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
UMRA Book Club I will discuss The Silent Patient, a psychological thriller and debut novel by Alex Michaelides, when it meets via Zoom on Friday, July 17.
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.
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Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers leads the hike at William O'Brien State Park.
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