Naturalists take a group out on the trails under the full moon on Saturday night
Ninety minutes of walking in the dark at Ijams Park, with blacklights and headlamps handed out at the start. Registration was still open Tuesday — which is more than the paddles can say.
- When
- Sat Aug 29 · 8:30 PM
- Where
- Meets at the Nature Center, Ijams Park · 2915 Island Home Ave
- Ages
- 10 and up
- Provided
- Blacklights and headlamps
- Expect
- Up to two miles over uneven ground · registration required
- Waiver
- One assumption-of-risk form per calendar year
The moon that goes dark on Thursday is full and back to itself by Saturday, and Ijams Park has a guided walk booked underneath it. It's about an hour and a half on the trails after sunset with a naturalist doing the talking — the night sky, the animals that only come out for it, and the plants and rock formations that read completely differently in the dark.
What they hand you at the trailhead
Blacklights and headlamps, which is more interesting than it sounds — a blacklight on the right patch of forest floor turns up scorpions and lichens and a whole layer of things that are simply invisible at noon. The program is built for ages ten and up, and you should expect up to two miles over uneven ground, so wear real shoes. Everyone fills out an assumption-of-risk form once a calendar year; if you've done one for another Ijams Park program in 2026, you're covered.
Book it, because the water version is gone
The park also runs guided Full Moon Paddles out of Ijams River Landing on Island Home Pike, 8:30 to 10:30 both Friday and Saturday, kayaks and life jackets included at $45 a seat — and both nights are sold out. The hike was still taking registrations as of Tuesday. If the paddle was the one you wanted, the next is on the calendar for September 26, and this weekend is your argument for booking it early.
