Nature Medicine: AllTrails and BC Parks Foundation partner to announce free Plus membership to PaRx participants
BC Parks Foundation today announced a partnership with AllTrails—the world’s most popular and trusted outdoor app—to offer a FREE six-month AllTrails Plus membership to Canadians using the PaRx program for a dose of nature.
Vancouver, BC, Nov. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BC Parks Foundation today announced a partnership with AllTrails—the world’s most popular and trusted outdoor app—to offer a FREE six-month AllTrails Plus membership to Canadians using the PaRx program for a dose of nature. Plus provides members with offline maps, wrong turn alerts, and 3D trail previews.
“AllTrails’ mission is to help people spend more time outside, and with AllTrails Plus, you are able to discover more of the outdoors and keep track of your time outside. Our partnership with BC Parks Foundation is a way to support members' well-being and safety as they experience the benefits of time in nature," says Pitt Grewe, Head of Social and Environmental Impact at AllTrails.
John Shaske, a 70-year-old assistant clinical pharmacy professor at UBC, set a goal of 10,000 kilometers annually on his bike after a colleague wrote him a PaRx prescription a year ago.
“I sleep better. I don’t worry about things as much anymore. My clothes fit better and I feel that I have a bounce in my step. I’m more alert and calm. I’m a better teacher and facilitator,” said Shaske. He plans to download AllTrails Plus to track his time outside as he pedals towards his goals.
PaRx was launched by BC Parks Foundation in 2020 and has expanded across Canada. The program recommends at least two hours per week of time in nature and offers participants tips on how to achieve those goals.
The PaRx program is based on a growing body of scientific research showing that spending time in nature reduces stress, boosts the immune system, and improves cardiovascular and mental health. In the last five years, the program has expanded nationwide: more than 19,000 Canadian healthcare providers are now registered as prescribers, collectively writing an estimated 1.5 million prescriptions for connecting to nature.
“I have been recommending time in nature for over a decade to my patients,” said Dr. Suzanne Hackenmiller, AllTrails Chief Medical Advisor.
“Regularly, my patients report improvements in both their mental and physical health from activities as simple as walking in a natural setting. I can think of no intervention I offer that has fewer potential side effects, and such immediate and profound benefits.”
Doctors, pharmacists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, nurses, and other medical practitioners can all register as prescribers for the PaRx program. The new AllTrails offer will also give health professionals three months of free access to Plus.
There is a growing list of PaRx partners who offer incentives to integrate nature into their lives for Canadians who face barriers to outdoor activity. In BC, they include the UBC Botanical Garden, VanDusen Gardens and Bloedel Conservatory, Pacifica Paddlesports, Evo car share, Lime scooters and e-bikes, and the Vancouver Art Gallery's Emily Carr exhibit.
“We are absolutely thrilled that the most popular hiking app in the world has joined our long list of PaRx partners and supporters. It’s a testament to the vision of the Foundation that they see the value here. Their generous offer will further reduce barriers to outdoor activity for those with a nature prescription,” said Jennie McCaffrey, VP Health and Education at BC Parks Foundation.
The AllTrails Plus membership offer is now available to all Canadian participants in the PaRx program with an annual value of $35.99 annually. If a medical practitioner is not registered with PaRx, a patient can request that they do. Both patient and professional will then become eligible for the AllTrails Plus benefits.
Access the media kit here.
Jennie McCaffrey BC Parks Foundation 778-222-5543 jennie.mccaffrey@bcparksfoundation.ca
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