Zoom Meeting Inspiration from America’s Best Hiking Trails (Virtual Backgrounds)

Add a breath of fresh air to your next Zoom meeting! Take inspiration from nature with virtual background pictures from some of America’s best hiking trails.

 

Zoom meeting coming up? Would you rather be hiking instead? Why not do both? Sort of!

With our free downloadable virtual backgrounds, you can make it look like you are out trekking the trails (which is a way more exciting background than sitting in front of a wall or bookshelf). Fun, right?

Plus, did you know that nature can enhance health and productivity?   People can even obtain some benefits from just viewing nature images.  So you might be doing your friends and coworkers a favor by using some of these free virtual backgrounds!

 

Hiking-Themed Downloadable Zoom Backgrounds

After hitting hiking trails from all over the country, we have sized a few pictures from our favorite hikes to just the right size needed for a virtual background in Zoom meetings.

DISCLAIMER:  These free downloadable graphics are intended for personal use only. Commercial use is prohibited. Please do not crop or alter these images without permission.

Feel free to use these free downloadable images to add a breath of fresh air to your next Zoom meeting.

 

How to Download Images

To download the images, the following directions may help:

On an Android device, hold your finger down on the image until a window of options pop up. Then, select “download image.” This will save the image to your device (usually to an album titled Downloads in your Gallery).

On your computer, right-click on the image. Select “save image” and then save it to whatever folder you would like.

 

How to Use a Zoom Virtual Background

Open Zoom. Go to settings, then Virtual Background.

From here, you can hit the plus sign to upload a new background from your device’s files. (Or choose from one of the backgrounds already shown.)

Select the background you wish to use, check the “I have a green screen” box, and you are ready to go.

PRO TIP:  Your virtual background will work MUCH BETTER if you have a solid colored wall behind you. Green backgrounds work best but any solid color will work. (HINT: Don’t wear clothing that is the same color as your background.) I have been hanging a white sheet behind me for Zoom meetings and that has been working well for me.

For more help in using a virtual background, check out Zoom’s Virtual Background Help Center.

 

Downloadable Zoom Background Images

 

I know what you are thinking. “Just give me the free downloadable images already.”

Okay, okay! Here you go! Below are several pictures I have taken while hiking.

With each picture, I share a little bit of detail about where it was taken. (You know, in case someone asks…)

 

Aman Park – Grand Rapids, Michigan

Let the wildflower fields of Aman Park in West Michigan inspire your team meeting. In the spring, you can discover fields and fields of trillium, bluebells, hepatica and more along this nature park’s hiking trails. This picture is of just one of many fields of Virginia Bluebells there.

 

Hocking Hills State Park – Ohio

Wow your online gathering participants with the natural wonders of Hocking Hills. The Ohio state park features waterfalls, rock formations, recess caves and even a land bridge. This is a photo from the Ash Cave hiking trail which leads you into the largest recess cave east of the Mississippi River and behind a waterfall.

 

Canyon Falls Trail – Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Inspiration can often be found in unexpected places. The Canyon Falls trailhead can be found at a small nondescript roadside park off US-41 (about 15 miles south of L’Anse). This one mile hike leads you alongside a river and into the “Grand Canyon of Michigan” featuring an impressively powerful small waterfall. This hiking trail is kind of a hidden gem in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

 

Chain of Rocks Bridge – Saint Louis, Missouri

A reminder to be flexible and solution-oriented… The Mississippi River is especially treacherous in this area due to a series of rock ledges (or a chain of rocks). In order to allow ships to properly navigate these waters, the original bridge construction plans had to be altered. Thus, the Chain of Rocks Bridge is unique in that it is not straight; it features a 30 degree turn midway over the water. This iconic Old Route 66 bridge in Saint Louis, Missouri is for pedestrian use only these days.

 

Chimney Rock – North Carolina

The end goal is worth the effort! This 315-foot land formation in North Carolina provides a breathtaking 75-mile panoramic view. But to reach the top of Chimney Rock, you first have to conquer the 499 stairs leading to it. (Hint: You can bypass over 400 of these stairs if you take the elevator.)

 

Craters of the Moon National Monument – Idaho

Yes, you can actually hike into a mini volcano at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, and this picture makes a fascinating background for your next Zoom Meeting. The pictured mini volcano is a spatter cone formed during an eruption over 2,000 years ago. (FUN FACT:  In another area of this National Parks site, visitors can explore underground lava tube caves!)

 

Grandfather Mountain – North Carolina

Use this background to join your next Zoom meeting from Grandfather Mountain’s Mile High Swinging Bridge. This 228-foot pedestrian bridge gives visitors access to the highest peak in this section of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Crossing the bridge is thrilling, and the 360-degree views are amazing!

 

Inspiration Point Trail – Grand Teton National Park

Lead your team to inspiration! This Grand Teton National Park hiking trail is a fairly difficult uphill trek leading to Inspiration Point – a 7200-foot elevation overlook with gorgeous views of Jenny Lake, Jackson Hole Valley, and the famed Grand Teton Mountain.  The hike is an accomplishment, and the views truly are inspirational.

 

Miners Falls Trail – Michigan

This short hike in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore leads you through areas that are sure to spark imagination and creativity. It winds its way through wildflowers, ridges, and “lumpy land” ending with a view of an impressive and powerful waterfall – Miners Falls. It’s one of many interesting places to visit in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

 

Normandale Japanese Garden – Minnesota

The Japanese Garden at  Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota is a lovely place to take a walk, and this picture makes a lovely background for Zoom meetings. This 2-acre garden is open year-round for the general public to enjoy.

 

Sequoia National Park – California

Allow the majestic trees in Sequoia National Park to aspire you and your fellow Zoom meeting attendees to greatness. Did you know that some sequoia trees have grown to be more than 300 feet tall? (Source: Treehugger.com) Looking up at these trees, it is hard to not feel as though the sky is the limit!

 

Wildcat Den State Park – Iowa

Encourage your team to explore new ideas and possibilities! Filled with fun trails and interesting sights, Wildcat Den State Park in Iowa is a great place to go exploring. This picture is from the Devil’s Punch Bowl trail which leads into a ravine with an otherworldly feel. Located just west of the Quad Cities, this fascinating park features unique terrain, exciting hikes, historic buildings and interesting land formations.

DISCLAIMER:  These free downloadable graphics are intended for personal use only. Commercial use is prohibited. Please do not crop or alter these images without permission.

 

Zooming From the Hiking Trails

Liven up your Zoom meetings by adding a breath of fresh air right from the hiking trails! Try one of our free hiking-themed downloadable virtual backgrounds for your next virtual meeting or get-together.

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

John Muir once said, “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” It is my hope that these nature and hiking-themed virtual backgrounds will have a similar effect for your online meetings. May they inspire you and your friends/coworkers to accomplish great things.

• Which virtual background do you like best?
• Which one will you use for your next Zoom meeting?