Jasper Conservation Connection is inviting the public to a Halloween night hike featuring “Jasper Your Friendly Host and his Frozen Friends” on Oct. 24 at Mariposa Recreation Area, located about seven miles northeast of Newton on Highway T-12.
This is a fun and educational, not scary, event featuring skits performed by volunteers with Jasper Conservation Connection and the Newton Community Theatre. Hour-long hikes will begin at 6 p.m. and will depart every 15 minutes. The last hike will begin at 8 p.m. Hikers will meet various characters along the trail, learn about winter weather and animals preparing for the cold, and listen to some very familiar movie songs.
Parents with young children are encouraged to come earlier in the evening. Along with the hike, participants will be able to cook marshmallows by the fire, go blacklight tracking, enjoy a special snowball treat, decorate pumpkin gourds and stargaze with the Des Moines Astronomical Society. Please check in at the picnic shelter located east of the lake. The cost is $3 per person, children 3 and under are free.
For more information, please call the Jasper County Conservation Board office at (641) 792-9780 or go to jaspercountyconservation.com.