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More than 700 people trekked along candlelit trails in the Blue Mounds State Park Saturday night for the second annual Friends of the Blue Mounds State Park Candlelight Hike.
The 2019 event drew more than double last year’s impressive count of 300-plus, and while parking was a challenge, park naturalist Amber Brooks said the crowds were welcomed.
“Lots of extended families — grandma, grandpa, grandkids and parents — came out to enjoy the hike, and that doesn't count our four-legged canine friends who came out in force,” Brooks said.
“It was truly a packed hike and everyone I talked to said they had a great time.”
Several volunteers and park staff placed battery-operated votive candles in white paper sacks, which were weighted by plastic zippy bags of sand.
Hundreds of these paper luminaries lined the one-mile and two-mile trails that wound through the campground and looped out to the picnic area with campfires set up as warming and resting areas along the route.
Hikers could stop for hot cocoa and cookies (more than 500 were available) in the warming house shelter building, which was heated by a wood-burning stove.
“I spoke to visitors from areas of South Dakota (mostly Sioux Falls), one family from Iowa, and many families from Luverne and other cities close in Minnesota like Marshall,” Brooks said.
“We had one visitor and her family come from two hours away in South Dakota to attend the event.”
The event was free to attend, but a vehicle sticker was required for entrance into the park.
Those who didn’t have annual stickers purchased day passes at the park office when they entered Saturday, and dozens of cars lined County Road 20 leading into the park as the event began.
More than 160 daily passes were purchased at $7 apiece, along with three annual passes, and Friends of the Blue Mounds State Park raised $1,000 at the Take 16 afternoon Bingo, barbecue and brewery pint sales ($1 for each pint sold benefited the Friends group).
“We are thrilled about that,” said Friends member Taylor Graphenteen. “It’s a great start to the year for us. We’re really grateful for the community that came out to support us.”
Brooks said the cross promotion between Take 16 and the Friends group likely fueled interest in the hike.
“Parking was our big challenge but our team really grabbed it by the horns and worked it out and ended up parallel parking cars along the north side of the road in the park,” she said.
“We are definitely looking to next year. We are going to keep in mind what went well and what needs improvement for our next year's event. After the success of this year it'd be criminal not to continue this new tradition.”