PAT GRAHAM and TALES AZZONI
FILE - Athletes work out at a Zuerifit outdoor training facility in Zuerich, Switzerland, in this Monday, March 1, 2021, file photo. During the pandemic, people around the world sought relief from lock downs and working from home in leisure sports. (Gaetan Bally/Keystone via AP, File)
For those venturing off the beaten path, be advised — it’s a little crowded out there.
By nature’s standards, anyway, as the great outdoors has become the great escape.
Hiking trails, parks and other open spaces were packed in 2020 with a cooped-up population searching for fresh air during the coronavirus pandemic. Locked down, shut in or just fearful of crowds, people took up hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, camping, tennis and golf — to name several — in significant numbers.