We all know it’s coming. We’ve felt it creep up behind us, stealing our sunlight and our warmth. It’s fall in Michigan, and soon winter will be here. We all know how that goes.
That’s why everyone on campus really needs to get down to Hayden Park — soon. Hayden Park is the hidden gem of Hillsdale, with rolling hills, deep forests, green fields, and miles of trails to explore, as well as a beach volleyball court and a fire pit. The Student Activities Board has made a push to host events at Hayden Park, including the IM games and the (cancelled) Homecoming bonfire and fireworks display. But these measures, however well-intentioned, are not enough to get students down to this great resource.
I’m from Colorado. I didn’t think that I would be very impressed by Michigan forests or hills, since, in my mountaineering mind, it would all be a far cry from the rugged and stunning topography of my home state. But exploring Hayden Park proved me wrong.
Students can easily lose hours running or biking through the narrow, winding trails, and for those who wish to simply enjoy the stunning scenery, Hayden Park would make for an excellent location to go for a walk. Imagine this: One moment, the trees and thick foliage are pressing in, and the next, the trail opens into a tall-grassed meadow framed by the turning leaves. Maybe the branches on either side of you are meeting above your head to form a tunnel, and you duck beneath dark, mossy wood, with your feet lightly crunching against dry leaves. Or maybe you find the entire park recently mowed, and the grass is short enough to walk through. Maybe your friends arrange a game of capture the flag at night, or a game of volleyball after a cook-out.
The beauty of Hayden Park is that it is acres of college-owned land where students can do almost any type of outdoor land-based activity — from Frisbee to flashlight-tag. It truly is a shame that such a magnificent venue is currently going unused by students at large. There is no excuse to avoid the park either — for those who don’t have equipment such as a bike, or, in the winter, cross-country skis, such items are available to borrow.
Soon, the entire state will be covered in a few feet of snow. Sure, snow can be fun — sledding and snowball fights have their appeal — but any Michigan native on campus will say that when the snow continues to fall through April, everyone will be longing for the sun. Take advantage of fall before the leaves descend and disappear beneath heaps of frozen snow. Take advantage of the striking colors and open fields of Hayden Park as it is, right now, in October.
There is a wealth of fun to be had at Hayden Park. The only stipulation — and the reason, I think, for the general reticence to explore it — is that the outdoors demands our full attention. It demands that we lay down our books, study-guides, and cell-phones — that we stop Yik-Yaking about cafeteria food, stop hanging out in AJ’s, stop planning our next dorm raid (all hail Simpson), and instead, get down to Hayden Park for some spontaneous exploration. Studying and socializing have their place, but college is the perfect time to realize that fun is what you make it — in other words, you don’t necessarily need parties, alcohol, or Netflix to enjoy yourself. Hayden Park is the ideal place to make your own fun.
Grab some friends, go alone, get a bike, or go on foot — it doesn’t matter. Maybe bring a camera and a sketchbook, maybe bring glow-sticks and a light-up Frisbee — again, it doesn’t matter. Just go and be a dumb college kid. So the next time I get lost running through the maze of bike trails on the far side of Mauck, I hope to meet someone else doing exactly the same thing.