A natural pond at Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center offers a quiet respite earlier this month. A new DNR program promotes outdoor activities in Iowa's 1,600 state and county parks and recreation areas to reduce stress and improve health. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A natural pond at Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center offers a quiet respite earlier this month. A new DNR program promotes outdoor activities in Iowa’s 1,600 state and county parks and recreation areas to reduce stress and improve health. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A new initiative from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources  should hit home with many Iowans.  Healthy and Happy Outdoors, or H2O, is an initiative to help Iowans reduce stress and improve their health by connecting with the outdoors.

You can sign up to log your activities online and qualify to win some cool prizes, but even if you don’t take that step, the DNR offers a great map that allows users to find county parks and recreation areas throughout the state.

Just select a county or an activity, such as kayaking or rock climbing, and the map pinpoints the sites that offer those search results. For example, Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area in Linn County pops up for fishing and Pinicon Ridge Park has frisbee/disc golf.

The program officially launches on Tuesday, April 30, 2013.  The DNR notes that research shows participating in outdoor recreation can reduce stress and obesity. The program’s goal is to help Iowans increase their mental and physical health through outdoor recreation in Iowa’s natural spaces. Sounds like a good plan.

See more information at www.iowadnr.gov/h2o to find more than 30 types of outdoor activities at more than 1,600 state and county parks and recreation areas.