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Three hikers in on a prairie trail in Mequon Nature Preserve

Coping with COVID-19: People enjoying our parks!

April 1, 2020  |  Topics: Spotlight, Stories

By Eddee Daniel

It’s been a miserable week. Even without the pandemic making life truly unsettling, the weather alone has been wretched. An unbroken string of dreary, cold, sunless days. The kind of early spring in Wisconsin—after all the snow has melted and before things begin to bloom—when all you want to do is fly south or stay indoors. But since we can no longer consider travel and the insides of our houses have become all too familiar, the outdoors, despite the gloom, has suddenly become unseasonably appealing.

The outpouring of people in area parks that I reported last week has continued. The only significant difference is an even more obvious concern for social distancing and an increased use of face masks while running, walking and cycling. And while cold has never deterred native Wisconsinites from venturing out, it is unusual to see so many braving blustery, drizzly and worse conditions.

And so, I present this week’s edition of people in parks coping with the crisis. I’ve tried to get around to a variety of places to show how ubiquitous the phenomenon is and, as always, to highlight the wealth of nature we have in our community. As noted previously, some parks are far more popular—and crowded—than others. To find a park near you or one that isn’t teeming with other visitors check out our Find-a-Park map.

Photo Essay:

A mother with her young son on the paved riverside path at Fox River Park in Waukesha
A mother with her young son on the paved riverside path at Fox River Park in Waukesha.
A family trio on the Menomonee River Parkway in Wauwatosa
A family trio on the Menomonee River Parkway in Wauwatosa.
Family of four walking some of the wide open spaces at Minooka County Park in Waukesha.
The appeal of wild places lights up the face of a boy at Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve in Grafton
The appeal of wild places lights up the face of a boy at Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve in Grafton.
Social distancing is the rule on the Oak Leaf Trail in ever-popular Hoyt Park, Wauwatosa, even in foggy, drizzly conditions!
Social distancing is the rule on the Oak Leaf Trail in ever-popular Hoyt Park, Wauwatosa,
even in cold, foggy and drizzly conditions!
A girl with a cell phone at Retzer Nature Center, Waukesha.
Social distance meets social media at Retzer Nature Center, Waukesha.
A family of tree-huggers at Mequon Nature Preserve in Mequon.
A family of tree-huggers at Mequon Nature Preserve in Mequon.
A lone jogger sprints along the Fox River Parkway in Waukesha.
A lone jogger sprints along the Fox River Parkway in Waukesha.
Driving rain did not keep surfers - or gawkers - away from the lake at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.
Driving rain did not keep surfers – or gawkers – away from the lake at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.
A lone hiker at Highland Woods Nature Preserve, Mequon.
Yes, you can get away from it all! Highland Woods Nature Preserve, Mequon.

This is the third installment in our Coping with COVID-19 series. Here are the previous ones:

“Schools are closed, events cancelled, but parks are open!”

“Coping with COVID-19: People seek out nature!”

Again, our Find-a-Park map is here to help you— yes! —find a park. Remember to observe safe personal hygiene and social distancing guidelines when you head out for fresh air, exercise and a healthy dose of nature.

To see the complete set of chronological images taken during the COVID-19 shutdown, go to Eddee’s Flickr album.

Eddee Daniel is a board member of Preserve Our Parks and A Wealth of Nature Project Director. All images in today’s photo essay were shot in the past week. The featured photo at the top is from Mequon Nature Preserve.