Free admission to Waukesha parks and more ways to Opt Outside on Black Friday
Seven years after REI first closed its stores on Black Friday and encouraged people to Opt Outside instead of shop, the outdoor retail co-op is committing to making it an official annual event.
Other outdoor groups have jumped on the movement since it began in 2015, hosting group hikes and other events on the day after Thanksgiving. Here are some of those happenings in the Milwaukee area this year.
Remember it's hunting season in Wisconsin, with the popular gun deer season running through Nov. 27. Hunting is not permitted on any of the lands below, but if you hike somewhere it is permitted, wear bright colors so you're more visible.
Free entry to Waukesha County parks
Waukesha County is offering free admission to its nine fee-based county parks for the entire post-Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 25-27. The park’s system includes Fox Brook Park in Brookfield, Fox River and Minooka parks in Waukesha, Menomonee Park, Mukwonago Park, Muskego Park, Naga-Waukee Park in Hartland, Nashotah Park, and Ryan Park in Pewaukee. Admission to Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha is always free. For more information, see waukeshacounty.gov/thankfulforparks.
The county's 2023 park permits will be available online beginning Nov. 25 and in person at Retzer Nature Center on Nov. 26 and the Park System's main office at the Waukesha County Courthouse on Nov. 28. The system is implementing a new "invisible" permit system next year, using license plate scanners at each park instead of issuing physical stickers.
Havenwoods Hike
Join the Friends of Havenwoods State Forest for a hike through the state's only urban forest beginning at 1 p.m. Nov. 25. The 237-acre forest has more than six miles of trails that travel through woods, wetlands and grasslands. Leashed pets are permitted on some of the trails. A state parks admission sticker is not required for entry.
Pike Lake Hike
The Waukesha/Ozaukee County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance will lead a hike along trails in the Pike Lake Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest in Hartford from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 25. There will be options for 2- or 4.6-mile hikes. A state parks sticker is required for entry. Annual stickers for 2023 will be available for purchase online or at state properties beginning Nov. 25 and are good from the day of purchase through the end of 2023.
Glow ice skating
It's not technically outside, but it's active and requires a jacket, so glow skating at Wilson Ice Arena, 4001 S. 20th St., is still in the spirit of Opt Outside. The event from 8 to 10 p.m. Nov. 25 includes glow-in-the-dark necklaces, holiday lights, music, prize drawings and a gourmet hot-chocolate bar. Admission is $7.50, which includes skate rentals.
Walk-through holiday lights
There's no shortage of holiday lights displays in the Milwaukee area, including a few you can walk through to burn off that extra slice of pie. Enchantment in the Park in West Bend's Regner Park is one of the biggest with more than 500,000 lights and new this year, a 40-foot Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The display is free to visit, with a suggested donation of $10 or nonperishable food items (no glass containers). Visitors who walk through the display can enter at 800 N. Main St. The display is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 25.
Contact Chelsey Lewis at clewis@journalsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseylew and @TravelMJS and Facebook at Journal Sentinel Travel.
More:10 places to go hiking in Wisconsin where hunting is not allowed
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Opt Outside 2022 in Milwaukee includes free Waukesha parks admission
