How a local tour business conquers accessibility barriers

Photos by Ryan O’Connor, Vitto Sommella, and Y.S. Santonii (Unsplash)

California’s Central Valley is surrounded by natural wonders: the waterfalls of Yosemite National Park, the caverns of Kings Canyon National Park, and the giant trees of Sequoia National Park—some of the oldest and largest in the world. But accessing these treasures is not easy for everyone.

An estimated28 million people with disabilitiesvisit national parks annually across the United States, yet they still facemany barriers—from the din of large summer crowds to the lack of accessible restrooms. That’s why Alexis Newlin, a longtime nature lover and adventurer, foundedAuthentic Adventures Central California: to provide accessible tours throughout the Central Valley and Central Coast.

In her previous career as a certified therapeutic recreation specialist, Alexis helped people with disabilities and mental illness forge new coping mechanisms through outdoor activities, such as hiking, frisbee golf, or trips to the park. After founding Authentic Adventures in 2021, she made accessibility a priority by connecting with the disabled community and building tours around their individual needs.

“From my own personal experience, it was really important for me to make accessibility a big part of my business,” she said. “It doesn’t matter your ability level or your economic status: Everybody has the right to access the outdoors.”

Hear fromYelp for Business x Luminary fellowAlexis about growing her business, the importance of making services accessible, and her go-to tips for navigating national parks.

What motivated you to start Authentic Adventures?

I’m a cancer survivor, and part of my cancer survivor program was doing adventures, like what I do now. They’d get us together and we would do fun outdoor retreats—rock climbing, kayaking, things like that. I really enjoyed that, and I loved the community that it brought. It was a very healing experience, so I wanted to be able to offer that for people in my own way.

In 2022, I left my full-time job to start Authentic Adventures—doing tours in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon—and I just fell in love with it. I was a recreational therapist before in my previous line of employment, which is working with people with disabilities and helping them do activities that they love doing and trying to find accommodations or assistive technology so they can continue to do those things after an injury or illness. I didn’t want to leave that behind, so I started offering my services to our state program for people with developmental disabilities,Central Valley Regional Center. Once in a while, I get to take those clients out on the same adventures that I offer the general public: going on a day trip to the Central Coast and having a little vacation retreat of their own.

Your mission is ensuring everyone has access to outdoor recreation. How do you make this a priority in your business?

When I’m outside, I’m not thinking about the problems that I have at home or health issues. You see all these beautiful things that take your mind away from the stressors of everyday life and put you in another mindset. Being in the sun, smelling the trees, walking through meadows—some of my guests tell me, it makes them realize that there are things that are bigger than us in this life.

For me, growing up, the outdoors were a release and escape from what was going on in my life. There were a lot of stressors, dealing with things like property and homelessness, and so being outdoors was a break from that. I knew as an adult I wanted to make that a priority in my business so that no matter what your disability or your economic status, you can get outside.

What does a typical tour look like?

One I did recently with a group from the Central Valley Regional Center was a day trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium. I basically coordinated everything—I got their tickets and we looked at exhibits, had lunch together, and walked around Monterey a bit. It was just basically getting them used to traveling away from home. A lot of the clients came without their parents, which was a big step for them. They’re looking for independence, but having someone who’s familiar with the area makes the day trips really fun and gives them an introduction to travel.

[On other trips to national parks,] I’m doing a mix of educating and facilitating. I take people on my usual route and then also educate them about things like the flora and the fauna, how the park was developed, and the history of the park.

What are some ways you’ve made the tours more accessible for people with disabilities?

Right now I have a lot of clients who have a lot of sensory needs, and so what that means is with sound, light, crowds, they sometimes need quiet spaces or one-on-one time. I will try to work that into the tour somehow. I also do a lot of communication. My clients can tell me what they need, but in the moment when they’re experiencing sensory overload, it’s hard to express it. So before I start a tour, I let them know: ‘This is where we’re going, this is where it might be crowded, will this be okay?’ In the car on the way there, I’ll ask: ‘What kind of music do you like playing? Or with talking, how much talking do you like?’ It’s just tuning into their needs and asking them what they want.

For people with physical disabilities, my goal is to get a wheelchair-accessible vehicle so I can be fully accessible to people in wheelchairs. I haven’t really marketed to anyone who has physical disabilities because I don’t want to mislead them—I can do transfers and help them get into my van, but it’s not ideal for someone with a wheelchair.

你学到了什么从taking your business full-time?

我知道了,营销是一切。If people don’t know your business exists, you don’t get business. The other big thing I’ve learned is that I am in charge of this business and I can decide who I want to work with. When I first started, I felt like everybody was my client, and now I’ve been learning that not everyone is my client. It’s definitely improved the type of business that I get now that I’ve nailed down who my client is.

Do you have any recommendations for business owners who want to make their services more accessible?

When I started this, I asked a couple friends who have accessibility needs: What do you need to do to access my business? What would make a business accessible for you? Just starting the conversation with people in the community. Most communities have something called aCenter for Independent Living. They’re non-profit disability community centers that you can reach out to and connect with and see what the clients might be needing and what’s not out there. I think that’s a good start: Ask those in the community what they need, and then see what you can do from there.

Alexis’s go-to tips for accessing national and state parks

• Get into any national park for free与一个Interagency Access Pass. People with disabilities can apply online for a free pass to any national park or national wildlife refuge in the U.S.
• Call in advance to talk to a rangerbefore you visit. They can advise you about accessible parking, paved paths, and sensory concerns.
• Find more accessible travel experiences across the countrywithWheel the World, which highlights travel agencies and tourism operators that work with people with disabilities.

Accessibility resources for business owners

• To better accommodate all customers that do business with you, check out easy changes thatmake your business more accessible.
• Seemore accessibility improvements to consider, put together by a leading disability writer, editor, and advocate for The Mighty.
• Learn more aboutadding attributesto your Yelp Page, including Yelp’s “Wheelchair Accessible” attribute—visible on Alexis’ page: