According to the National Park Service, the United States Senate designated June as National Outdoor Month or Great Outdoors Month in June 2019. This celebration of our national habitat began as a week under the Clinton administration and has grown under every administration since then.
In celebration of the Land of 10,000 Lakes (another name for Minnesota, where most of MHQ’s team is based) and of the many beautiful spaces throughout the country, our staff decided to share a few of our favorites:
Aida Martinez-Freeman, Managing Director
I love hiking! It is one of the ways in which I relax and meditate. I tend to gravitate toward water as it has a way to calm my spirit and energize me.
These pictures are from two of my favorite places to hike: Olympia National Park in WA and Kalaloch Beach and Campground, WA. From Kalaloch you can see Vancouver Island. It is simply one of the most beautiful and breath-taking campgrounds I have stayed at. I highly recommend it!
Isaiah Allen, Executive Director
My favorite outdoor destination is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) in northeastern Minnesota. I’ve been paddling, camping, fishing, and exploring the BWCA since I was eight years old. The photo is of my oldest son and I in June 2020 when we made a paddle and portage 14-mile day trip to visit the Isle of Pines, the former home of Dorothy Molter, aka “the Root Beer Lady. We’re poised with “Bacon Rock,” a large rock with unusual geological formations brought from an unknown location in Quebec as a gift for Dorothy.
Jim Murphy, Executive Director
The river and canal path in downtown Fredericksburg, VA along the Rappahannock River is a 3-mile loop. It’s a great place for a walk, jog or biking. Beautiful views and lots to see.
Always a different view depending on rainfall and weather.
Mackenzie Kelley, Events Manager
Lake Nokomis is one of my favorite places in Minneapolis. There is a huge park and beach area that our group of friends loves to meet up and hang out at. We even did snow golf there this winter! My husband and I enjoy biking around the lake or bringing our tubes and floating in the water on a hot summer day. There is always so much activity going on around Lake Nokomis; it’s a fun & relaxing spot!
Dara Rudick, CEO
Paddle boarding on Lake Bde Maka Ska at 6:30 am on weekdays is THE BEST. Usually, I’m the only one on the whole Chain of Lakes (if folks know MN), it’s peaceful, lots of wildlife right in the heart of the city, and just 2 miles from home. With the spouse and dog (pictured above), I love hiking the miles of wilderness trails we have, again, right in the heart of the city!
Rebecca Merrill, Events and Outreach Coordinator
One of my favorite Minneapolis summer activities is grabbing my favorite Oreo ice cream from Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream and going to a free concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell. They have a wide variety of concerts each evening, lots of seating, and a beautiful view of Lake Harriet. And summer always needs good, locally-made ice cream (or vegan ice cream – Sebastian Joe’s has both!).
I’m not much of a camper, but I do like hiking and highly recommend the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula outside of Seattle, WA.
About MHQ
Management HQ (MHQ) is an accredited, full-service association management company. Our diverse team does our work through a lens of equity. We support boards so boards can focus on mission. MHQ manages the full business of client membership-based organizations, including providing each client an executive director and a full management and operations team. MHQ serves associations and their members in these sectors: Government, Information Sciences / Education, Human Services, and Identity-based Associations. For more about MHQ, visit https://www.management-hq.com/.
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