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October 31, 2024

CPAWS Manitoba 2024 Halloween hike in Birds Hill Provincial Park

Hundreds of kids dressed up as their favourite characters and dashed along the Chickadee trail participating in pumpkin balancing, scavenger hunts, and a spoon race to celebrate Halloween. 

A few days before Halloween, families dressed up in their best costumes and joined us in Birds Hill Provincial Park for our 4th annual Spooktacular Halloween hike on the Chickadee trail. Princesses, ghosts, witches, and butterflies joined together for nature activities throughout the 2-kilometre trail.

Facilitated by the CPAWS team and volunteers, the trail allows you to immerse yourself fully in nature through activities: wishing web, scavenger hunt, spoon race, pumpkin balancing game, and nature’s guest book.

“The Spooktacular Halloween Hike was one of the most fun things I’ve done at CPAWS by far. It was so nice to see so many families come out and take a walk together. The weather was gorgeous, and the kids loved all of the chickadees and spooky decorations on the trail. All of them were excited to share their experiences on the trail and many didn’t want to leave at the end, they begged their parents to hang around longer. Which many did, climbing trees, making wishes on the web and just running around with the exuberance of youth,” says Deb, CPAWS Manitoba Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator.  

Map and activities for the Halloween hike.

Activities:

Children lined up to compete in the first activity, a classic spoon and egg race, or in this case, a plastic skeleton arm and eyeball race! Could they make it down the trail, around and back, without dropping the eyeball? 

Half a kilometre down the trail, following the pumpkin trail markers, is the next activity, pumpkin balancing. Kids placed a mini pumpkin atop their heads and then walked down a short path and back while trying not to drop the pumpkin. 

Carly Gray with the wishing web
Kate Heide balancing a pumpkin
The Riddler and a princess playing the spoon game

Next up on the trail, is a wishing web covered in Manitoba’s nature wishes! At this station, we Invited participants to write down a commitment they want to make to nature or a wish they have for the planet and attach it to the Wishing Web.

“We wish for more Halloween hikes”
“I wish to be healthy and happy”
“I wish people would clean up their litter”
“I wish for kindness”
“I wish for lots of snow”
“I wish the chickadees and animals to stay healthy”
“I wish to protect natural habitats”
“I wish for more birds”
“We wish that all animals and people stay safe”
“I wish for clean water all over the earth”

-NOTES ON THE WISHING WEB

The last station is the nature guest book! We invited participants to write a message in Nature’s Guest Book to thank it for everything it gives us. Nature’s Guest Book is a chance for people to thank nature for the beautiful day they spent in the park!

Before the hike, we encouraged the principles of “Leave No Trace” to families. At various activities along the trail, we distributed candy packages to participants. If they consumed the candy and handed us their wrappers, we rewarded them with additional treats! This interactive approach effectively instills the importance of minimizing environmental impact while exploring nature.

Thank you to everyone—participants, staff, and volunteers—who made our Halloween Hike a success! Over 300 nature enthusiasts joined us to celebrate Halloween in the wild, exploring the trails, enjoying the crisp fall air, and connecting with nature. We couldn’t have done it without your amazing energy and support!

See you next year for the 5th annual Halloween hike!

Trail Info:

The Chickadee Trail in Birds Hill Provincial Park offers a scenic 2 km (or 4 km) loop that’s perfect for a leisurely one-hour walk.

The Chickadee Trail is well-shaded, with a brief patch of open prairie amidst the mixed forest of trembling aspen, burr oak, and fir trees. There’s also a wooden overlook tower about midway through the hike built at the top of an ancient glacier beach (elevation on the hill is 265 metres, compared with Winnipeg’s elevation of 232 metres above sea level).

At just four kilometres (or 2 km on the shorter loop) — with a mild elevation gain — speedy hikers can complete the Chickadee Trail in about an hour. People who stop for snacks or to appreciate the wildflowers, birds, and occasional deer should plan to be on the trail for up to a couple of hours. People seeking a longer hike have three other trails to choose from that connect to Chickadee: Aspen (6.5 km), Esker (6.0 km), and Bluestem (14.0 km).

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