regular walk? We’re hoping that by pooling all of the data from all of the different practitioners that are participating, we’ll end up with a larger database that researchers can use to try to answer some of those more niche questions.”
Figone is also writing a book on the most recent research on forest therapy that integrates people’s stories from using the practice.
Forest therapy certification
Figone has worked to certify two of the state’s four certified trails (in Pescadero and the Santa Cruz Mountains) through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.
Forest therapy locations aren’t restricted to trails in the forest. They can be in urban parks, landscaped grounds of hospitals, community gardens, arboretums or botanical gardens, the association notes.
Trails are certified under three categories. The first is a guided trail, which is designed to support forest therapy guides. These don’t include signage. The second, self-guided trails, have signage that enables visitors to replicate the experience of a guided forest therapy session. Lastly, hybrid trails might have signage, QR codes, brochures or pamphlets explaining forest therapy, but are also designed for guided walks.
The association notes that good candidates for forest therapy trails or spaces include areas where people with a wide range of fitness levels can interact with nature, primarily through their senses.
Figone’s work overall is focused on stress relief. She practices myofascial therapy, a form of massage designed to release tension and pain using trigger points, or knots, in connective tissues, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“We’re in a mental health crisis,” she said. “It’s (forest therapy) giving people permission to stop.”
Figone is not only partnering with the parks foundation. She also offers forest therapy at Chaminade Resort in the Santa Cruz Mountains every four to six weeks. The next Chaminade sessions will take place Oct. 11-12.
“I think a lot of people hear the term ‘forest therapy,’ and they get intimidated by it because of the word ‘therapy,’” said Julie Jimenez, director of sales and marketing for Chaminade. “But then once you actually get out on the trail and realize how easy it is, they feel comfortable and embrace the presence of the trees and Earth.”
Figone helped certify the resort trail through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, so people who aren’t staying at the resort can pay $30 to join Figone’s sessions there.
She recommends at least starting out with a guide on these walks because people are often stuck in “fight-or-flight” mode.
“I’m aware how much our brains are bouncing around,” she said.
A date for Figone’s next San Mateo County Parks forest therapy session has not yet been set, but the parks foundation plans to host Figone’s events year-round. For more information, visit supportparks.org or instagram.com/smcpfoundation.
Other organizations offering forest therapy
Chaminade Resort and Spa, 1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz. $30 for people who aren’t guests of the hotel: Figone works with the resort to offer its guests forest therapy sessions. The trail at the resort is a certified forest therapy trail and open to the public. The trail begins at an accessible deck, and hikers can choose to explore a eucalyptus grove that leads into a meadow where monks used to meditate.
Costanoa, 2001 Rossi Road, Pescadero: Figone helped certify a trail at the resort and campground on the coast.
San Mateo County Pride Center, Memorial Park, 9500 Pescadero Creek Road, Loma Mar. Free: The nonprofit will hold a mindfulness walk with a certified forest therapy guide Sept. 26 from 1-3:30 p.m.
Other organizations like Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, San Mateo County Libraries, Grassroots Ecology and Filoli have offered forest bathing sessions in the past. Check their websites for upcoming events.
The Sempervirens Fund has curated a list of spots ideal for forest bathing in the Santa Cruz Mountains, including Castle Rock Falls, Six Bridges Trail in Butano State Park and Atkinson Bluff Trail in Año Nuevo State Park.
Tips for self-guided forest bathing
For those who want to get started now, each certified forest therapy trail comes with a brochure that includes a “how to practice” guide.
Sempervirens Fund recommends people ask themselves questions such as: “Where are you seeing contrasts in darkness and light?” “What is it like if you shift your focus to dark instead of light areas?” You can find a space to sit or lie down for 20 minutes to observe plants, animals, birds, insects, sand and water, and ask yourself “What do you notice?”
There are plenty of online resources to check out before embarking on a session. In addition to Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller’s webinar on how to forest bathe, she also authored a book titled “The Outdoor Adventurer’s Guide to Forest Bathing: Using Shinrin-Yoku to Hike, Bike, Paddle, and Climb Your Way to Health and Happiness.”
There are also 30- to 45-minute audio-guided forest bathing sessions.
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