Play the day away

Pick your passion and pursue it along the Lake Country Scenic Byway summer, fall, winter or spring. Or try an activity outside your comfort zone.

Spring blossoms include the Showy Lady’s Slipper. Look for them in tree-shaded ditches. The state flower is often seen on the south side of Hwy 34 from Height of Land Lake to east of Snellman.

Summer’s traditional pursuits are all here, from golf courses to spectacular areas to have a picnic and from pristine lakes and sandy beaches to trails for biking and hiking.

Fall brings hunting seasons for waterfowl and big game and leaf looking by car, along a bicycle trail or on foot.

In winter, some of the same trails and miles and miles more attract snowmobilers and there are great places for ice skating, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. You get the drift.

Springtime birding is spectacular as species in bright mating plumage migrate to their northern homes! As the terrain changes from prairie to wooded forests plus thousands of acres of wetlands, lakes and rivers, look for more than 275 species of birds in our unique ecosystems. For a birding adventure, stop at any of the 71 sites along the 500-mile Pine to Prairie International Birding Trail south of Detroit Lakes to north of Winnipeg, Manitoba to view hundreds of sought-after species. Join the Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds each mid-May for the spectacular spring migration.

If you’re feeling adventurous, try tubing down a river, paddleboarding or parasailing on a lake, SCUBA diving beneath the lake, or explore the forest by ATV or on a geocaching hunt.