Most Iowans will be off work and out of school on January 1st and they’re encouraged to begin 2020 with a healthy New Year’s Day hike through a state park. Todd Coffelt (CAW-felt), chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ State Parks Bureau, says this will be the ninth year for the so-called First Day Hikes in Iowa and there are dozens of options from which to choose.

Each event is offering its own take on the trek through the woods, though most are just a mile long with options for longer hikes, depending on conditions.

Last year, Coffelt says more than 14-hundred people took part in New Year’s Day hikes across Iowa, hiking more than 11-hundred total miles at dozens of state parks.