William O'Brien State Park hike
Mon, Oct 6, 2025, 9:30am
Our October 6 hike will be a reprise of our hike last year at William O'Brien State Park. Your leaders will be Jo Prouty, Michael Luxenberg and Bev Moe.
There will be two options – the prairie option (no hills) will be led by Jo and the hills option led by Michael and Bev. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. Bring a water bottle, sunscreen and a hat.
After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park. Rustic Roots vineyard will remind you of Sonoma Valley; it's really beautiful. It has a nice selection of their wines and nonalcoholic beverages, as well as an interesting lunch menu. Here is a link to Rustic Roots Winery so you can check out the food and beverage options: https://rusticroots.wine/visit/
We will meet at William O'Brien State Park at 9:20 for a hike start of 9:30. You must have or purchase a parking sticker to enter the park. Day stickers are $7. We will arrange for carpools for those coming from the city. Last year several of our club members who live in the northern and eastern suburbs met us there.
Please sign up for this hike (required). Registrations will be accepted up to 24 hours before the hike.
Your completed form will be used to be sure everyone who signs up has arrived before the start of the hike. Newcomers are welcome!
—Bev Moe and Michael Luxenberg, UMRA Hiking Club co-leaders
Upcoming Events
Connect, explore new ideas for what it means to live and age well, and celebrate a community of continuous learning at the fifth annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Monday, June 8.
Abandoned and discarded is the theme for the UMRA Photo Club meeting in June. Newcomers are welcome.
Michael leads this hike at Afton State Park.
Pick a favorite book and bring a brief synopsis of the book to the breakfast and share with the group.
UMRA’s Book Club I will discuss In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley when it meets via Zoom on Friday, June 19. Kathryn Sedo will lead the discussion.
We will gather in the Waterfall Room for an in-person, summer social and luncheon for UMRA members and guests on June 24th. Our event will include social time; a plated, seated lunch; and the always popular Summer Social Trivia Game with quizmasters Dave Dorman and Mark Jenson.
This event will include social time; a plated, seated lunch; and the Summer Social Trivia Game.
There are three entree options - all include dessert (or GF desert) and a choice of sodas, lemonade, and coffee or water.
Cash bar available inside the Dock & Paddle.
Kayaking at Lake Bde Maka Ska.
Two major conferences, one organized by the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) and the other by the Big Ten Retirees Association (BTRA), will take place this year. The AROHE conference will be held in Florida and the BTRA conference will be hosted by UMRA on the UMN campus.
The AROHE conference invites all interested retirees and university faculty and staff to reimagine retirement. You are invited to register if interested at https://www.arohe.org/2026-Conference.
The BTRA is being hosted by UMRA this year. Leadership of retiree organizations around the US will convene to share competencies. Attendance is restricted.
Bev leads the Nokomis walk to Minnehaha Falls.
Nanette leads a trail of two cities hike.