Door County resident Sandie Custer tries to hike, camp or snowshoe with her husband a few times a month, often in Peninsula State Park overlooking Lake Michigan.
“Wisconsin is just so blessed to have a park system that lets people get out and just be amongst Mother Nature, see the wildlife, enjoy the vegetation, and just appreciate what we have when it comes to the Earth,” Custer said.
She also likes to challenges herself to try one new thing every week. For the first challenge of 2024, she plans on attending the First Day Hike in Peninsula State Park on New Year’s Day.
Stay informed on the latest news
Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources scheduled First Day Hikes at 21 different state properties on New Year’s Day to promote fresh air and exercise in 2024. Several properties are offering one to three-mile guided hikes led by property naturalists or local experts as a part of the OutWiGo initiative.
Kirby McDonald, board member of the Friends of Wisconsin Interstate State Park and Straight Lake State Park, said he is looking forward to leading a mile-long hike on the Ojibwe Trail in Interstate State Park.
“It’s a great way physically and socially and mentally to wake up, start off the year and experience something new and exciting that starts a year off well and guides you into the next year of adventure,” McDonald said.
First Day Hikes, which started in Wisconsin over a decade ago, are an initiative from the National Association of State Park Directors to encourage active outdoor recreation on New Year’s Day.
What to expect from the hikes
McDonald has been visiting Interstate State Park for 15 years. He is looking forward to answering questions about the park’s history. His favorite part is hearing stories from the hikers.
“There’s people who have come to our park for years and years and generations and generations, and they have so many stories to tell of how they have a connection to this park,” McDonald said.
He likes watching the younger generations as they discover the outdoors.
“Their eyes and their questions and their awe at seeing things that they may not have seen before,” McDonald said.
Custer is looking forward to watching chickadees eat bird seed from the hands of children who might be on the hike.
“It’s nice to have little people learn about nature and have it come right to them,” Custer said.
Custer doesn’t know anyone with the Friends of Peninsula State Park, the group leading the hike she plans to attend. She’s looking forward to building a network of people with similar interests.
“There’s a lot of people we don’t know yet up here. So it’s, ‘Who’s out there? Who’s doing the same nature walks?’” she said.
Drew Hanson, partnerships liaison for the DNR’s parks and recreation management, said the hikes are a great way to ring in the new year.
“We have a lot of traditions around New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” Hanson said. “First Day Hikes are just another one of the traditions to choose from.”
Some hikes require admission stickers of trail passes
Guided hikes are scheduled in
- Buckhorn State Park
- Copper Falls State Park
- Council Grounds State Park
- Devil’s Lake State Park
- Havenwoods State Forest
- Interstate State Park
- Kettle Moraine State Forest – Southern Unit
- MacKenzie Center
- Newport State Park
- Peninsula State Park
- Perrot State Park
- Kettle Moraine State Forest – Pike Lake Unit
- Point Beach State Forest
- Red Cedar State Trail
- Rib Mountain State Park
- Richard Bong State Recreation Area
- Roche-A-Cri State Park
- Straight Lake State Park
- Whitefish Dunes State Park
- Harrington Beach State Park
- Governor Dodge State Park.
First Day Hikes are free, but a Wisconsin state park admission sticker or state trail pass may be required and can be purchased at the state property. Free state park daily admission passes are available at some local libraries.
Along with the guided hikes, self-guided hikes, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing options are available on location. Some trails are pet-friendly.
Snowshoe rentals and reserving an outdoor wheelchair are available and should be reserved by contacting the property beforehand. Some properties will also have bonfires or warming shelters.
Custer said she hopes the hike will set the tone for the rest of her year.
“It’s the first of the year,” she said. “Let’s start the year right with going on a nice hike with the friends.”
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
