Trails Carolina: Finding Nature’s Beauty
Next to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program for teenagers hoping to overcome mental health challenges.
When people learn more about wilderness therapy, it’s said that they realize that Trails Carolina is in a perfect location. The Blue Ridge Mountains feel like home as soon as people arrive, and it acts as a natural healer in so many ways.
What is Trails Carolina and Wilderness Therapy?
What is wilderness therapy in general? For Trails Carolina’s students, this is an opportunity to get immersed in the wilderness of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
They have an opportunity to develop new skills while interacting with peers and leaders in nature. By participating in the Trails Carolina Wilderness Therapy Program, students learn and practice social, emotional, and practical skills.
Having a beautiful setting for wilderness therapy can make a huge difference. There are other wilderness therapy programs out there, but having Trails Carolina tucked within the Blue Ridge Mountains gives them a great learning environment for students.
How Does Trails Carolina Benefit Teens and Adolescents?
What are some of the benefits of wilderness therapy within the Blue Ridge Mountains? Students focus on nature, allowing them to be removed entirely from the modern world, cluttered with cell phones, computers, televisions, and more.
Some of the most beautiful locations allow teens and adolescents to find peace, reconnect with nature, and escape everyday life.
Teens enrolled with Trails Carolina learn many general skills setting them up for success as they transition to adulthood. Although the program is for a short time, these teens can take away a lot of knowledge.
Some of the skills students may learn at Trails Carolina are listed below.
Awareness
There’s a heightened awareness without distractions bothering teens while within the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, allowing them the opportunity to develop deeper relationships. It is hard to replicate the unique bonding experience with this mountain range as a backdrop.
Leadership
There are plenty of leadership opportunities for teens when enrolled at Trails Carolina. When working with others, there are opportunities for other students to lead.
Leadership does not come naturally to some people, as it is an acquired skill that takes a little experience to build up. The entire program strives to help teen see their potential, and with mentorship, they can build confidence and thrive in leadership roles.
Confidence
A significant part of wilderness therapy is improving confidence. Teens learn to make their own decisions and gain independence along the way. With that being said, each student has field instructors and professionals there ready to help them.
As they find success, it builds up confidence and allows them to gain lasting confidence when they return home. Confidence translates to so many different parts of life.
If a teen feels confident in an unknown setting, they can use that back home and feel confident in life responsibilities as they get older. Life is full of challenges, but confidence can make navigating them more manageable.
Teamwork
Navigating through obstacles (such as hikes or rock climbing) may require teamwork from the entire group. The leaders try to keep like-minded individuals together to improve team chemistry. Many careers require teamwork, so building this skill as a teenager will help them as they transition into adulthood.
Outdoor skills
Finally, there are plenty of outdoor skills to learn while in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Basic outdoor skills like starting a fire, pitching a tent and making essential tools are skills learned at Trails Carolina that students take with them when they return home.
Once teenagers learn more outdoor skills, they can feel more independent and continue to develop the skills mentioned above. Overall, These skills help students stretch and grow, leaving them with unforgettable experiences and skills to take with them.
Lake Toxaway Highlights
Lake Toxaway, about a 15-minute drive from Trails, is the largest private lake in North Carolina. It was created in 1903, and it quickly became a popular part of the region. Reg Heinitsh headlined a group of investors who rebuilt the dam, restored the lake, and made it a hotspot for visitors.
The beauty of Lake Toxaway is that it is a scenic body of water set in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In total, there are 640 acres with 14 miles of shoreline. It’s always been a recreational lake, meaning it has a stable water level at 3010 feet above sea level.
For travelers, Lake Toxaway is a getaway that allows them to relax their minds and help with mental health without realizing it. Having these locations nearby makes Trails Carolina stand out.
Families are always welcome to check out Trails Carolina and see if it’s the right fit for their child. Whether it’s visiting the specific campus or other locations around their location, families seem much more comfortable once they get an opportunity to see it for themselves.
