Someone participating in Iowa’s “2021 First Day Hike Challenge” this weekend will win a free two-night stay in a two-bedroom cabin at Lake Darling State Park near Brighton.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Travel Iowa sponsors the annual hike challenge, but because of COVID-19 concerns, hikes will not be guided tours as in previous years. Instead, participants are invited to sign up through the digital State Park Passport and every time a park visitor checks into any of the more than 50 participating state parks through tomorrow means an entry into the grand prize drawing.

Lake Darling Park Ranger Zach Haworth says they were lucky to be selected to provide the prize because their cabins have been popular throughout the summer and now into the winter.  He says they’ve become a destination for folks who live relatively close to Lake Darling as well as people who come from all over the state. 

Haworth says they’ve participated in the event for several years along with the “Friends of Lake Darling,” non-profit group that supports the park, and hopes they can return to staff-guided tours in 2022, “We’re like everybody else, we’re looking for things to get back to what we used to call normal before COVID considerations, but we’re hoping next year to be able to do it in-person, incorporate the “Friends of Lake Darling” (non-profit) group and show off the park.” 

Link to the digital State Park Passport.