Cara has found that 90 minutes is the ideal timeframe for an optimal experience - even for kids!

According to this scientific study Spending at least 120 minutes a week in Nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. More forest time is always better but we also respect your time and know you have many more things to enjoy.

If you have to leave early that is okay. If you want a longer tour you can always book a Private Tour with Cara by filling out this form.

Today people use the term, Forest Bathing interchangeably with Shinrin-yoku and Forest Therapy.

Shinrin-yoku is a term coined by the Japanese that emerged in 1982. It roughly means, bathing in the forest atmosphere. It has since been catching on in popularity as a means to slow down, remove techno stress and focus on the beauty of life.

In my own words, we slowly observe the forest atmosphere with all our senses, going deeper and deeper into the experience. So ‘bathing, soaking, sitting, absorbing, paying attention, are all interchangeable metaphors.

It’s a slow purposeful walk, helping you tap into the present moment in a full bodied way. The more you bathe, the more your health, sleep, productivity, creativity and mood among other things will improve.

Cara walks you through an experience on the About page. Or, check out the scientific studies on how walking in the forest can benefit your overall health by visiting the Benefits page.

Your guide, Andrea Andres (she/her), goes by the name Cara when she’s giving tours Cara means 'friend'. As well as being very friendly, she has 15+ years of experience leading first time hikers and backcountry adventures, is a Ski Instructor with Whistler Blackcomb (has taught children, adults, teens and adaptive) and has worked both as an Outdoor Education Guide and a Summit Patrol Guide (first responder and tour guide) with the Sea to Sky Gondola. She has wilderness first aid experience and is an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) – OFA Level 3 Certificate. Bears and noises in the forest don’t scare her. She feels at home in nature and loves to go on solo backcountry adventures, even after a bear sniffed her while she was laying in her hammock. She’s grown up tuning into nature, embracing it as a best friend and credits nature as the first place that validated her being-ness. She also combines her past professional artistic pursuits with art, photography and website development to create content that focuses on oneness and a positive connection with nature. Her intuitiveness as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and years of therapy add wisdom and a depth of understanding to her relational approach with Forest Bathing as a means to heal from trauma, busyness, fear and anxiety.

Yes, please make sure everyone that is attending a tour has a waiver signed. If they are a child or you are their caregiver, please have a legal guardian sign the waiver for them.

We tried to make the waiver as easy as possible so you can do it all in one place and send it to those that are attending with you to fill out.

Contact us as soon as possible before the event at (778)-793-7273. We would rather you show up late instead of not showing up at all. Cara can give you instructions on how to find us. We understand that life happens sometimes. However Cara may be giving another tour and may not see your message. In that instance, we cannot guarantee the message will be seen in time.

Rescheduling must be made 24 hours or more in advance of the Tour. Please check our Cancelation Policy.

Someone must contact us prior to the event and provide us with an email, name, and phone number of who will be joining us. We will then ask the new person who is joining us to fill out a waiver prior to showing up or they won’t be able to attend.

Cara is happy to create a tour for you and anyone else you want to bring with you up to 7 people. Each person will need to fill out the waiver before attending the tour. For private booking requests please fill out this form.

Please check out our About page to know what to expect.

This walk is not about a

estination. It’s about embracing the moment.

Each session varies greatly, however your guide gently weaves play, education and meditation into each of her guided sessions. Through experience Cara has found that by combining all three of these principles she can help you become present in a natural way that doesn’t fee forced.

**If you’re someone that’s scared to sit in silence this might be a good transition for you before you go to the Scandinave Spa (for instance).

Consider asking for a private experience for you and one other person if you want a more individualized experience where you pick what you want to focus on more.

Yes! Please contact us and let us know how we can make your experience better.

Many of the trails Cara gives tours on are accessible for all, including strollers.

Most of the locations you will be able to access via public transit. We will do our best to make each location available to as many people as possible. In Whistler bus stop 5 & 6 are the closest.

Bears and other wild animals are a wonderful part of where we live. It is their home too. So, yes, it’s true we have cougars, bears, bobcats, wolves, coyotes etc. Has anyone ever told you that wild animals are more scared of us than you are of them? It’s true! But sometimes they come close to town looking for food. Since black bears can smell up to 18 km (20 miles) away it’s important not to feed them or leave food or waste unlocked. It’s very doubtful a cougar would approach the areas that we are in, especially with a group our size. However, black bears are more common.

One of the first things Cara will teach you is what to do if you see a bear. Your guide has trained in animal/bear awareness courses and has learned a lot from those who study local bear habits. Black bears, which is the type of bear we normally see, can be black, brown, blue tinged or white. Unlike grizzly bears, they are not territorial. That means they typically don’t defend a single territory. Instead they evolved in forested areas and developed ways to stay safe by climbing trees. If you give them space, they typically give you space. So, if you see one, make yourself big and say, “HI BEAR” really loud while waiving your arms and backing up. Cara also carries other things to keep you safe while on the trails, but typically loud noise and space are the most important things to keep in mind. Please do not approach a bear cub, no matter how cute it is!

Go to the golf course and watch the bears get fatter on grass then they do on eating salmon!

No dogs unless it’s a working dog. You have to provide a certificate to prove it is a guide dog. Emotional support dogs are not allowed.

Children are allowed on a few select tours. Watch for sessions where it says ‘For Families’ those tours are geared more for all ages. Children under 3 are free.

Private Family or group sessions are always a possibility as well. For private tours fill out this form.

Cara creates an atmosphere of connecting to nature in ways kids can enjoy, at a speed they enjoy. It’s also a wonderful moment for the accompanying adult to become present with the forest atmosphere. Be free of your to-do lists and have-to’s!

For photos and a full description on what kids do in forest bathing please check out this link.

Cara comes prepared with special ideas and props but also pays attention to what each kid is interested in. Encouraging this interest allows them to find their own connection to Nature. We might collect a bouquet of leaves, put together plates full of natural (pretend) foods, splash in puddles, feel the texture of bark, find mushrooms, birds and bugs. We close our eyes and whisper what we hear to the adult next to us. We smell the wet earth…and sometimes… we even breath like dragons! We still end our time with tea they helped pick.

**If you need to bring another little one in a carrier, that’s okay. Children under 3 are free.

Most places do not have washrooms but we try and let you know if there is one and where the nearest one is.

In Whistler, if you are doing the tour near Lost Lake there is an accessible gender free bathroom close by at the Lost Lake PassivHaus

Locations vary from Whistler to Squamish. Regular Forest Bathing Tours are currently being held in Whistler close to Lost Lake, The Fitzsimmons Creek Accessible Nature Trail, Nita Lake and on the Interpretive Trails across from Function Junction.

Other trails in Squamish and the

Sea to Sky will be added shortly.

Did you know Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound is considered a World Recognized UNESCO Biosphere Reserve? We embrace the diversity of our area, seek to enjoy it, and dedicate the way we live our lives to preserving it.

Right now you need to sign up two hours before a session starts. If you really want to join in under that time frame please text Cara to see if it suits for that particular tour .

Cara will be offering a limited number of tours and Nature Drawing and Journaling Experiences.

Because the moss is so alive and the forests are bright and green once the sky turns grey with rain, it is her favorite time of year to be in the forest. Most trails will be fine with just adding crampons to your feet but snow-shoeing is also an option.

Night snow-shoeing may be added occasionally . We may also be adding special trips for our Friends of CaraCopia Members to go to the Bloedel Conservatory to escape the rain and bathe in the sounds of exotic birds and trees from Africa.