The prescription you may have to write for yourself: PaRx

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Your doctor hands you a prescription, but instead of a pill, it's a free pass to your national parks. That's a real thing in Canada. It's called Park Prescriptions and was launched in 2020.

[00:00:08]Doctors prescribed free annual park passes to patients with anxiety, depression, heart disease, and chronic stress. And the research is clean. A study of nearly 20,000 adults found that 2 hours a week in nature is the threshold where health and well-being measurably improve. It doesn't matter if it's one long walk or several short ones. So, that's the dose. 2 hours a week on a park bench, on a trail, in a backyard. Seek out these opportunities and they will start to add up into something that can completely change the trajectory of your health and your life.