Lake Catherine State Park is hosting three events on Jan. 1 to help encourage visitors to start the new year off on the right foot.
The state park will host hikes at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., and at 1 p.m. there will be a special program at the park's nature cabin.
"We have two hikes, and then we also have a program in the nature cabin that afternoon, just in case someone can't go out and hike because of any physical stuff going on," Carrie Balkman, Lake Catherine State Park interpreter, said.
"So we have an option for everybody. We have a 9 o'clock program for a hike to Falls Creek Falls, and that's the 1-mile-long hike.
"And then at 11, we have the Slunger Creek Nature Trail hike, which is a hike down at Slunger Creek Nature Trail, which is five-eighths of a mile and it's ADA accessible. It's totally paved. Then at 1 o'clock, I'm having a program called Cocoa and Culture. So we'll have hot cocoa and have a story for us to talk about and kind of reenact from the Hot Springs area of people of the past. So we have a little bit of everything going on that day."
Arkansas State Parks will be providing stickers for anyone who participates in a guided hike or event on Monday or self-guided hikes from Saturday through Monday. Participants in guided hikes or events on Monday will receive the sticker that day. Anyone who takes a self-guided hike over the weekend can fill out an online form that will be available starting Saturday to have the sticker mailed to them. The form is available at:
http://tinyurl.com/avwsme29
"They're very neat this year," Balkman said. "They kind of have a retro look to them, which is nice, and they say 'Hike Arkansas State Parks' with the Arkansas State Park emblem on it. If anyone comes to any of those three programs, then they'll get a sticker that day, and if they go to more than one then they can get a sticker for each program they come to."
For more information about the state park or its events over the weekend, call the park at 501-844-4176 or visit:
http://tinyurl.com/48h6cpjv
Falls Creek Falls is visible from the east side of the creek in Lake Catherine State Park earlier this year. (The Sentinel-Record/File photo)
Falls Creek Falls is visible from above the east side of the creek in Lake Catherine State Park earlier this year. (The Sentinel-Record/File photo)