This month the Waterland Walkers are celebrating two holidays with their Des Moines Waterland Walking Group on Sunday June 19, 2022 at 11 a.m. – they will have their annual Father’s Day Walk at Saltwater State Park, as well as commemorate Juneteenth, the new national holiday that remembers the end of slavery in the US.
Everyone is welcome, including your four legged friends, but especially fathers with their families.
To honor Juneteenth, walkers are making the walk distance 2.5 miles, which represents the number of years it took for slavery to end in Texas after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. That is also the distance of Opal’s Walk for Freedom in Texas. Check out her website for more information:
www.juneteenthftw.com/opalswalkforfreedom
The walk will start in front of the bathrooms in the lower parking lot of Saltwater State Park, 25205 8th Place South. A Discover Pass or daily pass is needed to park inside the State Park, and those are available at the kiosk at the gate. First they will walk the up & down 1.7 mile loop trail thru the woods, which could be muddy if our wet weather continues. Then they will head to the beach, go north along the path to the end, and then come back to explore the beach at your leisure. Low tide will be at 3:40 p.m., so the tide will be going out by the time walkers get to the beach.
These walks are sponsored by the Des Moines Legacy Foundation, www.desmoineslegacy.org
For more info, contact Gary McNeil at 206-390-3184.