Rice Lake State Park Folkswalk October 18, 2003 Cosponsored by: Rice Lake State Park AVA Sanction # NC03/629 E v e n t C o n t a c t s Bruce Gravelle , 651-457-5882 for event information. Call 507-455-5871 for park information. P r e - r e g i s t r a t i o n D e a d l i n e Monday, September 15, 2003. We recommend that you pre-register, especially if you wish to participate for an award. R e g i s t r a t i o n Start/finish: Picnic Shelter Start times: You may start anytime after 9 a.m. and finish by 5 p.m. Refreshments: Water and vault toilets are available near the shelter. NSTT feeds its walkers! Every NSTT event offers an "event picnic" available to all event participants for a small donation to cover the cost of providing these refreshments. The menu may vary, but the food is always tasty and cooked over the open fire! T h e T r a i l The trail is 10K and is made up of multi-loops that will take you through deciduous woods, meadows and along the edge of Rice Lake itself. Trails are relatively flat and wide and can accommodate strollers or wagons. Rated 1+. T h e A w a r d The Award is a three dimensional laser cut wood ornament featuring a duck and cattails. Cost of the award is $9; IVV credit only is $3; walk only is $2. Pre-registration deadline is September 15. This award will not be mailed. IVV credit only is $3. If you just want to walk, the cost of $2 will help toward the cost of sponsoring the event. There are no refunds for any reason. G e t t i n g T h e r e Located 7 miles east of Owatonna on Rose Street. From Hwy 35, take exit 42A. Follow the signs to Rose Street. East on Rose Street to the park. A b o u t t h e P a r k Wildlife The parks diversity -- marshes, lakes, meadows, and woods -- attract a large number of birds, especially waterfowl during spring and fall migrations. The forested areas attract seven species of woodpeckers, including the pileated woodpecker. During spring migration, look for whistling swans; Canada, snow, and blue geese; diving ducks, Western and pied-billed grebes. Black terns nest in the park. History Rice Lake is the headwater source for the south branch of the middle fork of the Zumbro River. The lake was first dammed to provide energy for the water-powered mill located further to the east at Wasioja. Occasionally, Rice Lake became depleted, requiring the mill to shut down. North of the park boundaries, a stagecoach route followed the "Ridge Road" in the mid-1800s. There was a promising young village of Rice Lake on this road, but the railroads came, and changed the town's future as newer towns, with more promise, sprang up. The only sign that remains of this village today is the Rice Lake Church, built in 1857, located on the northern boundary of the park. It can be seen today along Dodge County Highway 20. Geology Five hundred million years ago, a shallow sea covered most of North America, including southwestern Minnesota. On its bed, layers of sediment turned to rock, hundreds of feet thick. The bedrock of this area is identical to that found to the east in Minnesota's blufflands. During this period of time, ice advanced across Minnesota four times. The surface and land forms found in the park were formed during the Kansan Ice Age. Rice Lake itself was formed by a depression in a huge pile of Kansas drift. Landscape The land known today as Rice Lake State Park was originally located in a vast oak savanna, known as Minnesota's southern oak barrens, that covered about seven percent of the state extending from the Twin Cities on the north to the Iowa border and beyond. It formed a broad transition zone between the prairies to the west and the deciduous forests to the east. Originally, the dominant vegetation was prairie with occasional groves and scattered individual burr oak trees. Today, remnants of the oaks still remain at the park but the prairie vegetation has disappeared. Excerpted from Rice Lake State Park's Web site. N e a r b y F o l k s p o r t s The Riverbend Striders are hosting two seasonal events in Mankato. Call Earl and Audrey von Holt at 507-625-5375 for more information. N e a r b y S t a t e P a r k s Nerstrand Big Woods Sakatah Lake (folkswalk on October 19th)