To the forest!
To the forest!
Guest Post by Sarah E. Sterk
Something that this pandemic situation has further revealed to me is that I am terrible at staying at home! One chilly March morning I stuffed both kids in the car and went to the local drive-thru coffee shop for treats and coffee. Not knowing what else to do, I went for a drive south of town into the surrounding farm and forested areas to kill some time as the kids munched quietly on their donuts.
As I was driving I noticed a county parks sign off the country road that said “Scheidegger Forest.” “What a weird name,” I thought, but I tried to remember the location. After looking up the “forest” online, I decided that it was worth checking out. It was small, didn’t have a tempting playground (playgrounds were closed then, remember that!?), and, most importantly, it was a 5 minute drive away! It was the perfect place to take my two kids. My daughter wouldn’t even need to use the (closed) bathroom while we were there...because we were literally 5 minutes away from the house.
Scheidegger Forest is a small but still fun natural area to take your kids for a short hike. There is a steep incline up to the paths, but once you’re up the hill it’s a pretty easy walk. My son (17 months when we first visited) was able to walk the whole path! My daughter (now 4) was able to run a little ahead of us but would double back when I called her.
As I was driving I noticed a county parks sign off the country road that said “Scheidegger Forest.” “What a weird name,” I thought, but I tried to remember the location. After looking up the “forest” online, I decided that it was worth checking out. It was small, didn’t have a tempting playground (playgrounds were closed then, remember that!?), and, most importantly, it was a 5 minute drive away! It was the perfect place to take my two kids. My daughter wouldn’t even need to use the (closed) bathroom while we were there...because we were literally 5 minutes away from the house.
Scheidegger Forest is a small but still fun natural area to take your kids for a short hike. There is a steep incline up to the paths, but once you’re up the hill it’s a pretty easy walk. My son (17 months when we first visited) was able to walk the whole path! My daughter (now 4) was able to run a little ahead of us but would double back when I called her.
My kids’ FAVORITE part of that first hike came at the end - the spring snowmelt causes a small stream to run down the hill and under two small “bridges” at the bottom of the hill. Both kids happily poked sticks in the stream for a few minutes before we climbed back in the car. At the time we were very COVID-conscious and wouldn’t have sat at the picnic tables, but there is a nice shelter with tables for easy picnicking.
We’ve since visited “the forest” a number of times since that first visit. Since we’re in Wisconsin we’ve had everything from snow flurries to high humidity during our hikes. I can’t wait to visit in the fall and see how the leaves look!
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