Montana State Parks Offer New Year’s Hikes

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — State parks across Montana will offer guided hikes on New Year’s Day as part of the “First Day Hikes” annual tradition across the U.S.

Some 55,000 people walked more than 133,000 miles in state parks nationwide on New Year’s Day last year, according to the National Association of State Park Directors.

This year, among the Montana parks participating, Missouri Headwaters State Park will offer a 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) family friendly loop at 11 a.m. Wednesday, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

The land had been used for thousands of years by the Bannock, Salish, Shoshone, Crow and Blackfeet tribes, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The Lewis and Clark expedition camped at the site in 1805 on their way to the Pacific Ocean.

Later, the land was used by fur traders as a meeting place. It was also where the state’s first flour mill was built. The mill supplied flour to gold miners throughout southwest Montana.

Missouri Headwaters State Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Participants can meet at the main picnic grounds near the Gallatin River. The hike will begin at 11 a.m. David Andrus, manager of the 532-acre park, said the event will include hot chocolate and toasted bagels beginning at 10 am.