Skagit Nature Rx walking program begins
SEDRO-WOOLLEY - Nothing beats a morning stroll to kick off a day.
Skagit Nature Rx is a walking program for all ages offered through United General District 304. It is touted as "a prescription for wellbeing."
The program fee is $10, and walks are at 11 a.m. Wednesdays through September.
The walks are one to three miles in length, are considered easy to moderate and boast a leisurely pace with frequent breaks.
Go to unitedgeneral.org/nature-rx/ for more information.
During May, walks will be on the paths and trails of the Northern State Recreation Area and the SWIFT Center.
Each session includes warm-up and cool-down exercises.
In 2025, the program included 20 walks on 15 trails.
AmericaCorps VISTA member Maitea Cox leads this year's Skagit Nature Rx program.
A native of Michigan and graduate of the University of Washington, Cox was excited to lead participants on the program's first walk on May 6.
A group of five that included Donna Zimmer of Sedro-Woolley, Sue Noel of Mount Vernon and Marc and Mary Kneff of Burlington set out from the Northern State Recreation Area Trailhead parking lot off Helmick Road with Cox in the lead.
They traipsed along on a loop trail of gravel that led through the historic barns before heading back to the lot.
"I just wanted something about a mile or so in length that was nice and easy," Cox said. "This was a good start."
Along the way, the group learned about the history of the Northern State Hospital farm. They stopped, chatted and pointed as they ventured forth.
Zimmer suffered a heart attack in 2018 and has been plagued with the aftereffects of smoking for 45 years.
After serving 14 years in the Navy and working 22 years for the state, she quit smoking.
And after two years of respiratory therapy, she was looking for a way to fill her lungs with fresh air.
"I saw this was happening in a newsletter and decided it would add this to my workout," she said. "It was something different than the treadmill. Another way to stay active."
Like others in the group, the Northern State Recreation Area offered somewhere new to walk.
"I had no idea this was here," Zimmer said.
Neither did Noel, who walks a lot with her dogs, but was looking for a way to walk with and meet new people.
"I will definitely keep doing these," she said. "I will definitely be back."
Walking is nothing new to Marc Kneff, who retired from delivering mail after 43 years. His wife, Mary Kneff, is retired after a career teaching elementary school.
"I really like this," Marc Kneff said. "I like the small group and we'll be doing it again."
"She's stuck with us," Mary Kneff said. "This was really a lot of fun. It was great."
The Kneffs had visited the Northern State Recreation Area before, but admitted they hadn't really explored the area and that it had been a little while since their last visit.
"We are really excited to do some more exploring," Mary Kneff said. "There is so much history here."
And Cox is looking forward to leading the group.
"Honestly, this first time, I didn't know what to expect," she said. "But it went smoother than I thought it was going to. You just kind of have to experiment with the flow of things.
"This is a fun group and hopefully we will add some more. We have several more months of these, so I am happy about that."
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 7:06 AM.