Outdoor Activities and Wheelchair: It’s Possible!

Camping

One of the best outdoor activities for movement-impaired persons of any age is undoubtedly camping. Although you may not be able to hit just about every spot in the wild great outdoors, there are thousands of wheelchair-accessible places while the best are near woods, lakes, and rivers.

If you’re bent on visiting rockier trails and spots with rougher terrain, upgrading your wheelchair’s tires with more robust wheels can make a huge difference.

Shelter-wise, you should use a tarpaulin instead of a regular camping tent. It’s a stripped-down, more basic type of tent that is both lighter and easier to install. Prepare a couple of bags with food at home in case you get hungry before the campfire dishes are served, and make sure to bring at least a couple of bottles of water.

Camping is a wonderful bonding experience, and there are no reasons why you should be afraid of being deep into the wilderness with your buddies. You will learn much about yourself, and you’ll certainly face a few challenges, but you’ll have fun and come out as a stronger person at the end of the day.

Fishing

The tranquil beauty of watching a river as clouds are slowly passing by tends to be a very relaxing, soothing experience that can substantially improve one’s mood and even lifespan. Although preparations for any fishing trip can be quite arduous, the process itself can be both fun and very rewarding in more ways than one.

Now, seasoned anglers typically search far and wide before they find a spot where fish is in abundance; these locations are usually surrounded by rough terrain and can be pretty far away from towns.

Fortunately, the U.S. Access Board has been working overtime to make a huge number of American rivers wheelchair-accessible by modifying piers and platforms, installing gangways and handrail extensions, as well as setting up various elevators and platform lifts.

If you want to make your fishing trip even more fun, you can upgrade your wheelchair with rod holders, umbrella pockets, and tip-prevention poles. This way all you’ll need to do is relax, enjoy the view, and reel from time to time.

Bird Watching

Birdwatching is, similar to fishing, a very relaxing hobby to have, although you’ll need to gap a few bridges before you reach locations where birds feed and live.

Unlike many outdoor activities, birdwatching is very flexible and economical. All you really need is enough goodwill to get close enough to observe them, which can be done with the most basic pair of binoculars, or you can go the extra mile and buy high-end cameras and film your ‘catch’.

One of the best things about birdwatching is that it gets more exciting the more you’re engaged in it. As you learn more about different types of birds, you’ll be able to learn their habits and spend less time tracking them.

In order to make your birdwatching experience a pleasurable one, make sure to research the birds that you find the most interesting, as well as the places where you can find them. Wide, smooth paths with nearby parking lots are some of the things you should be on the lookout for.

Mini Golf

While a regular 18-hole golf game can be very tiring for even the most seasoned of professionals, mini-golf is on the completely opposite end of the spectrum, regardless of your skill level, age, experience, or dexterity.

It’s a sport that requires precision but doesn’t feel too punishing for those who can’t aim to save their life. In fact, a lot of mini-golf courses feature bumper walls that make it closer to the pool than actual golf, so missing a swing and actually pocketing the shot can be way more fun than precisely executing a planned one.

More and more venues are making their mini-golf courses wheelchair-inclusive by building lifts, ramps, and you won’t have to worry about rough terrain, dirt, or rocks.

Boat cruises

If you love water and can’t wait for the summer to finally come, a boat cruise might be perfect for you. Boat cruises aren’t justly portrayed in movies in the sense that most people believe that such activities are ridiculously expensive. In actuality, having a small cruise on a moderately sized boat isn’t drastically more expensive than a couple of hours on a mini-golf course.

Being near water is very relaxing, and traversing it is even more of an experience. The challenge with this activity in particular is finding a boat that is supplied with handicap-friendly features. Fortunately, more and more captains are modifying their boats with wheelchair-accessible ramps these days.

Outdoor music plays and performances

Music is the universal language that speaks to all of us, although big crowds in tight venues can sometimes make its voice a bit thin and unappealing to people with handicaps. Outdoor performances, on another hand, are much more enjoyable for people in wheelchairs.

You won’t have to worry about others tipping you over, and you can park wherever you feel like – bands playing outdoors usually bring their best (and loudest) equipment. Even though the most thrilling experience is reserved for people in the front rows, that’s usually the very place where it can be the most dangerous to be, so you should probably avoid it.

Drive-ins

Outdoor movie theaters may not be as popular as they were throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, but they’re far from forgotten. They’re in many ways better than regular cinemas, as they’re usually louder and broadcasted on wider screens.

This is one of the many outdoor activities where accessibility shouldn’t be too much of a problem. After all, most drive-in cinemas host their shows in parking lots and similarly designed spots.

We hope that this brief rundown was useful to you and that you’ve learned something new today on possible outdoor activities in a wheelchair. Make sure you are staying safe in these times we are all going through and have a good one, guys!

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