First Day Hike at Moraine goes ahead despite snow
MUDDY CREEK TWP — Several inches of snow fell on Butler County Wednesday night into Thursday morning, but it didn’t stop a group of hikers from making the trip to the North Shore of Moraine State Park to start their 2026 with a First Day hike on the park’s Pleasant Valley Trail.
“A lot of people are thinking about getting a fresh start on the health benefits of being outdoors on the first day of the year,” said park educator Natalie Simon.
The hike at Moraine was one of a series of First Day hikes held Thursday at state parks across the country, with 69 scheduled at state parks across Pennsylvania.
Two hikes were scheduled for Moraine State Park on Thursday, as the Butler Outdoor Club was holding a second one at noon at the North Shore of the park.
Registration for this year’s First Day hike sold out all 50 slots, although some who signed up couldn’t make it on Thursday due to the adverse conditions. Among those who braved the bitter cold and snowy roads was Joe Veres, who is not new to First Day hikes.
“We’ve done this before,” said Veres, who came with his wife, Lisa. “We’ve done the other one where they start on the North Shore. We’ve done that one for four, five, six years … It’s the first day of the year, so we like to start off the year right.”
Another recurring First Day hiker is Joe Hardisky, member of the Butler Outdoor Club and frequent volunteer at the park.
“Usually when we put on an event, weather doesn’t play a lot into that,” Hardisky said. “So we’ll show it. It’s just a matter of layering up enough to keep warm and we’ll do the hike anyhow.”
Normally, the Pleasant Valley Trail used for the hike is about 2 miles in length. However, due to the snow and ice conditions on the ground, Simon decided to cut the route short.
“It’s harder to go in this much snow, so we will make it shorter than we planned,” Simon said.
Prior to the hike, Simon distributed commemorative stickers to hikers to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary, which will be celebrated by the country’s state parks throughout the year.
