Girls Who Hike gather across Wisconsin,
bringing women together outdoors.
Today's hike is at beautiful Mirror Lake State Park,
where I caught up with the park superintendent,
to learn about the highlights of this nature oasis.
- Probably the most important feature here in the park
is our namesake, which is Mirror Lake,
and it's a 137-acre lake, called Mirror Lake
because of the sandstone cliffs that close in much of the lake.
It blocks the wind and it makes for a very calm surface,
which is mirror-like in the reflection,
which is where the name came from.
We have canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and pontoon boats
that can be rented, but many people bring their own.
But we do have almost 19-miles of hiking trail
that people really do enjoy.
We have a fishing pier, a boardwalk,
just shy of 150 campsites here.
- So, a lot of different features are available?
- Yeah, definitely,
I really just like the variety of opportunities
that there is for outdoor recreation here.
- Angela: Including the opportunity
to experience nature alone or with a group.
So, it was time for me to meet up with the local chapter
of Girls Who Hike.
- We operate nationally, and I am personally
just the ambassador of the Wisconsin chapter.
We try to do hikes all over the state.
- And what might we expect on our hike today?
Because when I heard three miles,
I was a little bit intimidated.
So, what might happen during today's hike?
- It's three miles--not actually as far as you would think.
We're expected to have some great views.
There's some cool viewpoints off of the trail I picked.
I think we are gonna stop by Echo Rock,
and we're gonna walk along the lake,
so there's gonna be some pretty lake views today,
which will be very nice.
- Looking forward to that. - Yeah.
[energetic music]
- So, tell us about kind of the empowerment aspect
that comes as a byproduct
of being a part of a group like this.
- We're all about getting women out on the trails
and into nature and experiencing the outdoors.
If you're a beginner, it's your first hike,
or you're experienced, you've been hiking for 30 years,
we take everybody.
It's just a really great community of women
that we have built up.
- So, literally, a community is built around hiking,
so that you don't have to go at it alone,
you have this whole other group you can tap into
to enjoy hiking with. - Exactly, Yeah.
[upbeat music]