California’s state and regional parks were created to be enjoyed by all, but ensuring everyone has equal access to outdoor recreation has been a struggle.
According to the Pew Research Center’s analysis of 2021 U.S. Census data, around 42.5 million Americans, or 13% of the population, have some type of disability. Despite this, many people find it difficult to enjoy the outdoors because lots of parks are not easily accessible via transit, there aren’t enough amenities at a location, information on trail features is difficult to find or unavailable, and trails often are not designed to accommodate people with a range of disabilities.
This is why advocates across the country have been working to make outdoor recreation more accessible. However, the current state and federal guidelines that define what makes a trail or park “accessible” don’t always take into account all of the factors that need to be addressed before a place can truly be used by everyone—what makes a trail accessible to one person may have little impact on its accessibility to someone else. Disability advocates say they also don’t want to see these guidelines result in changes that detract from the natural beauty of parks.
Ed Price, president of the Trail Access Project, a Nevada-based nonprofit focused on equitable trail access, said that while park managers have been open to creating more access he wants to ensure that this increased access doesn’t mean the creation of more paved surfaces.
“What we really don’t want is paved sidewalks all over the west, so we’re looking for natural surface trails where people with disabilities can get out and feel like they’re out on a hiking trail just like everybody else,” said Price.
Federal guidelines for accessible trails are set by the U.S. Access Board, an agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities. These guidelines pertain to a trail’s slope, or how steep it is, cross-slope, the level at which it dips down on one or both sides, firmness, width, and whether it contains any obstacles as well as adequate resting areas. The California State Parks have their own similar accessibility guidelines.
Price, a geologist, has long been an avid hiker and often took college students out on geological field trips. But when complications from polio when he was younger resulted in him needing a wheelchair, he started looking for new ways to enjoy outdoor spaces. Today, he works with Las Vegas community members with disabilities to find and visit recreational areas nearby that are set up for everyone to enjoy. He said that there are often two main barriers when it comes to accessible recreation: information and transportation.
For many folks looking for accessible trails, the biggest barrier can just be knowing which trails to go to. Many of the hiking routes labeled online as “accessible” may not actually meet the needs of a certain person’s requirements, or the trail’s conditions may have changed due to weather, erosion, or improper maintenance.
Even if a trail is considered accessible, getting to it, finding parking, and figuring out whether there’s paratransit available and whether there are other facilities, can be a barrier.
In the East Bay, one woman has been working on providing comprehensive information about which trails in Northern California meet practical and equitable accessibility requirements.
Cataloging Northern California’s accessible trails
Bonnie Lewkowicz has been working for over 40 years to make outdoor recreation and sports more accessible to people with disabilities. Lewkowicz began her work in the 1980s as an intern at the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program, or BORP, an organization focused on improving health and independence in children, young adults, and adults with visual impairments and physical disabilities through sports and outdoor recreation.
After working there for several years Lewkowicz left and started Access Northern California, an organization focused on digitally cataloging the accessibility features of trails across the Bay Area. Access Northern California merged with BORP in 2016.
“What I always say is that ‘the information barrier is the first barrier we have to get over,’” said Lewkowciz. “[I focus on] bridging that gap between: ‘I want to go out and hike somewhere’ and ‘where can I go?’” said Lewkowicz.
Because accessibility can mean so many different things, Lewkowicz lists the characteristics of each trail on the organization’s website — even if it does not meet the strict accessibility guidelines of federal and state accessibility standards. Aspects such as whether a trail’s terrain is hard or soft, how much a trail rises and falls over hills or mountains, and how steep or level it is are all relevant. Same for features like whether or not there are picnic tables that can be reached by an accessible path or if there are accessible restrooms and adequate parking spaces. Access Northern California also allows people to search for campgrounds, lodgings activities, and birding locations based on their accessibility features.
“I’m looking at it in terms of the time that you get there to all the things you’ll be doing there,” said Lewkowicz.
When Lewkowicz goes out, she says that often it’s just as important to look for what would make a trail inaccessible as what makes it accessible. A trail can have the perfect features to meet guidelines but if there is no way for someone to find parking, rest on a bench, or use the restroom, then all its other features might not matter.
When she looks at trails and judges their accessibility, Lewkowicz said she has a bit more leeway than land managers or parks officials who must follow strict guidelines. She often uses her own wheelchair as an unofficial measurement of if another wheelchair user can access a space, facility, or trail.
In her experience park officials in the East Bay have not made accessibility a priority. She said that she doesn’t want to see them avoid making accessibility adjustments for fear that they can’t meet all requirements.
“I hear so often from so many different [park agencies] that there’s so much work to do, and they don’t know where to get started,” said Lewkowicz. “Just start somewhere. Baby steps. Just don’t get overwhelmed by the big picture.”
“It’s not how far we go, it’s about what happens along the way”
Lori Gray, the adventures and outings program manager for BORP has worked in outdoor recreation for over four decades. She previously worked as a whitewater rafting, kayaking, and ski guide. Briefly in the 1980s, she worked for BORP before serving for a time on their board of directors while she was a student at UC Berkeley. When a seizure disorder left her unable to continue classes, she joined BORP full-time and has worked there since 1999.
She now organizes, plans, and leads outings for participants in BORP’s programs. Her role is to find accessible parks and trails and plan the activities. For Gray, it’s all about being in nature, in any way possible.
“It’s not how far we go, it’s about what happens along the way,” said Gray. “We may only go a mile, right? But it doesn’t matter. We’re sitting down in the sun, we’re hearing the birds.”
Gray and her participants engage in a variety of activities around the Bay Area, from visiting tourist locations to hiking and camping. Gray, visually impaired herself, often searches for recreational activities where there are options for tactile or auditory experiences.
On many occasions, she has led groups on guided visualizations when they have been unable to be in a location physically where she will talk participants through a fictitious scene, asking them to picture a certain location and imagine its sights, smells, and features.
“What I’ve seen from the participants is a love of nature that being out in nature fosters, a feeling of belonging, and a feeling that the parks are ours just like they’re everyone’s,” said Gray.
While Gray does see a long road ahead in terms of equitable access to outdoor recreation, she has had many positive experiences in the Bay Area. She praises the East Bay Regional Park District for its openness to finding ways for her participants to engage with nature.
East Bay Regional Park District has its own guidelines for ADA accessibility within the park district. They also have a yearly Trails Challenge, a self-guided tour of 20 trails. The guidebook for the challenge ranks the trails by level of difficulty and also lists which accessibility features are available.
Gray and Lewkowicz both emphasized the importance of accessibility being at the forefront of park management’s minds. They say improvements and adjustments are great, but making an area or trail as accessible as possible should be paramount. And any new projects should be planned through an accessibility lens—not as an afterthought.
“When you’re making something new, think in terms of accessibility as you’re building it, whether it’s a program, or whether it’s a trail,” said Gray.
