Opt Outside — our annual open house-style, free family event — returns on Black Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. New this year are activities in three parks — Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Thompson County Park and Whitetail Woods Regional Park.
Mammoths, mastodons and musk ox, oh my!
Stop by any of the three participating parks from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. to stroll along the Ice Age Activity Trail and mingle with a variety of ancient critters. Use your GPS or phone app to search for themed geocaches. For older paleo-adventurers, take on our annual medallion hunt.
Locations
When you arrive, look for the event information station. Each station includes signs with activity instruction information and take-along guides.
Activities
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Ice Age Activity Trail: Be a rock hound and follow the paleo path on an investigation (find hidden critters along a trail in the park). Trail distance varies by park. All are paved trails and stroller-friendly. All ages (especially fun for ages 6 and younger).
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Geocaching: Solve the stories in the strata in a geology-inspired geocaching activity. All ages (especially fun for ages 5 and older).
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Medallion Hunt: Solve clever riddles in our medallion hunt to find the Mighty Musk Ox, Mammoth or Mastodon, hidden somewhere in each park. All ages (especially for ages 10 and older). Riddles will be posted on Facebook, on each park's respective Opt Outside event page. Nov. 24–26. Riddles for each park will be posted noon daily except for Lebanon Hills Regional Park — the first riddle will be poste d 8 a.m. on Nov. 25.
- Thompson County Park
- Whitetail Woods Regional Park
- Lebanon Hills Regional Park
Medallion finders must post a selfie near the location of the find to the
Dakota County Parks-forever wild Facebook page and call the Lebanon Hills Visitor Center at 651-554-6530 to report their find. A fantastic prize package goes to the winner of each park.
Date
Friday, Nov. 26, 2021
Age
All ages
Admission
Free
Food available
YouniverseFoodie food truck will be parked at the Lebanon Hills Visitor Center on Nov. 26 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
COVID-19 precautions
- Stay home if you or anyone in your home is sick or has COVID-19 symptoms.
- Respect parking capacity. If parking lots are full, please visit another time.
- Masks required inside any park facility, including restrooms, anytime interacting with park staff, and outside in crowds and when physical distancing is difficult.
- Park structures and event props are not sanitized. Wash or sanitize your hands before and after your visit.
- Maintain at least 6 feet at all times from others, except for members of the same household.
- Follow one-way trail designation signage.
Other information
- All activities are outside. No indoor activities will be available. Restrooms will be open.
- All activities are self-guided. Activity instructions will be made available with signage onsite.
- Participants must provide their own smartphone with geocaching app or GPS unit for geocaching activity.
- A limited amount of printed activity guide materials will be available. Please use your mobile device or print out ahead of time. QR codes will be made available.