Dr. Mark Ellison, Pinnacle Forest Therapy Claimed

Hi, I’m Mark Ellison, founder of Pinnacle Forest Therapy. I have been involved with the forest bathing movement in the United States since its inception here, helping introduce it in 2012.

I can help you experience the restorative power of nature through guided forest bathing walks in the mountains of western North Carolina. I am certified as a forest therapy guide and forest therapy trail consultant by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. The research for my doctorate at NC State focused on the restorative benefits of spending time in nature and it was then that I learned about shinrin-yoku. I was one of the first guides in the United States when I started offering walks in 2012. after learning about the practice from Dr. Qing Li, who helped start shinrin-yoku in Japan in 1982. I later met with him in 2013 to learn more and help with a presentation/information session on shinrin-yoku at a research conference. An article in O (Oprah) Magazine in 2014 that described my walks raised awareness of forest therapy and gave it considerable momentum. In October 2023 I visited Japan and was guided on the trails where shinrin-yoku originated and learned more about how it is practiced there. 

My walks are in Pinnacle Park in Sylva, NC where I partnered with the Town of Sylva to establish the first  certified forest therapy trail in North Carolina and one of the first 20 in the world. I also offer walks in Highlands and Cashiers on public properties of the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust. I have also guided walks in other locations across the southeastern United States, including Nashville, TN, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Chapel Hill and continue to do so by invitation.  I have guided hundreds of people on forest bathing walks over the years. It is a joy to help so many people connect to nature in meaningful ways.

I am also an Expert in Residence at the Swag, and guide for Trailborn Highlands (Marriott), The Old Edwards Inn & Spa, Half-Mile Farm, Cataloochee Ranch, Highlands Cashiers Land Trust, Camp Merrie- Woode and others. 

My walks have been feature in media around the United States (including National Geographic, Garden & Gun, Eating Well, and most recently CNBC) and in over a dozen other countries.

I am currently working to establish two forest therapy trails in North Carolina and will gladly consider other trails.

I have been involved with the forest bathing movement in the United States since the beginning. I would love to help you experience it in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. I offer private walks by appointment. I look forward to guiding a walk for you.