Indian ladder in the barefoot park Nienhagen, Germany. Description
Barefoot parks are theme parks for sensual experiences and natural wellness. They are kept clean and maintained on a regular basis, so that barefoot hiking can be done in an appropriate environment. Barefoot parks usually include a lot of adventure stations. Visitors use the experience to feel different soils; to wade through rivers, brooks, or ponds; and to exercise foot gymnastics, balancing and climbing. Playgrounds; bathing lakes; and equipment for smelling, hearing, and seeing different colors; and feeling hidden objects may be included. Some of the barefoot parks call themselves barefoot trails.
Examples
Wading through the brook in the theme park Witches's Water in Soell/Tyrol. Within the last decade, a few dozen barefoot parks have been founded in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Among the most popular barefoot parks are those at Bad Sobernheim on the Nahe River, at Dornstetten in the Black Forest, at Lienen and Bad Wuennenberg in Westphalia. In addition the theme parks 'Witches' Water in Soell/Tyrol and the "Park with all Senses" at Gutach/Black Forest are designed as barefoot parks.
Touristic significance
The barefoot parks mentioned here are an important contribution to tourism, each attracting at least a hundred thousand visitors per year. Entrance to the family-friendly parks is free or inexpensive. Profit comes from the increased volume at restaurants, hotels, cure facilities, cable cars, and so on.
Wellness
Going barefoot under the ideal conditions of the barefoot parks has multiple benefits for health. It acts against flat feet and varicose veins by toughening and training the muscles of feet and legs, it builds up resistance against cold and cough, it relieves dorsal pain by improving the motion sequence of walking. For children walking, jumping and running barefoot is of particular importance because lack of exercise during growth is a significant health risk.
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