A new study in the journal Scientific Reports reveals spending just two hours a week in nature makes you both happier and healthier, as respondents who spent a minimum of 120 minutes each week reported higher levels of physical and mental health than those spending more time indoors.
Spending their days in remote coastal areas off of British Columbia, the Outer Shores Expeditions team knows first-hand just how pivotal nature is to health, well-being, and happiness. Have more than two hours to set aside for nature-based travel? Plan your next outdoor adventures with Outer Shores and join these wild expeditions:
Sail remote corners of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
From old-growth rainforests to storm-carved coastlines and rocky beaches, the natural environment of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve provides a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Bathe in nature on the 5-day West Coast Wilderness expedition, which introduces guests to the beauty of Vancouver Island’s Barkley Sound by classic wooden schooner, through the serenity of the protected Broken Group Islands. Witness the annual gray whale migration, learn about the area’s Indigenous significance through a guided tour of the historic Huu-ay-aht village site of Kiixin, and marvel at life in the intertidal zone, all while breathing in the sea-misted forest air and unparalleled stillness.
Bask in springtime in the Southern Great Bear Rainforest
The vast southern region of Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest bursts forth with life in spring, as wildflowers explode into colour and sleeping grizzlies emerge from hibernation. On the 8-day Islands, Otters, Bears, and Ancient Forests voyage, guests are awoken from their own wintertime routines to explore coastal estuaries, traipse through mossy forests, examine kelp forests and tide pools, and relax on soft, white-sand beaches. Animal lovers delight on excursions to see large rafts of sea otters that have repopulated the region, while keeping a close watch for coastal wolves, marine mammals, and rare bird species migrating north for the summer.
Encounter wildlife varieties in Haida Gwaii
Known as “Canada’s Galapagos,” the remote archipelago of Haida Gwaii in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site is teeming with bountiful marine life. From puffins and albatrosses to orcas and humpback whales, Haida Gwaii’s mossy groves and ancient Haida village sites provide the backdrop for Outer Shores’ 9-day sailing expedition, Islands at the Edge. Guests unplug and dive into nature in this jewel of the Pacific Coast, experiencing full days of sailing along the edge of the continental shelf, inflatable skiff excursions for a closer look at the coast, and floatplane flights for a bird’s-eye-view of it all.
Venture into the unknown in Northern Great Bear Rainforest
In the fall months, the northern region of Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest is home to the Pacific salmon migration, attracting a wide array of marine and terrestrial species to the shoreline and an even wider array of outdoor-loving adventurers to the 9-day Salmon, Bears, Whales, and Ancient Forests expedition. In the wilderness where the rare white Kermode bear (also known as the spirit bear) catch salmon in waterfalls and grizzlies prowl river mouths in preparation for hibernation, guests wander through lush rainforest trails to explore the biodiversity of the Central Coast and visit coastal First Nations communities while sailing deep into the region’s inlets and fjords.
For more information visit Outer Shores Expeditions
