Hi-Line Living: Photo walk

The newly formed Havre Trails group has had some quick successes and shows no sign of stopping.

Last weekend, on Saturday, Havre Trails hosted a photo walk as their latest hike. Those attending had the opportunity to walk a trail around Bear Paw Lake and take photos of the landscape, sunset and each other while putting in some time at Beaver Creek Park and getting exercise.

Amber Wells, who led the photographers, some equipped with cameras and some with smartphones, said the event was a success.

"I think it went very well," Wells said. "I would like to see more people come out with their cameras and give the manual settings a try, but overall, it was a gorgeous day and a really wonderful opportunity."

She said that she would lead another group "in a heartbeat."

"I would like to talk to Havre Trails about doing a photo walk once a month," Wells said. "It's amazing how the Montana seasons change, and I think it would be not only a great camera lesson, but a great opportunity to look back and see how our landscape changes month to month."

Lindsey Bennett, the president of Havre Trails, said that so far, she is pleased with how the group has come along in its short existence.

The mission statement of the organization is "to promote healthy lifestyles, safety, access to outdoor recreation and a pride of place by improving the walking and biking trails in the community and county.

"We'd like to promote, improve and expand the trails in and around Havre," Bennett said. "Our first phase of that vision is promote what's already there and make it more visible and more accessible and connect the trials we already have. After that, we work on expanding new trails."

The group has already been on a couple hikes since it was formed. They took a sizeable group of people to Beaver Creek Park to hike Mount Otis, took a north-side Havre trail walk, and now that it is warming up, they are planning more.

April 25, they are hosting a 5K walk/run on Baltrusch Trail, starting at the RC Model Flying Club. Bennett said that there will be T-shirts, refreshments and prizes, and she hopes that people will come out for it.

"I really hope that we can foster an enthusiasm about outdoor recreation and create more opportunities for people to get out there," Bennett said. "We're also already bringing together a lot of different groups within the community to pursue these projects."

The first major project of the group is the remodeling of the US Bank Park on 11th Street West. They have applied for a grant to start the project and have received pledges from various organizations and businesses throughout the community to help out.

"I think there are a lot of people interested in what we're interested in and are willing to make Havre a more visibly active and healthier place," Bennett said.

She said that anyone interested in participating with the group can like their Facebook page, email them at [email protected] or attend one of their monthly meetings, which are the second Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at the Elks Club.