5 barefoot trails where you can merge with nature (PHOTOS)

1. Moscow Region

Route length – 3.6 km

A special route on the territory of the Losiny Ostrov arboretum has been open since 2021, along which you can also walk barefoot. The paths on this ecological trail have more than 40 different coverings, so those who are used to always walking in shoes everywhere will experience many different sensations! Barefoot tourists will have to walk on sand, wood shavings, try and test a section with pine cones, jump over a couple of boulders and splash their feet in a bath of water. All the surfaces are located in a certain sequence and, at the beginning of each section, you can find out what healing effect they give.

You don't have to take your shoes with you, as you can leave them in special lockers at the beginning of the route.

2. Republic of Bashkortostan

Route length – 30 meters

The barefoot trail in the Demsky Arboretum in Ufa has been open since 2023. It runs through a birch grove. There, tree cuts, cones, pine bark, sawdust, stones of different sizes alternate – the trail is very short, just right for your first acquaintance with such routes.

3. Krasnodar Krai

Route length – 300 meters

In Krasnaya Polyana, there is not just a barefoot route, but a real ‘Path of Feelings’. It is recommended to walk along it with your phone turned off and without rushing, in order to completely merge with nature. The trail is made of natural materials from the territory of the Caucasian Nature Reserve – cones, tree bark and pebbles. There are 12 thematic objects made of larch along the route: with the help of the ‘Forest Xylophone’, you can find out how different tree species “sound”, while the ‘Ear of the Mountains’ works as a natural sound amplifier. There are also special smelling and tactile boxes – they hide “riddles” of nature that you need to explore without looking.

4. Nenets Okrug

Route length – 5 km

These kinds of barefoot trails are only for the most persistent! And for those who want to walk without shoes… beyond the Arctic Circle! There is a trail called ‘Barefoot on the Tundra’ on the territory of the Nenetsky Nature Reserve on the Kostyanoy Nos Peninsula. You can only walk along it as part of an official excursion group.

There are 12 stops on the route: Each is marked with a sign in the form of a large tundra swan egg. The route passes through sandy pits, swampy areas and on tundra moss. During the walk, you can admire the Bolshoe and Maly Zakhrebetnye lakes and watch the birds. If you still don’t want to take off your shoes, you can only do so on the deer trail sections.

5. Chelyabinsk Region

Route length – 2.6 km

The sensations are indescribable! A special barefoot route in the Zyuratkul National Park near the city of Satka starts from the ‘Secrets of the Lake’ ecological trail and leads to the very shore. Pine cones, sand, boulders, branches, tree cuts – the coverings alternate and you are left to listen to your own thoughts and sensations. The trail ends at the shore of Zyuratkul – the only lake in the Urals, located at an altitude of 724 meters above sea level.