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Blue Mounds State Park played host to a nationwide initiative to get people outdoors Jan. 1.
Park naturalist Tiffany Muellner led more than a dozen people on a 90-minute hike that included several stops to view wildlife, their tracks and the buffalo that reside at the park north of Luverne.
“There’s a First Day Hike going on in every state today,” Muellner told the group.
Ten other state parks in Minnesota joined more than 400 state parks throughout the U.S. in planning hikes.
First Day Hikes are an effort by America’s State Parks organization to connect people with the outdoors.
At the state park, temperatures reached above 32 degrees under partly sunny skies and light winds.
Muellner said the park is closed to camping for the foreseeable future due to the excessive snowfall in the campground area. However, the main driving areas are plowed open for daytime visitors.