In an age when childhood can feel increasingly scheduled, screened, and stuck indoors, The Barefoot Trail is making a simple invitation to Arizona youth: take off your shoes.
Located just outside Flagstaff in Bellemont, The Barefoot Trail is the nation’s first grounding park, a one-mile outdoor experience with natural pathways, balance elements, tactile stations, and sensory adventure stops designed to reconnect kids with the world beneath their feet. After welcoming more than 20,000 visitors in 2025, the park is now inviting schools, camps, homeschool groups, youth organizations, and summer programs to plan field trips and group visits for its 2026 season.
Set among the forested landscape of the Colorado Plateau, the trail turns outdoor time into something more vivid than recess and more memorable than a worksheet. Youth of all ages are encouraged to ditch their shoes and explore 35 sensory experiences and adventure stations that blend movement, curiosity, confidence-building, and nature-based discovery.
“For educators and program leaders, the best field trips are the ones kids keep talking about after they get back on the bus,” says Leah Williams, founder of The Barefoot Trail. “That’s what we’re creating here: an outdoor experience that feels like play in the moment, but leaves kids with confidence, curiosity, and a deeper connection to nature.”
For educators, camp directors, homeschool families, microschools, and youth leaders, The Barefoot Trail offers a ready-made outdoor outing. The experience naturally supports team-building, sensory learning, wellness, environmental connection, and unstructured exploration, all without losing the spirit of play that makes kids want to keep moving.
The park is focusing on weekday availability to better accommodate field trips, camps, and organized group programming, while continuing to welcome daily visitors looking for a flexible outdoor escape. Groups can incorporate educational touchpoints around grounding, reflexology, natural movement, mindfulness, ecology, and the surrounding ecosystem, or simply let the trail do what outdoor spaces do best: give kids room to roam, test their balance, splash, climb, feel, laugh, and discover.
Highlights for 2026 include:
- Immersive Field Trips and Visits: Arizona schools, camps, and youth organizations can book outdoor experiences designed to support movement, exploration, and group engagement.
- Affordable Group Rates: Groups of 10 or more can visit for $10 per person, making The Barefoot Trail an accessible option for school districts, camps, youth organizations, and community programs.
- ESA Fund Eligibility: Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account funds can be used for tickets and STEAM booklets, making the trail an enriching outdoor education option for homeschoolers.
- STEAM Booklets: Educational booklets available for purchase to enhance each child’s experience at the park that teaches more about grounding and reflexology. Ideal for school groups and homeschoolers, these age-appropriate booklets include activities, scientific discussions, and coloring pages to make their time on the trail interactive.
- Educational Touchpoints: Subtle learning elements throughout the park introduce guests to grounding, reflexology, and the surrounding ecosystem in an approachable way.
- Special Calendar Days: A rotating lineup of themed events and special days throughout the season encourages repeat visits and adds variety for returning groups and families, including live music on Saturdays throughout the season.
- Refreshed Trail Surfaces: Enhanced pathways and upgraded reflexology stations introduce new sensory experiences for returning visitors.
- Rest and Reflection Spaces: Expanded areas throughout the park allow groups to gather, reset, and move at their own pace.
The Barefoot Trail is designed to meet kids where they are: curious, energetic, tactile, and ready to explore. For younger visitors, that may mean stepping across different textures, finding their balance, or discovering how mud, stone, water, wood, and forest floor feel underfoot. For older students, the experience can open conversations about wellness, energy, mindfulness, movement, and the body’s connection to nature.
The Barefoot Trail is open for the 2026 season and is located at 17440 Forest Service Road 146W in Bellemont. Group rates of $10 per person are available for parties of 10 or more. Schools, camps, homeschool groups, youth organizations, and summer programs interested in planning a field trip or group visit should call 928-405-6944 to make a group reservation. Learn more at thebarefoottrail.org.
