SALT LAKE CITY - Hiking and biking are great ways to get out and get moving. It's healthy, it's fun, and it's an excuse to spend some time in the great outdoors.
Besides being great hobbies, hiking and biking provide a variety of health benefits:
- Improves heart, lung, and blood vessel fitness.
- Improves muscle fitness.
- Lowers risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
- Reduces depression and improves sleep quality.
Whether you're a novice or a seasoned professional, try one of the Healthy Hikes and Rides to LiVe Well!
Intermountain Healthcare’s Health Hub, a free smartphone app, offers a feature called Healthy Hikes that can help you find them. Healthy Hikes includes descriptions of hundreds of trails located throughout the state.
Each description includes information about the trail’s popularity and difficulty, when the trail is open, the elevation gain, and if pets are allowed. Download the free app by searching Intermountain Health Hub in theApp Storeor Google Play. Then select the Healthy Hikes icon from the opening menu.
The app and website also list bike trails, which can include strenuous mountain biking or leisurely rides. The search options include what type of bike to use and the technical aspects of the ride.
This app covers some of the iconic bike trails in Moab to the Bonneville Shoreline trails that stretch across the Wasatch Front, located just above the valleys.
Whether the trails are by bike or a hike, they can be filtered by kid-friendly up to more intense levels. There are also wheelchair accessible trails searchable, as well.
And new for 2019, the site has boat trip trails. That includes adventures for both boating and hiking.
Find out more by visiting intermountainlivewell.org.
