Family alert: cool new nature program comes to Timber Park

A fun new way for kids and their families to explore nature is opening in Estacada’s Timber Park.

The new feature is called a TRACK Trail and it’s sort of a treasure hunt designed to help families enjoy and learn about nature and be more active outdoors.

“Fun and educational resources, like TRACK Trails, help foster a connection between youth and our local parks,” said Lindsay Smith, PGE Parks & Recreation manager.

Timber Park will have a kiosk stuffed with brochures that help kids learn about the natural world. The colorful flyers outline a series of self-guided activities aiming to turn an ordinary walk into more of an engaging learning adventure.

The flyers might teach about birds, trees, flowers, plants or animal tracks. Families might also learn about the natural, cultural and historic features at a site. Timber Park has one on hydroelectric power, for example.

One of the brochures, “The Need for Trees,” shows the different kinds of trees that might be found in Timber Park and discusses their life cycles. It asks kids if they can find a seed, seedling, sapling, tree and other parts of a tree’s life cycle.

In “Birds of Estacada Lake,” the flyer shows different kinds of local birds and kids can try their luck at identifying them.

The new trail at Timber Park is just one of the TRACK trails around the state. There is also TRACK Trails nearby in both Metzler Park and Eagle Fern Park. There are also TRACK Trails at Morgan Lake in LaGrande, Mount Emily Recreation Area in LaGrande, Willow Creek Canyon in Madras, Crooked River Wetlands in Prineville, Barnes Butte in Prineville and Rimrock Park in Prineville.

“We’re thrilled about our collaboration with the City of Estacada, Estacada Chamber, Kids in Parks and Oregon Parks Forever to enhance recreational and educational offerings for our community,” PGE’s Smith said.