Docs in the Park

Spending Time in Nature

Have you heard about doctors prescribing nature and outdoor activities for their patients? Doctors know that spending time in nature relieves stress, combats obesity, and reduces asthma and ADHD in children and adults.

Frederick County Parks and Recreation has partnered with the Frederick County Health Department and the City of Frederick Parks and Recreation Department to offer "Docs in the Park" endorsed programs and events for the community.

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Docs in the Park
FrederickCounty Health Department
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Park Rx America
Park Rx America is a non-profit organization whose mission is to decrease the burden of chronic disease, increase health and happiness, and foster environmental stewardship, by virtue of prescribing Nature during the routine delivery of healthcare. 

Park Rx America works closely with managers of publicly-accessible land and water, as well as directly with healthcare providers and their respective organizations, to "make it easy" to prescribe parks and other protected areas to their patients real-time in the clinical practice setting. Find a Park Near You!

Docs in the Park Vision & Mission


"Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk"

The Docs in the Park initiative of Frederick, Maryland is leading the county in improving our overall health and wellness through nature exposure, physical activity, nutrition, and family involvement. This initiative is essential in combating some of the most complicated challenges our county faces - nature-deficit disorder, obesity, and physical inactivity. The Docs in the Park initiative is reconnecting families to nature, physical activity and proper nutrition. 

Fostering Change

The Docs in the Park initiative is fostering change through reconnection of families to nature and good health for people of all abilities, ages, socio-economic backgrounds, and ethnicities. This initiative is changing the Frederick County community through:

  • Providing a connection to nature which studies demonstrate relieves stress levels, tightens interpersonal relationships, and improves mental health;
  • Helping reduce obesity and incidence of chronic disease by providing opportunities to increase rigorous physical activity in a variety of forms; and
  • Fostering overall wellness and healthy habits, such as eating healthy, exercising and engaging in parks and recreation programs that add enrichment to life.
The Docs in the Park initiative allows for a gateway to a more in tuned to nature and a healthier Frederick County, and helps to ensure that our community is a role model to others.