TAKE NOTE!
First Day Hikes
First Day Hikes originated more than 20 years ago at the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park in Milton, Mass. The initiative targeted the first of January, the start of a new year, to promote both healthy lifestyles throughout the year and the year-round recreation that can be experienced locally in state parks. Through the years, other states, including Arkansas, joined this health initiative.
Get your year off on the right foot with a hike on the trails of Hobbs State Park Conservation Area, just east of Rogers. Two different guided tours will be available Sunday, Jan. 1. Take part in one or both!
• Meet Interpreter Steve in the Van Winkle parking lot on Arkansas Highway 12 at 10 a.m. for a halfmile nature hike on the Sinking Stream Trail.
• Meet with special guides Jim and Diane Gately in the Van Winkle parking lot on Arkansas Highway 12 at 2 p.m. for a half-mile historic hike. They will guide you through what was the Peter Van Winkle sawmill community. The Van Winkle sawmill was the largest in the state during the 1870s. The area you will be hiking is on the National Register of Historic Places. This trail is barrier-free.
If you like to venture on your own, take the one-third-mile stroll along the paved Ozark Plateau Trail next to the Park’s visitor center, or head out for an all-day jaunt along the 9-mile Little Clifty Loop to reveal the hidden diversity of winter wildlife in the Ozarks.
Hobbs State Park offers 35 miles of trails of different lengths. Maps and more information can be found at the visitor center and at the trail heads.
For more information, call 479789-5000 or visit friendsofhobbs.com.
POA collecting nonperishable food
The Bella Vista Property Owners Association will have collection barrels for a nonperishable food drive. Oasis Food Pantry will have two drop-off locations: Branchwood Recreation Center and Riordan Hall. Sheppard’s Food Pantry will also have two drop-off locations: Member Services and Metfield Clubhouse Recreation. Collections dates are through Jan. 8.
Eagle watch cruises slated
Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area offers eagle watch tours on Beaver Lake through February 2017.
“We have always been lucky seeing eagles on our tours,” says Park Interpreter Rebekah Penny. “Some mature, some immature, and we always see other beautiful wildlife as well. It could be migrating osprey, great blue herons, kingfishers, deer or red-tailed hawks. No one will ever be disappointed on our eagle tours.”
Penny added, “We can only take 20 guests at a time, so it’s important that folks call the park in a timely manner to ensure that their names get on the boarding lists.” Tours will take place on:
• Dec. 28, 29, 30, 31
• Jan. 1,2, 7, 8, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29
• Feb. 4, 5, 11, 13, 18, 19, 25, 26 Tickets must be purchased in advance. Adults are $10 plus tax and children 6-12 are $5 plus tax. Tours depart Rocky Branch Marina promptly at 3 p.m. For more information and to make reservations, call 479-789-5000.
Deer season closes Hobbs trails
Most of the trails at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area will be closed during the Hobbs two-day youth modern gun season and the Hobbs five-day muzzleloader and modern gun deer seasons. These trails include:
• Shaddox Hollow Trail
• Pigeon Roost Trail
• Sinking Stream Trail
• Bashore Loop
• Dutton Hollow Loop
• Little Clifty Loop
• War Eagle Loop
In addition to closing these trails, the Park’s shooting range and primitive backpack campsites will also be closed. Note that the primitive backpack campsites will be closed not only during the season but also the day before muzzleloader and modern gun deer seasons.
Trails that will be open during these three gun deer seasons are:
• Historic Van Winkle Trail on Arkansas Highway 12
• Ozark Plateau Trail at the Visitor Center.
Note that Hobbs State Park is hunting zone 320 and not zone 1, and the dates of the Zone 1 muzzleloader and modern gun deer seasons do not coincide with the dates of the muzzleloader and modern gun seasons on Hobbs State Park, zone 320.
Muzzleloader season on Hobbs State Park: Jan. 7-11, 2017.
For more information, call 479789-5000.
Martin discusses bald eagles
Mike Martin, an award-winning nature and wildlife photographer, and a native Arkansan, will be presenting a program on Bald Eagles at the Hobbs State Park visitor center at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, followed by a question and answer session.
Martin has been an avid nature and wildlife photographer for over 25 years. His photos have been published by numerous park departments, and he has also had a number of his photos published by the Cornell University Ornithology Department’s award winning website, “All About Birds.” He is currently co-authoring a book about bald eagles of Arkansas scheduled for publication this year.
The public is invited to attend this free event at Hobbs State Park visitor center, located on Highway 12 just east of the Highway 12/War Eagle Road intersection.
For more information, call 479-789-5000.