Great Outdoor Weekend

September 27

Join Kenton County Parks & Recreation for three free nature programs on Saturday, September 27 ~ two at Doe Run Lake and one at Pioneer Park ~ as we help celebrate nature as part of the Great Outdoor Weekend. The GOW is an annual 2-day event, designed by a group of environmental education organizations and outdoor recreation specialists to provide a diverse sampling of the best nature activities in Greater Cincinnati. This year's dates are September 27-28 but for us, it's Saturday only.

At 9:00 am, join KCP&R and Peggy Kelly, local flora expert will lead the Doe Run Nature Trail Hike. Peggy will point out many of the awesome plants and wildflowers which may be found at Doe Run Lake. Meet in the boat launch area of the parking lot. For all ages 11 years and up. Bring H20 and wear comfortable shoes. The hike is free but group size must be limited to enhance the overall quality of the experience. Please call 525-PLAY (7529) to pre-register for the DRL Nature Trail Hike. Plan to be back around noon.

At 10:00, join KCP&R and OKI Geocachers for an introduction to the growing outdoor hobby of Geocaching at Doe Run Lake. Geocaching is a combination of treasure hunting and hiking ~ sort of, anyway. Caches are hidden in various locations and cachers use GPS (Global Positioning Systems) equipment and physical coordinates (longitude and latitude) posted on the World Wide Web to pinpoint caches. Dress for a walk in the park, as we will split up with seasoned cachers and hit the trail!  "Cache In, Trash Out" ~ that's the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Geocachers motto ~ we'll do a litter cleanup as we go! For all ages 11 years and up. Bring drinking water and wear comfortable shoes or boots. No pre-registration is needed for Geocaching. Be there by 10:00 am.  We'll meet at the boat ramp and be back around noon.

Also at 10:00 am, join KCP&R and Vikki Rawe at Pioneer Park for Critters In the Crick. Vikki Rawe, an aquatic educator working with KY Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources, will lead a stream "wade" in Banklick Creek. You might get wet and you'll be wading in the creek so wear old shoes, hip boots, or waders. Using seines and nets, participants will investigate stream bed and stream banks and everything in between! All aquatic life will be examined! Meet near the Iron Bridge to the Kenton Paw Park. No pre-registration is necessary ~ just show up!

These two parks are easy to find and are both in the area of Exit 80 (Covington/Independence) off I-275. For Pioneer Park, take I-275 Exit 80. Go south on KY 17 about 2 miles. You will see the park on your right before you get to the entrance. Turn right as you enter the park and meet at the Iron Bridge. For Doe Run Lake, go the same way at I-275 Exit 80 but only to Old KY 17 (the next road past Dudley Pike). Turn right onto Old 17 and follow to the end of the road. Call (859) 525-PLAY for more information!

The Doe Run Nature Trail Hike, Critters in the Crick, and Geocaching with the OKI Cachers are all part of the Great Outdoor Weekend.  Visit http://CincyGreatOutdoorWeekend.org for details on many more free programs!

Call Kenton County Recreation at (859) 525-PLAY (7529) to see how you can help – we are always in need of volunteers and funding sponsors for our programs!

For news of upcoming programs, activities, and events to be held in Kenton County's parks, call the Parks & Recreation office at (859) 525-PLAY (7529).