Well, summer is supposed to be a time for people to head outdoors and enjoy the state's parks and beaches and nature trails.

But for those with mobility challenges, those simple pleasures can come with a lot of barriers, things like stairs and steep slopes, even uneven surfaces.

Now, there are efforts at the state and local level aiming to change that and make the community aware of outdoor spaces that are truly accessible and inclusive.

Ted Goldberg has more.

The accessibility is phenomenal here.

Of the thousand acres open to the public at Duke Farms, more than half of them are wheelchair accessible, allowing folks like Scott Chesney to enjoy the outdoors.

You feel a little bit more connected, and I think that's very important for your emotional well-being, your mental well-being.

And obviously that can translate to your physical well-being.

Chesney has used a wheelchair for almost 40 years, and he knows that places deemed accessible aren't always accessible.

That's happened on numerous occasions.

I've traveled to 44 countries, all but four of the United States of America, and this has happened in hotel rooms.

This has happened at certain recreation parks, as happened at certain tourist attractions.

And it's frustrating.

In addition to being a motivational speaker, Chesney is a consultant with the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, which has launched a website with the state showing nature sites and trails that are actually accessible for people with mobility issues.

We're trying to find trails that have certain widths to them.

So five foot wide widths for the trail surface or for the trail surfacing as well.

So we look for other boardwalk paved.

We do want to look for natural surfacing, but it's got to be nicely compacted, kind of removed of any barriers like stone, large stones.

We're really happy to join in that campaign and that initiative and really helping develop and promote accessible areas and natural areas around the state of New Jersey.

Access Nature NJ, has about 60 sites around the state, including Duke Farms.

Chesney hopes people with mobility issues and other disabilities will take advantage.

There is so much that has been done from an accessibility standpoint.

We as people with disabilities have to take advantage of it.

So part of my mission in terms of not only spreading the word to those who are able bodied is spreading it to people with disabilities.

Because we have comfort zones, we have security, blankets and all these reasons not to come out.

Another reason to come out, particularly at Bat Stowe historic village, is this all terrain wheelchair.

They retail for more than $20,000, but this one was paid for by Ford's Bronco Wild Fund.

And it allows people with disabilities to enjoy the outdoors at Bat Stowe or nearby at Cine Recreation area.

It's really great because, you know, sites that have trails and, you know, families that might have someone with mobility concerns couldn't really participate in those walks.

I have had the most positive feedback of my career because of this chair.

Rob, our Muller is a regional superintendent for New Jersey State Park Service.

He says about 50 or 60 people have given this chair a whirl over the last year and a half.

We've had people with disabilities, cerebral palsy and other disabilities, but we've also had elderly guests in their nineties who just want to go see Barstow Village one more time.

It gives you goose bumps.

It's heartwarming, it's happy, it's sad, It's a lot of different emotions all at once.

You can reserve the chair for a four hour block and our bowler recommends you do that ahead of time.

As for which other paths are most accessible, the Park Service is working on figuring that out.

Earlier this year, they began a trail accessibility assessment for the thousand miles of trails in New Jersey.

We no longer want to tell people that a trail is easy, moderate or difficult, which right now is our rating system, because easy to moderate, too difficult to do.

So we want to be able to provide factual information so our visitors can make a determination just based on the facts.

Rebecca Fitzgerald is an administrator for the Park Service and showed us an accessible playground at that sign Recreation area.

People who enjoy hearing things and might not necessarily participating in active play, the drums, feeling textures, experiencing nature in a bit of a different way here.

The idea here is that everyone can play together all abilities ages, can enjoy, can enjoy this playground.

The swimming area at At sign has had accessible beach chairs for a while now, but these beach mats are new.

They help people get closer to the water before walking on sand.

And this accessible boat launch was also recently built, making it easier for people to enjoy.

Warton State Forest in that signed recreation area.

I'm Ted Goldberg.

NJ Spotlight News.