Oct. 3, 2008

Mackinaw City, Mich. - Boy Scouts of Cheboygan Troop 1240, as part of the Scenic Trails Council Northern Trails District 2008 fall camporee, is participating in a service project to clean and resurface trails at Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park on Saturday, Oct. 4. In total, the more than 150 scouts from across the northwestern district of Michigan's lower peninsula will be donating 400 hours of community service to Mackinac State Historic Parks (MSHP).

Scouts will move brush from the Aspen-Wildlife Trail on the east side of the parks' trail system to a staging location for later chipping. In addition, the scouts will resurface areas of the east and west trails, which will include bucketing and carrying the trail mix to the needed areas, applying the trail mix and leveling.

"The scouts will help Mackinac State Historic Parks improve our public trail system at Mill Creek," said Mike Sutton, MSHP mainland park manager. "We're very appreciative of their efforts."

Throughout the day, the scouts will alternate between trail cleaning and resurfacing and enjoying the many features offered throughout the park, including sawmill and sawpit demonstrations, historically reconstructed buildings with interpretive exhibits and the new features of the park such as the Treetop Discovery Tower, Water Power Station - sponsored by Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-op, our local Touchstone Energy Cooperative - and the Adventure Tour. This park naturalist-guided nature tour takes participants through the treetops on the 165-foot long Forest Canopy Bridge, sponsored by Mackinac Associates, soaring over Mill Creek while zipping down the 425-foot Eagle's Flight Zip Line and scaling the 40-foot walls of Michigan's only vertical nature trail, the Nature Trail Climbing Wall.

"We are looking forward to the scouts not only helping us improve our trail system with their community service, but helping Mackinac State Historic Parks perfect the handling of large groups through Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park and especially through the Adventure Tour," said Scott Witsman, MSHP group travel and special events coordinator.

The revitalized Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park has seen great success during the past season with an attendance increase of nearly 30 percent. In addition, over 18,000 guests have already experienced the Adventure Tour.

"The addition of the Adventure Tour has truly revitalized Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park as a premier attraction within the Straits of Mackinac region travel destination," said Greg Hokans, MSHP chief of development and marketing.

The service project is part of a larger fall camporee which takes place Oct. 3-5. The Northern Trails District Fall Camporee will allow the Boy Scouts to discover history and nature and have fun. The 2008 camporee is hosted by Cheboygan Troop 1240 and includes scouts from the northwest lower Michigan counties of Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Osceola, Otsego and Wexford. The scouts will be camping in the Mackinaw City area during their camporee.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a pure Michigan family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites - which are accredited by the American Association of Museums - include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City. Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations. Visitor information is available at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).