If you are looking for an active way to start the New Year, a Nebraska Game and Parks First Day Hike might be just the thing.
Bob Hanover, Assistant Division Administrator for the Game and Parks, says there are nine hikes scheduled across Nebraska, including at Mahoney, Platte River and Fremont Lakes. He says each hike includes an activity of some kind and that the Platte River Hike is one of the oldest.
“They go to the top of the World Herald Tower and do an observation for wildlife and looking over the landscape. Then they go on a hike down a trail to a frozen waterfall where people can walk across the waterfall when it’s frozen, with their pets and with their family and they get to get out in the wilderness and maybe see some wintertime wildlife, and then they go back to the Walter Scott lodge where they enjoy a bonfire and hot chocolate and that kind of stuff.”
Hanover says the hikes were started as a way for those resolving to become more active in the New Year to begin right away and enjoy nature in one of their state parks in the process. He says last year some 50,000 miles were covered on First Day Hikes across the country. The hikes are almost always pet friendly, and Hanover reminds people that a vehicle permit is required for all state park activities. He says it’s also important to dress for the weather and bring water and sunscreen.
This year, the Platte River and Fremont Lakes First Day Hikes start at 9 a.m., with Mahoney’s starting at 3 p.m.
For more information, see the calendar at outdoornebraska.org.