Bays Mountain Park hosts annual Kids at Bays Day

Bays Mountain Park is hosting its annual Kids at Bays Day later this month as an opportunity for children of all ages to enjoy the outdoors while participating in a variety of engaging activities at the park.

Kids at Bays Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 18. All of the animal habitats, hiking and biking trails and the Nature Center will be open for discovery and exploration. In addition, food trucks will be on site and located behind the Day Camp cabin.

All of the following events are free with a $7 paid entrance fee:

• Mountain Bike Workshop: 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the bike parking lot. You must bring your own bike and helmet.
• Yoga for Kids: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the observatory lawn.
• Astronomy Day: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lily Pad Pavilion.
• Growth Ring Challenge: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nature Center balcony.
• Make a Mountain Toy: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Farmstead Museum.
• Rock Painting: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Farmstead Museum.

The park will also have free programs on snakes, raptors, wolves, growing plants and other types of animals that live in the woods. The observatory will offer a night viewing of the sky from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

“Kids at Bays Day is a great opportunity to get your children out of the house, away from their devices and to reconnect with nature,” said Megan Krager, Bays Mountain Park manager. “We’ll have a variety of programs happening all across the park that day, so no matter your interests we should have something right up your alley.”

In addition to the free programs, the park will also have its usual paid programs on May 18. Barge rides and planetarium shows are $6 per person and fishing off the dam is $10 per child (with required registration).

Kids at Bays Day is being organized by the Bays Mountain Park Association and is sponsored by Eastman Credit Union.