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First Day Hikes at Delaware State Parks planned for Jan 1

Sophia Schmidt, Delaware State Park
Auburn Valley State Park in Yorklyn is the newest Delaware state park

Delaware State Parks are hosting 16 First Day Hikes. These include trails at Auburn Valley, Delaware's newest state park.

“So we’re actually going to have two hikes at Auburn Valley this year as a way to introduce people to the trails systems going in and to that new park,” said Jon Wickert, chief of interpretation for Delaware State Parks.

Wickert says state parks across the country have held First Day Hikes since 2012 through the America’s State Parks affiliation.“We’re all in it together, we’re all going to this on this one day and try to reconnect people with the outdoors,” he said.

Wickert says since 2012, First Day Hikes in Delaware have expanded.“We would offer them at every park, but we’ve moved to the point now where some of our parks are offering multiple hikes a day," he said.

The level of interpretation at the hikes will vary.

 

“At Killens traditionally we just get out on the trail and our interpreter steps out of the spotlight. Down at Cape Henlopen there will be a talk about how the sea has shaped the point and they’re going to take some time out and look for seals and loons in the water,” said Wickert.

 

"In today's world, it's hard to get everybody together and on the same page and on agreement about things. And this is one of those events worth taking the time to do because there's no politics, there's no preconceived notions. It's literally just, lets get together and go for a walk," said Wickert.

Details about the hikes in Delaware can be found at online. They are all free and open to the public.

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.