‘Our senses come alive at night’
Glow Hike brings new atmosphere to Flandrau State Park
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New Ulm - Community members gathered at sunset Saturday evening for Flandrau's Glow Hike event.
Flandrau State Park staff organized the event, with additional volunteer assistance from the Optimist Club and Lions Club. Beginning at 7pm, people arrived at the state park to enjoy volleyball, bonfires, and concessions while waiting to begin the hike. New Ulm's Optimist Club ran concessions, which they had been helping with all summer at Flandrau during open swim hours.
Couple Celeste and Brad Ufer, who had attended the hike previously, were glad to give back and help the event run smoothly.
"It's really great because you get the young people and older people of New Ulm to do this together and see what Flandrau State Park has to offer, ” Celeste Ufer said.
Saturday marked Flandrau's third Glow Hike, following a break from the event last year.
Park Manager Natalie Brinson said the event is similar to the candlelight hikes that some Minnesota State Parks have in the winter.
"We usually try to coordinate [candlelight hikes] with snow. This gives people an opportunity to do something in the fall rather than the winter," Brinson said.
Tea light candles lined the 1.1 mile trail, creating a color changing experience rather than years past where glow sticks were used.
Additional games and advertising were also new changes.
"Our attendance dropped the second year, [but] we brought it back and tried to advertise really hard," Brinson said.
Advertising was effective, with many people noting that they heard about the event via facebook.
Flandrau was filled with children playing in the sandpit and families admiring the lights. Many people brought their dogs with them to share in the fun of the self-guided hike.
One of these dogs was Ollie, who came with Aubrie Wiedl, as well as Heidi, Cole, and Karli Cumberland.
Wiedl said that although they are frequent hikers at Flandrau, this was their first time hiking at night.
Night hiking offers different sensory experiences from hiking during the day.
"We often coordinate night hikes with phases of the moon [and] we are doing a nocturnal animal program," Brinson said, "[this] is an opportunity to learn more about our senses that come alive at night and what animals are around at night."
Although summer is coming to an end, Brinson wanted to let people know that activities at Flandrau will continue.
"We're more than just the swim pond that folks are used to visiting in the summer months. We have great hiking trails and love to see families and kids come out," Brinson said, "we just want people to have a good time and enjoy nature."