A themed walk is a walk along which there are information boards covering a specific topic or theme, such as regional history, industrial history, mining or forestry. Features of nature (e.g. raised bogs or

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...

s) or of geology are often laid out as special

educational path An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, techn ...

s. Municipal authorities or local societies are usually responsible for their establishment and maintenance. The paths are usually several kilometres long and are used both for educational purposes and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

. They may connect places, buildings or natural features that have a particular theme in common by a signed route, but may also have specifically positioned exhibits. Whilst themed walks are often designed to encourage walking, educational paths and

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, techno ...

tend to be aimed more at educating or training. In Austria there are more than 300 themed walks. These paths are intended to give summer tourism in the Alps a new impulse, but are also helping to improve the network of footpaths.

See also