Seeing the Outdoors in a New Way: Color Accessibility at Parks Across the U.S.

[Colorful trees seen from a chairlift overlooking purple and gray mountains in the background.]

For many of us, visiting a national or state park is a visual experience. We watch the leaves change in the fall, look for colorful wildflowers, take in a sunset, or admire the different shades of a mountain landscape.

But what happens when some of those colors are difficult to distinguish?

For people with color blindness, some of the colors that make an outdoor experience memorable can look very different. Reds and greens, in particular, may be difficult to tell apart. This can affect everything from reading a map or identifying trail markers to simply experiencing the colors of a landscape.

September is Color Blind Awareness Month, making it a good time to look at an accessibility tool that is becoming available at parks, scenic overlooks, museums, and other destinations across the United States: EnChroma color-correcting glasses and specially adapted scenic viewers.

What Is Color Blindness?

Color blindness is a term commonly used to describe color vision difference, a group of conditions that affect how someone perceives color. It does not necessarily mean that someone sees the world in black and white.

The most common form is red-green color blindness. For someone with this type of color blindness, certain shades of red, green, orange, and brown can be more difficult to distinguish from one another. The experience varies from person to person.

This is important when we think about accessibility. Color is often used to communicate information in travel environments. Trail maps may use different colors to identify routes. Signs may use colored symbols. A visitor might be asked to look for a particular color of trail marker or identify a plant, animal, or geological feature based on its color.

Even when color is not necessary to navigate, it can be an important part of the experience.

A fall landscape is more than trees. For many visitors, the changing colors are part of why they traveled there in the first place.

How Do EnChroma Glasses Work?

EnChroma glasses are designed to help people with common forms of red-green color blindness distinguish certain colors more clearly.

The technology works by selectively filtering specific wavelengths of light where the signals from the red- and green-sensitive cone cells overlap. The goal is to reduce some of the visual confusion created by that overlap and increase color contrast.

Think of it a little like adjusting an equalizer on a stereo. If two sounds are blending together, changing the balance can make it easier to distinguish individual sounds. EnChroma's lenses use a similar concept with specific wavelengths of light.

The glasses are not a cure for color blindness, and they do not work for every type or severity of color blindness. EnChroma reports that its lenses are intended primarily for people with red-green color blindness, while people with certain other forms may not experience the same benefit.

That distinction matters. Accessibility tools should never be presented as a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, they are one option that can help some travelers experience the world in a different way.

[A tree-lined pedestrian path winds through an autumn park, with tall plane trees and vintage-style street lamps. People stroll along the sunlit walkway beside a quiet road.]

Bringing Color Accessibility Outdoors

One of the most interesting developments is that color accessibility is moving beyond personal eyewear.

Through EnChroma's Color Accessibility Program, organizations can make glasses available for visitors to borrow. The program also includes specially adapted scenic viewers that incorporate EnChroma lens technology.

EnChroma's current accessibility map lists more than 300 participating locations worldwide, including parks, museums, libraries, schools, and other public destinations. Visitors can search the map for locations offering either loaner glasses or scenic viewers.

And there are some beautiful outdoor destinations participating across the United States.

National Parks and Public Lands

At Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland, visitors can borrow color-correction eyeglasses at the visitor center at no cost. The National Park Service notes that the glasses are intended to help visitors with red-green color blindness distinguish hues, while also emphasizing that results vary from person to person.

Other National Park Service locations and public lands appearing on EnChroma's accessibility map include Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Georgia, and Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, among others.

At some locations, the accessibility comes in the form of a scenic viewer rather than a pair of glasses. These viewers can be particularly interesting at overlooks, where the goal is to make the colorful landscape itself more accessible.

EnChroma's current list of scenic-viewer locations includes places such as J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia, and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Georgia.

The list continues to grow, and availability can change, so travelers should check with the individual destination before visiting.

Planning a Color-Accessible Adventure

If you or someone in your travel group is colorblind, there are a few things to keep in mind when planning a trip.

Check before you go. EnChroma's accessibility map is a useful starting point, but availability can vary. EnChroma recommends contacting the location ahead of time to confirm that glasses or a scenic viewer are available on the day of your visit.

Ask how the program works. Some destinations have glasses that visitors can borrow, while others have a permanent scenic viewer.

Remember that everyone's experience is different. Color blindness varies from person to person, and EnChroma glasses are not designed to help every type of color blindness .

Look for accessibility beyond color. If a trail map relies heavily on color, ask whether there is another format available. If a tour depends on identifying plants or wildlife by color, ask whether the guide can provide additional descriptions.

Where Can You Try EnChroma?

EnChroma maintains a searchable Color Accessibility Program map featuring participating museums, libraries, schools, parks, and other locations. The map includes both places where visitors can borrow glasses and locations with specially adapted scenic viewers. Because programs and inventory can change, always contact the destination before your trip to confirm availability.

Accessibility Is About the Experience

Accessibility is about more than getting through the front door. It is about being able to participate in and enjoy an experience once you arrive.

Color accessibility is one piece of that larger conversation. A park can have an accessible trail, visitor center, and parking area, while still having opportunities to make the visual experience more inclusive. That might mean offering color-correcting glasses, installing a color-accessible scenic viewer, or designing maps and signs so that color is never the only way information is communicated.

Tools like EnChroma's glasses and scenic viewers offer one way to make the outdoors more accessible for people with color blindness. They also encourage destinations and travelers to think more broadly about how we experience the places we visit.

Travel accessibility is ultimately about participation: creating opportunities for more people to explore, learn, connect with nature, and enjoy the world around them.

This Color Blind Awareness Month, we can all take a closer look at the ways color shapes our experiences—and consider what we can do to make those experiences more inclusive. Because an accessible destination isn't simply a place everyone can reach. It's a place where everyone has the opportunity to experience what makes it special.