Autumn 2022 starts with free park entry, fishing, hikes and hay rides

Birds are in full migration, and so are monarch butterflies, which you’ll see fluttering southward alongside Lake Michigan seashores and even on some highways. And it is about time, proper, as Thursday, Sept. 22. marks the primary day of fall?

It additionally implies that there are tons of how to grab autumn’s first delicate days within the coming week or two, from free entry at parks to free fishing, birding, hay driving, climbing, evening biking and critter in search of.

It is too early for the broad fall colours, however chances are you’ll spy just a few remoted tree leaves which have turned coloration. Extra seemingly, you will see prairies and fields flip gold and rusty whereas golden and purple flowers nonetheless bloom.

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Native Audubon Society schooling chair Melissa Gunter will lead a free interactive workshop for adults on watching and figuring out birds from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 22 on the Harris Department Library, 51446 Elm Street, Granger. Register in a hyperlink on this column on-line.

Boot Lake prairie hike

Be a part of a naturalist for a guided climbing tour at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 of the prairie and lake/wetland at Boot Lake Nature Protect in Elkhart whereas discussing the varied distinctive prairie vegetation and their roles. The naturalist may even give a brief introduction in regards to the historical past of Boot Lake. The hike will take about an hour and a half. The hike is free however registration is required by Sept. 22 at https://elkhartcountyparks.org/occasions/prairie-hike-9-23-22/. 

Free fishing

Sept. 24 is the yr’s final free fishing day in Indiana, when you possibly can fish any public water with out a license or trout/salmon stamp. Guidelines reminiscent of bag and dimension limits nonetheless apply. Licenses are usually required if age 18 or older. 

Free parks

All nationwide parks within the U.S. will provide free admission on Sept. 24 in honor of Nationwide Public Lands Day, together with Indiana Dunes Nationwide Park. Indiana State Parks will provide free admission to all of its parks a day later, on Sept. 25, together with Potato Creek.  

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Plant dune grasses

Assist to plant marram grass, which is important to stabilizing dunes, from 9 to 11 a.m. CDT Sept. 24 at Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton as a service venture for Nationwide Public Lands Day. Meet on the west aspect of the seashore pavilion. Lengthy pants, backyard gloves and your individual consuming water are beneficial.  

Discover the bugs

Woodlawn Nature Middle, 604 Woodlawn Ave., Elkhart, invitations households to come back alongside at 5 p.m. Sept. 24 to search for bugs underneath rocks, logs and completely different micro ecosystems, then keep by a campfire and a lighted sheet to draw extra bugs. Value is $3 for ages 3 and older, $10 per household of 4. Register by Sept. 23 in a hyperlink on this column on-line. 

LaPorte County protect

A brand new state-dedicated nature protect in LaPorte County, Sebert Woods County Park, will likely be devoted at 10 a.m. CDT Sept. 24 as workers from the Indiana Division of Pure Assets lead a guided hike on a brand new half-mile filth path. The park, with plant species usually discovered up north, is at 3608 W. County Street 925 North, Michigan Metropolis (the highway goes west from Indiana 39 south of the Michigan border). It’s throughout the highway from a path at Wintergreen Woods Nature Protect.

Nocturnal Neighborhood Bike Journey

Gown your bike with glow sticks, reflectors and lights and be part of this evening bike trip with a police escort by means of Winona Lake and Warsaw on Sept. 24. It begins at 7:30 p.m. from the Gordon Well being and Wellness Middle, 100 Publishers Drive, Winona Lake. Donations of any quantity are requested; web proceeds will go to an individual or household in want. Register in an EventBrite.com hyperlink on this column on-line.

Elbel hike

Be a part of a metropolis naturalist-led hike Sept. 25 by means of the wooded upland areas close to wetlands at Elbel Park Golf Course, 26595 Auten Street in South Bend. Meet behind the clubhouse somewhat earlier than 3 p.m. The hike will go till 4:30 p.m. Components of the hike are on steep and presumably slick hills. Put on sturdy footwear.  

Pumpkinvine birds

An Elkhart County Parks naturalist will lead a birding stroll at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 on the Pumpkinvine Nature Path from the car parking zone on County Street 43, east of Middlebury. To register and discover a map to this Middlebury Public Library occasion, discover a hyperlink on this column on-line. 

Harry Potter and different hay rides at Bendix

Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle will host a hay trip at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 with a Harry Potter theme, as younger riders will every obtain a handmade wand beforehand and can end with an “enchanted drink” by a fireplace. Value is $10 per individual. Register by Sept. 28 at 574-654-3155. Extra hay rides are deliberate: public rides at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 9, adaptive rides for individuals with disabilities between 10 a.m. and midday Oct. 15, free Household Passport to Play rides between 1 and three p.m. Nov. 5 and rides with canine from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 6. Particulars at sjcparks.org. 

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Bendix deer hunts

Oct. 7 is the deadline to use for managed deer hunts in Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle, which will likely be held Nov. 19-20. The park will likely be closed to the general public on these days. The hunt helps to guard the high-quality ecosystem within the park’s state-dedicated nature protect. Three hunters and one alternate will likely be chosen by lottery. Hunters will need to have an Indiana bonus antlerless license. For particulars and hunter utility kinds, go to www.sjcparks.org. 

Grow to be a river watcher

A free workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at St. Patrick’s County Park in South Bend will practice and certify you to develop into a part of the state’s Hoosier Riverwatch program, the place volunteers assist to watch the standard of streams and rivers. Deliver a sack lunch. Register by Sept. 30 at sjcparks.org. 

Discover columnist Joseph Dits on Fb at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.