The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s Outdoors for Everyone initiative was created to ensure that the great outdoors is accessible to all those living with paralysis and other disabilities, their families, and caregivers.
The initiative began by working with parks, trails, beaches, and pools and other outdoor recreation spaces to improve accessibility and raise awareness of the wide array of programs – from all-terrain wheelchairs to adaptive fishing experiences – that are available to the paralysis and disability communities.
While tremendous progress is being made across the nation to make recreation and outdoor spaces more accessible, challenges remain for the nearly 5.4 million people living with paralysis in the U.S. And with 18,000 new spinal cord injuries each year alone, staying active is vital to health and quality of life.
That is why in 2025, Outdoors for Everyone is expanding to focus on movement and exercise. Adaptive sports and specialized exercise programs offer opportunities for our communities to build strength, improve wellness, and restore confidence and independence. They also serve as models for other educational organizations interested in expanding or modifying activities for people living with paralysis.
Together, we can make the Outdoors for Everyone.
Aiming to ensure broad access to the benefits of exercise through education, resources, and partnerships, highlighting opportunities for far-reaching adaptive and accessible exercise and movement programming across the U.S.
Exercise varies depending on your level of injury, but everyone can benefit from some form of physical activity. Creating a fitness program is good for the mind and the body, but always check with your doctor before starting or modifying any exercise regime.
Check out adaptive fitness opportunities from our friends at Peloton, including the “Seated Adaptive Strength” program, designed by Peloton Instructor Logan Aldridge with expertise contributed by the Reeve Foundation especially for wheelchair users living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) or other causes of paralysis. The series also includes a special meditation class that provides breathing techniques and other nuanced instruction designed specifically to accommodate the needs of those living with quadriplegia.
For caregivers, check out the “Adaptive Training: Caregivers Spotlight,” a collection of 28 classes to support caregivers’ mental, emotional and physical health – both as self-care and for the oftentimes strenuous work essential to caregiving, such as wheelchair transfers. The collection focuses on breathwork, upper body stretches, lower body strength, healthy back yoga flows, and strength warm-ups.
Adaptive sports and recreational activities help people lead lives defined not by what they can’t do, but by what they can.
Thank You to Our 2025 Partners
The Reeve Foundation is partnering with the following organizations to share resources, tools, and guiding factors surrounding real-life challenges wheelchair users face. Our partners can also be found on Reeve Foundation’s Resource Map.
As Summer begins, ‘Outdoors for Everyone’ provides water accessibility resources for those living with paralysis and other disabilities.
This checklist includes recommendations and tips tailored to beaches, pools, and other water organizations, ensuring that people living with disabilities can fully enjoy these spaces.
Thank You to Our 2024 Partners
The Reeve Foundation is partnering with the National Parks Service and other outdoor organizations to share resources, tools, and guiding factors surrounding real-life challenges wheelchair users face in nature and ways to solve these issues. Our partners can also be found on Reeve Foundation’s Resource Map.
Thank You to Our 2023 Partners
Our partners can also be found on Reeve Foundation’s Resource Map.
