Join us for a day of free, family-friendly programming outside and on the water at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center in Voyageurs National Park!
We invite local community members and visitors to celebrate the end of challenging summer flooding and the beautiful transition of seasons with a day of free activities outside and on the water. The National Park Service and Voyageurs Conservancy are excited to welcome special program partner Wilderness Inquiry and their traveling Canoemobile program.
Explore Rainy Lake on 10-person canoes and learn about the rich science, history, and geography of its waters. Additionally, special education programs will help you connect to and give back the park you love. Bring the whole family and a picnic. We especially encourage adults, high school students, young explorers 4th grade and up, and their families to join us!
Established in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September, National Public Lands Day is traditionally the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort. It celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefits.
Paddle Picnic Play on Public Lands Day
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Rainy Lake Visitor Center, Voyageurs National Park
Registration: Registration is appreciated at https://bit.ly/public-lands-day-2022
Full Event Schedule:
Canomobile: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Rainy Lake Boat Launch
Explore Rainy Lake with Wilderness Inquiry’s Canoemobile. Enjoy a “floating classroom” experience in a 10-person canoe, launching on the hour at 10 AM, 11 AM, Noon and 1 PM. Great for 4th grade and up. Life jackets will be provided. No prior paddling experience required.
Ethno-botanical Garden Tour: 10:00 AM; 1:00 PM
Ethno-botanical Garden outside the visitor center
Have you ever wondered about wildflowers that pop up in your garden unannounced? Should you let them stay or treat them as party crashers? During this program you will spend a half-hour touring the Voyageurs ethnobotanical garden and learn to identify both native plant species and invasive weeds that are not so nice as they may look, followed by a half-hour of hands-on garden invasive species removal stewardship. Participants may also complete the Garden Junior Ranger booklet to earn a special Garden Ranger badge. Good for all ages.
Solar System on a String: 11:00 AM
Meet at Rainy Lake Recreation Trailhead near the Rainy Lake Visitor Center
Come learn about the wonders of our Solar System! For this presentation, we have scaled down the size of our Solar System to a mere 100 feet. We will journey through the Solar System and visit each planet along the way to learn more about these fascinating worlds, and appreciate the distance of objects in space. Voyageurs Conservancy’s education specialist and amateur astronomer Jesse Gates will share some of the celestial objects and events you can enjoy this fall from your own backyard. Geared for 10 years and up.
Wolf Talk: Noon
Picnic area near Rainy Lake Boat Launch
Join young scientist Maeve Tuley as she shares the secret lives of wolves of the greater Voyageurs ecosystem and what it’s like to research and study them. Maeve will share surprising facts about wolves and dispel some of the harmful misconceptions about them.
This free event is brought to you by the Voyageurs Conservancy, Wilderness Inquiry and the National Park Service. Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
