Hey out there League!
Summer is winding down and fall is gearing up here in Minnesota. Last week my husband and I spent several days in the Minneapolis area exploring areas of the state we aren’t as familiar with. Admittedly, the urban wilds aren’t my favorite. I don’t like traffic or crowds, it’s noisy and bright even at night, and it’s not as peaceful as the forest where I spend a lot of time. But one thing our state excels at is utilizing natural spaces. We visited regional parks, nature areas, and a couple of state parks to get some hiking miles every day. It’s amazing how many of these areas are tucked away in the midst of a bustling metro area.
State, regional, and city park departments even offer free classes on fishing, camping, snowshoeing, and other activities – often with free equipment rentals. The state offers a hiking club program with free camping as a reward for finishing a number of trails. I intend to do all 70 of those trails in Minnesota and knocked a couple out last week that were a short drive from Minneapolis.
Summer is winding down and fall is gearing up here in Minnesota. Last week my husband and I spent several days in the Minneapolis area exploring areas of the state we aren’t as familiar with. Admittedly, the urban wilds aren’t my favorite. I don’t like traffic or crowds, it’s noisy and bright even at night, and it’s not as peaceful as the forest where I spend a lot of time. But one thing our state excels at is utilizing natural spaces. We visited regional parks, nature areas, and a couple of state parks to get some hiking miles every day. It’s amazing how many of these areas are tucked away in the midst of a bustling metro area.
State, regional, and city park departments even offer free classes on fishing, camping, snowshoeing, and other activities – often with free equipment rentals. The state offers a hiking club program with free camping as a reward for finishing a number of trails. I intend to do all 70 of those trails in Minnesota and knocked a couple out last week that were a short drive from Minneapolis.
It can be easy to feel like we don’t have options to travel to popular destinations that others share photos of online. We might not be able to travel to Glacier or Denali National Parks to see epic mountains or to spend a month backpacking in Mongolia. But few of us have adequately explored areas closer to home. We spend time in FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), grieving over what we can’t do and missing out on many local treasures.
We live in a town of 3,200 people. Our main street is only about a mile long end-to-end and has 2 stoplights. We are about as far from an ocean as one can get and a fair distance from any mountains. It can be easy to feel limited living in an area so far from the Instagram-worthy locations. But I learned recently that there is so much worth exploring even within our town, never mind the the whole state!
A couple of months ago, someone’s dog went missing in town. You’d think that finding a lost dog in a town of 3,000 people would be easy but when you have to look for something, you realize how much there really is around you. Walking around looking for the dog changed my perception about how much space there is around us, and how much opportunity we have to explore it all. I ducked into small wooded spots to look for any signs of the dog and found giant cedar trees and neat little flowing creeks just feet off of a paved walking path. How many people even realize those spots exist? Eventually, the dog was found in the woods 12 miles from town. He took quite a journey and avoided the highway! Perhaps we can take his lead and take the lesser traveled routes through our towns and cities. Who knows what there is to see along the way?
Don’t underestimate what is around you just because it seems like it can’t compare with the views from the top of a mountain or a giant waterfall. Seeing the oceans and the mountains is amazing. But my favorite spot in the world is a small cliff on a hiking trail a few miles from home. I find so much peace in that spot, and it’ll never be on someone else’s Instagram. There’ll never be a line of people waiting to take photos, limiting my time to take in the view. It’s my own secret spot where I can decompress from life.
There is so much to see and explore right outside your door, or within a short drive. The nice thing about spending time in nature is that it’s always changing. The trail you hiked in May looks completely different in September. You don’t need to take a week off to travel to an exotic location to see something awesome, you can find it in your local park in the form of a rare orchid or secret swimming hole that only locals know about.
Exploring areas closer to home can make you fall in love with where you live rather than wishing you were else. You get all the benefits of being outside, you get exercise, you learn more about the area you live in, and you can use the time to connect with others. Round up a friend, a cousin, a parent, your kids, and explore a state park or nature spot near home. Where it’s allowed, step off the main trail and follow a game trail. The animals always know the best spots to go! You might be surprised what you find that you didn’t even realize was right under your nose.
What is your favorite place to explore close to home? I’d love to hear about it!
Have a wild, exploration-filled weekend!
-Kim
-Kim
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