WHITE CITY, Ore. – Oregon State Parks invited people to be a part of its First-Day Hikes event on January 1st, to spend New Year’s Day out in nature.
Sunday continued the years-long New Year’s Day tradition of first-day hikes at state parks all across the country, including 18 parks across Oregon and two right here in the Rogue Valley.
Valley of the Rogue and TouVelle state parks invited guests to come on a guided tour, to see the sights and learn about the wildlife and history that surrounds the parks.
“It’s just to get people out, get people active, it’s the first day of the year so start it out right. Just get people out here, get them engaged and show off our parks and what the state has to offer,” said Rudy Ordonez, Interpretative Park Ranger.
Ordonez said the hikes are perfect for park regulars to learn more about their favorite trails. He said the hikes also bring in a lot of newcomers to the parks.
“It was a great experience; it was neat having a ranger-guided tour and getting to get that extra info and a little bit of the background of the area, so you know what you’re looking at and kind of get more out of the hike. This was my first time, so it was a neat opportunity to get a good introduction to the park,” said Hiker, Brittney Burroughs.
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