Discover winter forest wonders: Become a Junior Snow Ranger
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Deschutes National Forest, Discover Your Forest and Mt. Bachelor invites you to come discover winter wonders and learn how to prepare for outdoor adventures in the winter, all while earning a Junior Snow Ranger badge. Families learn together at this free event, hosted at Mt. Bachelor.
The Junior Snow Ranger events run from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday January 16, February 20 and March 27. Interested families can join Forest Rangers at the Snowshoe Hut located at Mt. Bachelor’s West Village Base Area.
The Junior Snow Ranger event is designed for children in the 4th and 5th grade, however activities are appropriate for 7-11 year olds.
Outdoor activities include how to prepare for winter adventures, wildlife tracking and track games, identifying and matching skulls & tracks of alpine animals, discovering how life adapts to winter, and finding out about Snow’s Incredible Journey! If conditions allow, families may also get to explore fresh snowflakes, do a scavenger hunt, and engage in all sorts of fun hands-on learning outside.
The program mission is to inspire youth to embrace a life-long relationship with the winter environment, and to become stewards of the land. It is a family program and adults are encouraged to play alongside their kids.
Families can drop in or stay for the duration of the program. If families wish to try snowshoeing, after the event a free snowshoe tour is offered by Snowshoe Rangers at 1:30 pm for participants 8 years and older.
The public snowshoe tour is about 1.5 miles out & back, lasts about 90 minutes, and includes information about natural history topics that relate to the surrounding High Cascades.
The event is free, however donations are greatly appreciated to support Discover Your Forest’s free education and interpretation programs throughout the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests.
For questions, please call Karen Gentry, Education Director at 541-233-6110 or karen.gentry@discovernw.org
