In a world that rarely asks people to slow down, The Barefoot Trail is offering visitors a simple way to reset: take off your shoes, step into the forest, and breathe.
Located just outside Flagstaff in Bellemont, The Barefoot Trail is the nation’s first grounding park, a one-mile outdoor experience designed to help visitors reconnect with nature through movement, sensory exploration, and direct contact with the earth. For the 2026 season, the nonprofit park is bringing back its outdoor yoga offerings, inviting guests ages 14 and up to pair the barefoot trail experience with 30-minute forest yoga classes every Thursday and Sunday.
Held in a quiet forest grove off the main trail, the classes blend gentle movement, breathwork, mindfulness, and grounding in a setting that feels far removed from a traditional studio. Mats, blocks, bolsters, and props are provided, and all experience levels are welcome.
“Yoga and grounding go hand in hand,” says Leah Williams, founder of The Barefoot Trail. “When you combine mindful movement with fresh air, forest surroundings, and the simple act of connecting with the earth, it creates a completely different kind of experience. It helps people slow down, tune in, and feel more present in their bodies.”
Led by park supervisor and certified yoga instructor Betzy Spiro, the twice-weekly classes are designed to be approachable, restorative, and rooted in the natural rhythm of the trail. Guests can come for yoga alone or make it part of a fuller visit that includes walking the one-mile barefoot trail, exploring natural textures, and spending time outdoors.
The 2026 yoga schedule includes:
- Thursdays: Gentle Flow Yoga. Offered at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., this slow, soothing class is designed for all bodies and experience levels, with an emphasis on breath, balance, and mindful movement.
- Sundays: Grounding with Nature. Offered at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., this meditative class blends elements of yin, restorative yoga, and yoga nidra in a peaceful outdoor setting.
- 30-Minute Classes. Each session is intentionally short and accessible, allowing guests to add yoga to a trail visit without committing to a full-length studio class.
- Small Group Setting. Classes are limited to 10 participants, creating a calm, personal experience in the forest grove.
- All Levels Welcome. No advanced yoga experience is required. Classes are designed to meet participants where they are.
- Props Provided. Mats, blocks, bolsters, and other props are available for guests to use during class.
- Combo Ticket Available. A $20 Yoga & Trail ticket includes both trail admission and a yoga class.
The idea for yoga came directly from visitors, Williams says. People were already coming to the trail to slow down, move their bodies and feel more connected to nature, so adding yoga felt like a natural next step. “The trail is already about reconnecting with your body and the natural world,” Williams adds. “Yoga gives people another way to do that. Your mat is on the ground, the trees are overhead, and the forest becomes part of the practice.”
The Barefoot Trail is not a typical nature walk. The one-mile trail is designed to be experienced barefoot, with natural pathways, balance elements, tactile stations, and 35 sensory experiences and adventure stops that encourage visitors to move, feel, explore, and reconnect with the world beneath their feet.
For yoga participants, that means the class does not stand apart from the trail. It becomes part of the broader experience, one that invites guests to notice their breath, their balance, their surroundings, and the simple feeling of being outside.
The Barefoot Trail operates Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October. The park is located at 17440 Forest Service Road 146W in Bellemont. Yoga classes are offered Thursdays and Sundays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for guests ages 14 and up. A Yoga & Trail combo ticket is $20 and includes trail admission and one yoga class. Regular trail admission starts at $14 for adults and $12 for children when booked online. Walk-up admission is $15, and children under 2 are free. To reserve a yoga class or learn more, visit thebarefoottrail.org.
