How to Walk Outdoors Safely During COVID0-19
Recommendations from the Rhode Island Land Trust Council.
Is it safe to go outside?
Can we go for walks?
Yes, it is safe to go outside and take walks as long as you follow CDC’s social distancing guidance. In fact, COVID-19 is less likely to srpead outdoors. Taking walks and enjoying outdoor spaces helps reduce stress and anxiety and cures cabin fever. It will help you maintain your physical and mental health.
People have always gone to parks, other conservation lands and trails to find respite, seek solitude and restoration. We need these places now more than ever and they are getting unprecedented visitation.
Easy guidelines for safely taking walks during this pandemic:
- Stay home if you are sick or feeling any COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, coughing and or trouble breathing.
- Stay local – take your walks in outdoor spaces that are close to home. Most restrooms are not available in outdoor areas.
- Only walk close to people who live with you
- Practice social distancing to stay 6 feet from everyone who does not live with you. Avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, hugging or high-fives.
- Maintain distance from others in parking lots, at trailheads and scenic views and places where people tend to congregate. Don’t form groups or gather with others on the trail.
- Wear a face covering over your nose and mouth if you are close to other people who don't live with you.
- Keep visits short. Leave room for everyone to take walks and spend time in outdoor areas without causing trails and parks to become too crowded for safety.
- If you arrive at a trail or outdoor area and crowds are forming because everyone has decided to go there, choose a different place or return at another time to visit.
- If parking lots are full, please do not park along roadsides or in other undesignated areas. Please choose a different area to walk or return when parking is available. Parking overflowing onto nearby streets creates tensions with neighbors who may seek to have the outdoor areas closed.
- Consider avoiding the most popular places to walk and use this opportunity to explore trails and areas that are not as well known. See our list of trails and our map of trails to find other nearby trails.
It is important that everyone does their part to use these places in a way that respects each other and follows public health guidance. Together we can ensure that everyone stays safe and healthy!
If spending time outdoors and taking walks is safe, why did Rhode Island close the State Parks?
During the first couple of weeks of shelter in place, crowds gathered at state parks and beaches and people were not practicing social distancing. This led RIDEM and the Governor to close state parks to access by cars as a precaution to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Since May 9, RIDEM has reopened parks and limited parking to prevent crowds.