Boat, beach or backwoods: Here's where to chill with Dad this weekend

Joseph Dits, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read

Trees and water sound good in this June heat wave, don't they? Well, here's where you can find them this weekend, whether you and your Papa are hiking, beaching or paddling. And Happy Father's Day from your Outdoor Adventures column.

The Woolen Mill and an unknown group of people are seen in Baintertown in old photo. A history of this site in New Paris, now Baintertown Park, will be explored in guided hikes.
The Woolen Mill and an unknown group of people are seen in Baintertown in old photo. A history of this site in New Paris, now Baintertown Park, will be explored in guided hikes.

Baintertown history hike

Patrick McGuire, curator of the Elkhart County Historical Museum, will guide 1-mile hikes at Baintertown Park, 67380 County Road 29, New Paris, which is part of River Preserve County Park.

The one-hour hikes will be at 7 p.m. June 16 and 1 p.m. June 17.

To reach the park from Goshen, drive south on Indiana 15, then, after the Elkhart River, turn left on County Road 29; look for the park on the left.

McGuire says there are “so many layers of history in a small section, and it really highlights the intersections of nature and history,” noting that Native groups developed it hundreds of years ago with a nearby Potawatomi village, known as Five Medals, and in the 1800s the Wyland family built homes and mills. In the 1920s, a hydroelectric plant was built across the river to power up an interurban line.

Hiking along Lake Michigan factors into one of the events this weekend.
Hiking along Lake Michigan factors into one of the events this weekend.

Beachcombing

Join an Indiana Dunes National Park ranger for a stroll along the Central Avenue Beach from 8 to 9 a.m. CDT June 18 to learn about the origins of the Great Lakes and dunes and see what’s washed up on shore.

Meet at the parking lot, one mile north of Central Avenue and U.S. 12 in the town of Pines, just west of Michigan City.

New Buffalo trail hike

Harbor Country Hikers President Pat Fisher will share his experiences connecting students and adults with nature in a 2-mile hike at 10 a.m. June 18 on the Nature Study Trails that he championed at New Buffalo Elementary School, 12292 Lubke Road, at the southwest end of New Buffalo.

Paddle with Dad

If you really want your dad to chill out for Father’s Day this weekend, take him paddling on the rented canoes or kayaks at Ferrettie-Baugo Creek County Park, 57057 Ash Road, in Osceola.

The deal is the same this weekend as it is all summer: Rentals, which include paddles and life jackets, are available on the St. Joseph River’s Baugo Bay or on Baugo Creek. You can check out equipment from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays and must have it back by 7 p.m.

Rentals cost $20 for a solo kayak and $25 for a canoe or two-person kayak. Add $5 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. For details, visit sjcparks.org.

The main column: Mom survived COVID depression in this Marshall County park. Now reviving it as manager.

Follow Outdoor Adventures columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures. Contact him at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: For Father's Day, hike at Baintertown Park, beachcomb dunes or paddle