Events and Activities : Man, It’s COLD!

Scott Bahmann, Ranger, Rodgers Park

 

Even though it may be cold and frightful outside, you can still enjoy the outdoors with a variety of outdoor activities. I would like to take a moment to write about some activities that you can enjoy with your families besides sitting at home watching television and playing video games.

 

Some of the winter activities you can experience in our Benton County Parks are cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, ice skating, hunting, ice fishing, and hiking. Both our lake and river parks in Benton County provide an excellent place to do some of these activities.

 

If you would like to get some good cardiovascular exercise maybe hiking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing are what you are looking for. This is also a good way to gain access too remote areas to view nature and wildlife. See our parks in a different light with the changing of the seasons.

Hunting is also a great activity that you can do during the winter months. After researching the hunting seasons and getting the appropriate licenses and education, our Benton County River Parks provide an excellent place to hunt for many varieties of wildlife.

 

Another activity that you can experience during the winter months is ice fishing. We have three Benton County lakes that provide a great opportunity for this sport. These lakes are located at Hannen Park, Rodgers Park, and Polk Township. It is important to take precautions before walking onto the ice at any time of the year. Once you know the ice conditions are safe, the ice can provide hours of entertainment and provide many pleasant memories. A lot of fish have been caught through the ice in our parks over the years.

 

Sledding has been a fun family activity for years. A place that has a steep grade, a smooth surface, and is free trees would be a great place to enjoy this activity. Many people have enjoyed the hills at Hannen Park, Hoefle Dulin, and Rodgers Park. Sledding is a very inexpensive way to spend an afternoon and provides a family with some exercise and great fun.

 

For the more adventurous families snowmobiling is a very exciting sport. Even though snowmobiles do not require a specific road or trail we only allow operation in designated areas. The area we allow them on is the Old Creamery Nature Trail that runs west of Vinton all the way to Dysart. This is a 14 mile stretch of trail that also joins up with other snowmobile trails in Benton County. The OCNT is also a great place to go cross country skiing. Our new equestrian trails at Winegar’s Wildlife Area also offer miles of fun for cross country skiing and hiking.

 

With all of these ideas in mind just remember to be safe and dress accordingly