Go Where Your Smile Grows Wider
Spending time outdoors is a tried and true way to find joy and connection to the places and people you cherish most.
Whether you prefer an uphill stroll on a dirt path or digging in the garden, these tips and tools will help you get out there and do it. Because that’s really what matters.
Use our resources to find your joy outside and to share it with others.
Public lands are essential for our health, happiness, and connection—but right now, they’re under threat. Special interest groups are pushing to strip their protections, opening the door to development. That means fewer parks, trails, and natural spaces for all of us.
These spaces are our shared legacy. Take action now and urge Congress to keep public lands in public hands!
Meet a dozen individuals who’ve found their joy outdoors.
We think they’ll inspire you as much as they inspire us.
Casting Flies
Chad Brown
“There’s this thing among anglers—it’s kind of like the fish becomes the by-product. Going fishing becomes spiritual. You’re searching for fish, but you’re also searching for happiness.”
Breaking Barriers
Erik Weihenmayer
“The most exciting moments of our lives are when we break through those barriers standing between us and the things that other people see as impossible or improbable, but we believe in our hearts to be possible.”
On the Trail
Jenny Bruso
“I found my way outside again in the form of day hikes and I rediscovered that wonder, that inherent sense of place I knew when I was a kid. My world opened back up…”
Going the Distance
Liz Thomas
“Hiking gives me deep appreciation for the decisions and actions of those who have come before me. In the wilderness, I’m grateful for conservationists who protect our natural environment.”
Hanging Ten
Diane Cardwell
“Surfing just brings me so much joy and makes me feel so centered and kind of at one with the universe in a way that almost nothing else can.”
Pressing Reset
Sean Gobin
“When you get out on the other side [of a through hike], it’s almost like a reset button. You’ve come to terms with what’s happened in the past, and you’re ready to move on.”
Hunting and Gathering
On the Singletrack
Mitch Doherty
“Just about every weekend, we are out there whether the kids are excited about it or not. Some days it takes a little sweet-treat motivation, such as Starburst candies flicked out on the trail. But there is never a sad face at the end of the day.”
Running Free
Zach Friedley
“Can you imagine walking into a running shop to get shoes and the salesperson is like, ‘hey, I’m not going to sell you these shoes until you go run a marathon, then come back and show me your marathon certificate and then I’ll give you these shoes’?”
In the Park
Ke Meh
“The park is like an oasis in a desert. When the weight of my future feels too heavy to handle, I visit the park by myself. I sometimes sit on the benches near the entrance and enjoy a good book (currently, I’m reading Fahrenheit 451), or I walk around while listening to my favorite musical artist, Daniel Caesar, and breathe in the crisp air.”
Stewarding the Land
Charles “Chuck” Loring Jr.
“We are responsible stewards, guided by our ancestors, elders, chief, and council to do the right thing by our land for our people.”
Going Big ... Or Small
Caroline Gleich
“For me, growing up as a young girl with three brothers, a young woman who went to Catholic school where I had to wear a skirt and was always told to stay in your seat and be quiet … the mountains gave me a place where I could be wild and free. I just felt a sense of personal power.”
