5 Ways to Spend Time in Parks this Spring☀️

With the weather forecast predicting high’s in the 60’s these next few days, it's finally starting to feel like Spring! It’s no secret that spending time outdoors is good for your health. However, if you’re looking to switch up the routine from your typical walk through the park, check out these 5 activities you can do instead.

1. Yoga

I saw a quote recently that said “sitting is the new smoking”, and it honestly makes sense! “When you sit down, intervertebral discs absorb fluid and become tighter, allowing less range of motion and promoting injury.” A great way to counteract this is intentional movement of the body. Yoga can often seem intimidating to many, but it doesn’t have to be! Just 5 minutes and a few postures can be the difference between living with or without chronic pain. The next time you’re at a park, lay down a towel or mat in a nice grassy area, and try out a few of these stretches. I specifically found an article of all supine (or lying down) poses because they’re quite accessible and beginner friendly. Plus, I think we all could benefit from more time spent connected with the earth below us.

If you're interested in a yoga class in the park, we have one coming up on Saturday, April 6th as part of our Discover Your Parks Series! Click here to register and check out our other park-based, free community offerings!

2. Bird Watching

The older I get, the more I’m coming to appreciate the beauty of birds. Taking on a role at the Parks Foundation, home to many bird enthusiasts, has also furthered this interest of mine. I think parks are particularly awesome because there’s so many different species that you share the space with. I took the photo above on a stroll through Rancho San Rafael Park. I found it adorable that the squirrel and bird were peacefully coexisting in the same tree; it felt like a scene from Snow White. The bird pictured is a Steller’s jay. My whole life I’ve called all blue birds I’ve seen blue jays, but a fun fact is that those are actually only found in Eastern North America! In Western North America, we have Steller’s jays and California scrub-jays. You can differentiate between them because Steller’s jays have a black mohawk.

If you enjoy learning new random fun facts like me, bird watching may be your next hobby! Take a look around the next time you’re at a park and see what you find. Merlin and eBird are great apps for identifying them.

3. Read a book

After spending the winter curled up inside with a book, being able to read while breathing in the fresh air is truly a gift. If you’re looking for something to read, check out the Sparks Library (one of TWELVE libraries in Washoe County)! The Parks Foundation just recently hung up our Parks Rephotography Project on display there, so on top of access to thousands of books and resources, you can also look at some local art. As someone who was born and raised in Reno, it’s really cool to see old historical photos of Reno from back in the day, and also satisfying to see them recreated in the modern day.

If reading isn’t your jam, hang on because we still have 2 more activities you can do at the park!

4. Picnic

For the most part, I am not a huge fan of daylight savings. Having to transition to either losing an hour of sleep when it begins or it being pitch black dark by 5pm when it ends, just doesn’t feel worth it to me. However, one pro of the time change is that right now, office workers who get off at 5pm now have about 2 hours of sunlight left in the day after they get off, and that amount of time is only going to increase as spring goes on and we transition to summer. I think a great way to make use of the extended daylight is to eat your dinner outside! Having a picnic for just yourself, or with loved ones, can be a nice change in the routine and is a fantastic way to utilize your local parks. Now we just need to get our lawmakers to make daylight savings time permanent, so we can stop the routine disruption to our sleep cycles and circadian rhythms every year!

5. Pokemon GO

I have very fond memories of the summer of 2016, when Pokemon GO first came out, and people came together to try out the new interactive game– congregating at local spaces to spin PokeStops, catch Pokemon, and fight battles together. I would say that 8 years since its release, the hype surrounding the game has inevitably died down. But, its definitely still around and people are still playing it! When I went on that walk around Rancho San Rafael Park, I saw a lot of people around me, some families, some solo, walking around with their phones, stopping every now and then to vigorously tap or swipe on their phones, and I knew exactly what they were doing. While some people might criticize and say that time spent outdoors should be away from screens, my take on it is that its the 21st century and people should enjoy their parks and open spaces how they want to. So with that being said, just stay aware of your surroundings so that you’re not bumping into anybody or becoming an obstacle for those around you, and happy Poke hunting!

And there you have it. However you decide to do it, I hope you find a way to soak up the sun and utilize your local parks this Spring!

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About the Author

Born and raised in the Truckee Meadows, Dayna studied International Business Marketing at the University of Nevada, Reno. After graduating in 2021, she spent 2 months in India pursuing her passion by studying yoga and becoming a certified instructor. Now, Dayna is excited to join the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation promoting one of her favorite things, the outdoors! In her free time, Dayna can be found practicing yoga, exploring the world around her, or cozying up in her hammock with a good book.