Road Trip: Hike Pere Marquette State Park In The Dark

Hiking the trails of Pere Marquette State Park after sunset tonight should be quite a hoot thanks to the night owl habits of some of the park’s most vocal denizens.

The barred owls with their distinctive "Who Cooks For You" call, will be the stars of an owl program and two-mile guided hike that starts at 8 p.m. in the park’s visitor center, 13112 Visitor Center Lane, Grafton, IL.

"I will use my mouth as well as a tape recorder, and we’ll try to call the barred owl," said Scott Isringhausen, site interpreter for Pere Marquette State Park.

The one-hour program will be preceded by a 5-7 p.m. showing of the nature film "Hoot" featuring, naturally, owls.

The program will give visitors a chance to see taxidermied examples of the eight owl species commonly found in Illinois – the barred owl, the screech, great horned, barn (which is endangered), long-eared, short-eared, saw-whet and snowy.

The evening is free to attend. Participants should be able to hike a fairly steep hill at the beginning of the trail. Warm clothes and good hiking shoes are suggested for the rocky trail as well as a flashlight. The hike climbs to McAdams Peak and goes back to the Goat Cliff trail.

"We’ll stop periodically, we’ll have everyone shut their lights off, we’ll get real quiet, and that’s when we’ll try to call," he said.

Tonight is the second of three Friday night owl hikes. About 75 people came to the first event and on that night, they got to see the owls fly overhead.

The owls aren’t the only sights to see.

"When you get to the top up there, it will be a spectacular view," Isringhausen said. "You get to see the lights of St. Charles and the river valley below. At nighttime, it’s just really, really neat up there."

At the end of the hike, people can roast marshmallows and hot dogs in front of an old log cabin near the visitor center. The evening will conclude around 11:30 p.m., after the feast.

"Everybody likes that real well," Isringhausen said. "That’s a really nice gathering point where everybody can talk about it and get something to eat and something to drink."

Education is a big part of the program, Isringhausen said. For instance, owls are nocturnal, which fits nicely into the program’s time frame. They also have incredible eyesight and hearing, both of which enhance their ability to hunt in the dark.

"Their eyes are 35 times more sensitive to light than yours or mine," he said. "Basically what that tells you is they can see in the daytime as well as the nighttime, really, really good."

Thanks to unusual wing feathering, owls are also very quiet in flight, which helps them sneak up on prey.

This same hike will also be offered at 7 p.m. Friday, October 21.

Other activities coming up at Pere Marquette State Park include a six-mile hike starting at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 15 and 29; a program about explorers Lewis and Clark 9 a.m. to noon October 22, featuring reenactors in period clothing and craft demonstrations; a two-mile fall colors hike starting at 1:30 p.m. October 22, and a scenic fall colors drive leaving from the park at 10 a.m. October 28.

For more information, see the events section of the park’s Web site.

Getting there: Take Interstate 70 east toward St. Louis to I-270 north toward Chicago. Take exit 31B to merge onto MO-367 north to Alton. MO-367 becomes 67, continue north, cross the bridge and turn left on West Broadway, the first road off the suspension bridge. Take that road past the colorful Alton Belle Casino and turn left onto Illinois 100, also called the River Road. Drive about 21 miles north – the park will be on the right.