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GRAFTON - Hiking enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers can look forward to a series of on-trail and off-trail guided hikes starting this fall at Pere Marquette State Park. The hikes are set for each Saturday and Sunday from Sept. 14 to Oct. 27, 2024.
Each Saturday’s on-trail hikes will start at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with the Visitor’s Center serving as the starting point for both time slots. Additional on-trail hikes will be held each following Sunday morning at 10 a.m., with off-trail hikes taking place on Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m.
Lev Smolianski, the natural resource coordinator for Pere Marquette, said on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com that the off-trail hikes offer a more adventurous approach to exploring the park.
“Off-trail hikes are going to be geared towards people who want a little more adventure, more strenuous of a hike,” he said. “They’re going to get dirty, they might get stung, it’s going to be a great time.”
Each hike also offers an educational experience, teaching hikers more about what the nature of the region has to offer - including the native the paw-paw plant, which is often sampled by hikers.
“I really enjoy teaching people about the ecology of their backyard,” he said. “I also really enjoy feeding people wild plants and seeing their faces light up when they eat a paw-paw for the first time.”
Smolianski added that while the park has nine miles of hiking trails, only about 15-25% of the park is accessible by trail - explorers will need to stray from the path if they “want to learn some secrets about Pere Marquette, want to see some old homesteads, caves, fire roads - things you don’t really get to see.”
To find out more about these guided hikes and other events coming up this fall at Pere Marquette, stay tuned to their Facebook page or website, or see the full interview with Smolianski at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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