Autumn 2022 starts with free park entry, fishing, hikes and hay rides
Birds are in full migration, and so are monarch butterflies, which you can see fluttering southward along Lake Michigan beaches and even on some highways. And it's about time, right, as Thursday, Sept. 22. marks the first day of fall?
It also means that there are tons of ways to seize autumn's first mild days in the coming week or two, from free entry at parks to free fishing, birding, hay riding, hiking, night biking and critter seeking.
It's too early for the broad fall colors, but you may spy a few isolated tree leaves that have turned color. More likely, you'll see prairies and fields turn gold and rusty while golden and purple flowers still bloom.
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How to bird
Local Audubon Society education chair Melissa Gunter will lead a free interactive workshop for adults on watching and identifying birds from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 22 at the Harris Branch Library, 51446 Elm Road, Granger. Register in a link in this column online.
Boot Lake prairie hike
Join a naturalist for a guided hiking tour at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 of the prairie and lake/wetland at Boot Lake Nature Preserve in Elkhart while discussing the various unique prairie plants and their roles. The naturalist will also give a short introduction about the history of Boot Lake. The hike will take about an hour and a half. The hike is free but registration is needed by Sept. 22 at https://elkhartcountyparks.org/events/prairie-hike-9-23-22/.
Free fishing
Sept. 24 is the year’s last free fishing day in Indiana, when you can fish any public water without a license or trout/salmon stamp. Rules such as bag and size limits still apply. Licenses are normally required if age 18 or older.
Free parks
All national parks in the U.S. will offer free admission on Sept. 24 in honor of National Public Lands Day, including Indiana Dunes National Park. Indiana State Parks will offer free admission to all of its parks a day later, on Sept. 25, including Potato Creek.
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Plant dune grasses
Help to plant marram grass, which is essential to stabilizing dunes, from 9 to 11 a.m. CDT Sept. 24 at Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton as a service project for National Public Lands Day. Meet on the west side of the beach pavilion. Long pants, garden gloves and your own drinking water are recommended.
Find the bugs
Woodlawn Nature Center, 604 Woodlawn Ave., Elkhart, invites families to come along at 5 p.m. Sept. 24 to look for insects under rocks, logs and different micro ecosystems, then stay by a campfire and a lighted sheet to attract more bugs. Cost is $3 for ages 3 and older, $10 per family of four. Register by Sept. 23 in a link in this column online.
LaPorte County preserve
A new state-dedicated nature preserve in LaPorte County, Sebert Woods County Park, will be dedicated at 10 a.m. CDT Sept. 24 as staff from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources lead a guided hike on a new half-mile dirt trail. The park, with plant species normally found up north, is at 3608 W. County Road 925 North, Michigan City (the road goes west from Indiana 39 south of the Michigan border). It is across the road from a trail at Wintergreen Woods Nature Preserve.
Nocturnal Community Bike Ride
Dress your bike with glow sticks, reflectors and lights and join this night bike ride with a police escort through Winona Lake and Warsaw on Sept. 24. It starts at 7:30 p.m. from the Gordon Health and Wellness Center, 100 Publishers Drive, Winona Lake. Donations of any amount are asked; net proceeds will go to a person or family in need. Register in an EventBrite.com link in this column online.
Elbel hike
Join a city naturalist-led hike Sept. 25 through the wooded upland areas near wetlands at Elbel Park Golf Course, 26595 Auten Road in South Bend. Meet behind the clubhouse a little before 3 p.m. The hike will go until 4:30 p.m. Parts of the hike are on steep and possibly slick hills. Wear sturdy shoes.
Pumpkinvine birds
An Elkhart County Parks naturalist will lead a birding walk at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 on the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail from the parking lot on County Road 43, east of Middlebury. To register and find a map to this Middlebury Public Library event, find a link in this column online.
Harry Potter and other hay rides at Bendix
Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle will host a hay ride at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 with a Harry Potter theme, as young riders will each receive a hand-crafted wand beforehand and will finish with an “enchanted drink” by a fire. Cost is $10 per person. Register by Sept. 28 at 574-654-3155. More hay rides are planned: public rides at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 9, adaptive rides for people with disabilities between 10 a.m. and noon Oct. 15, free Family Passport to Play rides between 1 and 3 p.m. Nov. 5 and rides with dogs from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 6. Details at sjcparks.org.
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Bendix deer hunts
Oct. 7 is the deadline to apply for controlled deer hunts in Bendix Woods County Park in New Carlisle, which will be held Nov. 19-20. The park will be closed to the public on those days. The hunt helps to protect the high-quality ecosystem in the park’s state-dedicated nature preserve. Three hunters and one alternate will be selected by lottery. Hunters must have an Indiana bonus antlerless license. For details and hunter application forms, visit www.sjcparks.org.
Become 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 train and certify you to become part of the state’s Hoosier Riverwatch program, where volunteers help to monitor the quality of streams and rivers. Bring a sack lunch. Register by Sept. 30 at sjcparks.org.
Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Autumn activities include free parks fishing in Indiana and hay rides
