#OptOutside with a local skate, hike or toboggan run on Black Friday
Burn off your Thanksgiving fat and #OptOutside on Black Friday with a good skate, hike or toboggan run.
Here are some local options from this week's Outdoor Adventures column.
Howard Park skating returns
Howard Park’s ice path and pond in South Bend reopens for the season Nov. 25 with a day of festivities: performances by Irish Figure Skating Club at 10 a.m. and River City Rovers at 10:20 a.m.; free doughnuts and hot cocoa starting at 10:30 a.m.; face painting and balloon artists at noon; visits by Spark, the Grinch, Frozone, Elsa and other characters at 1 p.m., “Frosty the Snowman” movie indoors at 2:30 p.m. and skating with tunes from 7 to 9 p.m. Everything is free except for skating.
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The first public skating session begins at 11 a.m. The facility closes at 9 p.m.
To book skating tickets, visit visithowardpark.com.
Also, the Holiday Market with local vendors will open from 4 to 8 p.m. inside of the Howard Park Event Center and return from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 26.
#OptOutSide hike
The Hoosier Hikers will host a hike Nov. 25 on roughly 6K or 10K routes through the University of Notre Dame. Hikers will walk with a group based on distance.
Register starting at 9 a.m. at the Ivy Court Inn & Suites, 1404 Ivy Court, South Bend. Then walking will start at 9:30 a.m. from Notre Dame’s Walsh Architecture visitors lot. No parking fee because of the holiday.
For questions, contact Bob Buzolich at 574-339-9140 or sonofbuzz@prodigy.net.
Free state parks
There will be free admission on the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) at all Indiana State Parks and any Indiana Department of Natural Resources property that normally charges a gate fee.
At Potato Creek State Park in North Liberty, The Hillsiders band will play for free from 3 to 5 p.m. in the nature center auditorium.
And at Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton, a naturalist will lead a rugged two-mile hike to the Beach House Blowout and back from 10 a.m. to noon CST.
Also, the DNR offers a chance to win a package of everything you’d need for a picnic, valued at $360, if you sign up for the newsletter of the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation, linked in this column online. Find other contests at on.in.gov/optoutside.
Toboggan run
Yes, it's back like clockwork. The refrigerated toboggan run will open for the season, as usual, on the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, at Pokagon State Park in Angola, Ind. And then it will open every Saturday and Sunday through Feb. 26, plus additional days through Christmas break and on holidays. Hours each day are 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Cost is $20 per toboggan per hour. Find details at www.tobogganrun.com.
Yes, there's skiing
Word has it that Bittersweet Ski Area near Kalamazoo opened for the season while we had this recent blast of snow and cold. Check it's website for conditions, hours and which runs are open.
Elves, do over
St. Patrick's County Park in South Bend will bring back the scavenger hunt for elves that it recently had to cancel because they would've been a little too hidden − in snow. Drop by the Brown Barn from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 25 to pick up maps for the hunt. Cost is $5 per map. This is weather permitting, again.
Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: #OptOutside with Howard Park skate or hike free parks or toboggan
