COLTON – The Friends of Higley Flow State Park is sponsoring a Fall Festival at the Park on Sept. 14 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

The event is designed to offer something for everyone and is, apart from annual memberships, the main fund-raising event for the year. 

The Friends is a volunteer organization sponsoring activities at the Park. 

Best known for the 10+ miles of cross country ski trails they groom in the winter months for skiers and snowshoers with lesson programs for students, youth and adults, in recent years the group has expanded to other seasons offering interpretive trail walks, a tree identification trail, an iNaturalist project and most recently obtaining a grant for an ADA Accessible Kayak launch. 

Celebration of the ongoing installation of the launch is a highlight of the Festival. 

The Friends of Higley Flow State Park ADA Accessible Kayak Launch project was supported with funding from the New York State Park and Trail Partnership Grants and New York’s Environmental Protection Fund. 

The Park and Trail Partnership Grants are administered by Parks & Trails New York, in partnership with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Matching funds for this grant were provided by Brookfield Renewable US.

In previous years the annual fund-raising event has been a bike tour on area roads. 

This year the event has been reinvented and expanded to include events that will appeal to a broader audience. 

St. Lawrence County Traffic Safety will be on hand starting at 9 a.m. with a booth near the lodge to provide helmets for children in need of one, as well as safe riding information for all ages. 

Five and 10k trail runs are scheduled for 10 a.m., there will be a 1k kids fun run at 10:30 a.m., a 50K road bike tour will leave at 10:15 a.m. with an option to extend the ride to 100K by repeating the route in the opposite direction. 

A mountain bike tour will leave the Park at 10:30 a.m., utilizing, in part, the St. Lawrence County Recreation Trail. 

There will be a kid’s bike rodeo at the beach at 11 a.m. Brooke Rouse will be on hand at the rodeo with strider bikes for children to try. 

Town historian, Mary Jane Watson, will offer a presentation at 12 in the lodge, about the history of the Park and the area waterway. 

There will be a celebration of the new kayak launch to be opening soon, at 1 p.m., followed by a guided canoe/kayak paddle at 1:15 p.m. 

There will be guided walks and vehicle tours throughout the day. 

The full schedule is available online at www.higleyfriends.org.

Big Spoon’s food truck will be on hand to provide refreshments for purchase.

Parishville Center Apple Orchard has donated apples for participants to enjoy.

Requested donation to participate in activities is: $20 per adult (18+ ), $10 teens, kids 12 & under free, or $40 for the whole family.

No donation requested for those coming just for helmets.