CLEARWATER TRIBUNE HOME

JULY 29, 2010

Dworshak offers ranger-led programs, activities

   Dworshak Dam and Reservoir staff invite the public to attend a variety of ranger-led programs offered during late-July and August, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials at the dam announced today.

   On Saturday, July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 7, Park Ranger Rich Mucci will lead a sunset hike at 7 p.m. Hikers should meet at the Dent Acres trailhead near campsite 50 to enjoy a 3.5-mile scenic hike to the Dent Group Camp, then back to Dent Acres. Trail difficulty is easy to moderate, with a few short, steep hills. The trail meanders through Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, and Western Red Cedar forests. Participants are advised to bring insect repellant, sunscreen, plenty of water, a trail snack, hat, and camera in order to photograph sunsets on the lake.

   On Tuesday, Aug. 10, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Orofino City Park Farmer’s Market, Ranger Connie Grant-Howell will present “What’s in This Rock?,” a child-oriented program geared for pre-school through eighth-grade ages.  Children will learn about the minerals that make up granite, and the Idaho batholiths, a large body of magma under the Earth’s crust which pushes toward the surface creating the mountains of Idaho. The Idaho batholiths cover approximately 15,400 square miles in Central and Northern Idaho. Hands-on activities include making a granite rock etching and coloring a batholith.

   On Saturday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Dent Acres Campground group shelter, Grant-Howell will present “Mastermind Dam Builders,” a natural-history program about the dam-building expertise of beavers. 

   For more information about programs, facilities access, recreation opportunities or historic films available at the Dworshak Dam Visitor Center, call (208) 476-1255; or stop by the center, which is open daily through Labor Day weekend from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.