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Quickly becoming a favorite Milwaukee winter experience, the Urban Candlelight Hike returns to Three Bridges Park on Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 5:30 to 8:00pm. A candlelit path on the Hank Aaron State Trail invites friends and families outside for a fun winter adventure in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley. Year after year, hardy hikers donned with stocking caps, mittens, and their cheery midwestern spirit are rewarded with an evening of campfires, marshmallow roasting, food trucks, hot drinks, and special activities along the trail.
The Urban Ecology Center will serve hot cocoa and pastries and Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail will host campfires and marshmallow roasting in the FOHAST Fireside Plaza. Newline Community Cafe will welcome hikers to warm up with a hot drink and Orenda Cafe will have non-alcoholic and spiked hot cocoa to go, as well as chimichangas. From 4:00 – 10:00pm, hikers can extend the fun at Third Space Brewing with locally brewed beer, root beer, games, and a family-friendly winter craft. With or without snow, the year-round beauty of nature is sure to impress!
There is no cost to hike the candlelit trails, but attendees are encouraged to support the event and make the most of their evening with a Fun Pass, $10 for individuals and $20 for families, which gives them access to hot chocolate, pastries, marshmallow roasting, entry for door prizes, Buy One Get One (BOGO) beer and root beer at Third Space Brewing, and 20% off at Orenda Cafe the week following the event.
The Urban Candlelight Hike is a warm invitation to explore nature in an urban landscape at the award-winning Three Bridges Park, once a vacant railyard that the community rallied behind to transform into a park home to hundreds of species of native plants and animals.
The Urban Candlelight Hike in Three Bridges Park is co-hosted by the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail and Urban Ecology Center.
For more information, visit UrbanCandlelightHike.com.
History of Three Bridges Park
Located in the heart of Milwaukee, along the Menomonee River between 27th and 37th Streets, Three Bridges Park was once part of a wild rice marsh, then a rail yard, and then a vacant site for decades. Following a large community effort over many years, the area was transformed and opened in 2013 as Three Bridges Park – a 24-acre park, outdoor science classroom for the Urban Ecology Center, and a part of the Hank Aaron State Trail. The park with its trails and bridges connect the surrounding neighborhoods to the Menomonee River Valley. This natural area has quickly become a popular destination with more than 20,000 visits per year.
Is the event pet friendly (leashed dogs)?