Do the Mishawaka Riverwalk among lights or prowl for night critters

Joseph Dits, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read

Embrace the evening, just after sundown, by taking a communal walk among lights or a kid-friendly, educational prowl for night creatures. Here's what we shared in this week's Outdoor Adventures column.

Luminaries will line the Mishawaka Riverwalk for free public event on Feb. 10, 2023. These luminaries were found along a cross-country ski trail at St. Patrick’s County Park for one of its night skis.
Luminaries will line the Mishawaka Riverwalk for free public event on Feb. 10, 2023. These luminaries were found along a cross-country ski trail at St. Patrick’s County Park for one of its night skis.

Luminaries in Mishawaka

Join a free walk around the Mishawaka Riverwalk along lights from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 10, starting and finishing at the Ball Band Biergarten at the Ironworks Plaza in downtown, with food trucks and hot cocoa.

The main column:Why thousands of crows visit downtown South Bend at night

Low-sensory night at Howard Park

Howard Park in South Bend will hold its first-ever “Low Sensory Night” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 for those with autism and others with a similar sensitivity to stimuli.

There will be ice skating with lower attendance and fewer sensory inputs, along with a low-sensory room to be used as needed, and a variety of activities in a designated “sensory area.” Throughout the winter season, strollers and wheelchairs are allowed on the ice.

The activities are organized in partnership with Lighthouse Autism Center, Ancilla College Spectrum of Chargers, Logan Center and Beacon Health Systems.

This program is free to attend, but registration is required at visithowardpark.com/event/low-sensory-night/.

Kids sled and snowboard down the gently sloping hill at the Friends of New Troy Community Center in New Troy in southwest Michigan.
Kids sled and snowboard down the gently sloping hill at the Friends of New Troy Community Center in New Troy in southwest Michigan.

Gather, Shop & Sled

Young kids can whiz down a gentle sledding hill in the town of New Troy in southwest Michigan while you shop indoors at a flea market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Friends of New Troy Community Center, 13372 California Road.

Granted, if we trust the weather forecast, that hill may be missing snow on that day. But the hill is open to the public to go sledding any day that there's enough snow.

To find New Troy, go east of the town of Sawyer on Sawyer Road, then south on California Road.

Night creatures

Ally Pudlo of the St. Joe County Soil and Water Conservation District will talk at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 about creatures that roam at night at The Res in Mishawaka during a free presentation inside the nature preserve’s Jernegan Lodge.

Before or afterwards, attendees may hike the new storybook walk at The Res where they’ll read "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen.

The Res is at 13950 Scout Lane, Mishawaka; follow signs off of the south side of Lincoln Way just east of Capital Avenue.

Register by Feb. 16 via the event page at mishawakares.org. For questions, call 574-259-1850 or email info@mishawakares.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: Mishawaka Riverwalk hosts night walk and The Res seeks night creatures