“First Day” Hike at Yellow River State Forest schedule for January 1; Prizes to be awarded

Friends of Yellow River State Forest is sponsoring a “First Day” Hike at the Paint Creek Unit at 9 a.m. Sunday, January 1, 2023. Everyone is also welcome to hike the designated First Day Hike trail on their own anytime Saturday, December 31 or Sunday, January 1 to win prizes.

The trail chosen this year for the “First Day” Hike starts at the Forester’s Office at 729 State Forest Road, Harpers Ferry. The hike (outlined with yellow dashes in the map at right) is about three miles long and features beautiful forests, a visit to the Yellow River State Forest Fire Tower, and a photo opportunity with Bigfoot. The trail starts out uphill, but after that, is level and then goes back down from the ridge. Most people would consider it to be a moderate hike.

The guided hike at 9 a.m. Sunday, January 1 will be led by Yellow River State Forest staff member Joe Vastine and several prizes will be awarded at the end of the hike. Those who choose to go on their own will find a map of the First Day Hike trail on the kiosk by the parking lot anytime, dawn to dusk, Saturday or Sunday. Hikers can take a photo of the map with their phone, or take a pamphlet with the full map.

There will also be a “selfie” station marked on the posted map. Everyone who takes a photo with the sign and posts it to the Friends of Yellow River Facebook page, or emails a photo to friendsofyrsf@gmail.com, will be entered into additional prize drawings.

Prizes for the hike at Yellow River State Forest are provided by Friends of Yellow River State Forest and will include a grand prize of a two-night stay in the cabin at Yellow River State Forest (a $150+ value, restrictions apply) and 12 Friends of Yellow River State Forest t-shirts (can be picked up locally or mailed).

Anyone who participates in the in-person event or hikes on their own January 1 or January 2 is eligible for the grand prize cabin stay. To be entered into the contest if hiking on their own, participants must share their hike photo to the Friends of Yellow River State Forest Facebook page or email it no later than 6 p.m. Monday, January 2.

In addition, interested individuals can check-in at one (or more) of 50-plus participating Iowa state parks on the State Park Passport program from Friday, December 30 through the end of Sunday, January 2 (see additional information on Page 15 inside this week’s edition of The Standard). Every check-in with the passport program at any Iowa State Park (or in the local case, State Forest) will qualify for a prize drawing from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Participants can visit as many parks as they want during the weekend - every check-in counts as a contest entry for the Iowa DNR contest. More information can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/FirstDayHikes.