A short VR hike with a Meta Quest 2 headset lowered participants’ stress scores from 3.30 to 1.90 (p = 0.006) and raised mood, mindfulness, and nature‑connectedness scores (p = 0.014, 0.006, 0.015). The experience used guided walking, checkpoint activities, and optional sky settings. All 10 university students completed orientation, an observation task, and a guided trail walk with breathing exercises. Five‑minute surveys before and after showed significant changes in all four measures, confirmed by Wilcoxon signed‑rank tests. Qualitative analysis revealed themes of escape, relaxation, and a longing for real movement: one participant said the VR felt “relaxing, but I missed the feeling of moving my whole body.” The study notes that the VR hike lacks cardiovascular exertion and multi‑sensory inputs such as wind and temperature, so it cannot fully duplicate the physiological benefits of actual hiking.