The DNR’s Outdoor Skills Academy and Becoming an Outdoors Woman programs offer opportunities to explore – and learn how to get started with – a variety of outdoor recreation activities. October classes include:

• Becoming an Outdoors Woman: Exploring Outdoor Skills in Escanaba Saturday, Oct. 11. This hands-on event is designed to help women build confidence and skills in activities including spin rod fishing, archery, Dutch oven and outdoor cooking techniques, and more.
• Becoming an Outdoors Woman Fungi Foraging in Muskegon Saturday, Oct. 18. Learn to identify wild mushrooms as well as how to safely harvest and prepare them in this clinic.
• Outdoor Skills Academy Trapping Clinic in Cadillac Saturday, Oct. 18. This two-day class provides an introductory guide to safe, ethical and effective trapping in Michigan, walking participants through the ins and outs of starting a trapline.
• Becoming an Outdoors Woman Beginners Backpacking Clinic in Cadillac Saturday, Oct. 25. Learn about hiking basics and safety before gearing up for a hike on the Manistee River Trail.

• Outdoor Skills Academy Introduction to Bowfishing in Cadillac Saturday, Oct. 25. This one-day seminar will teach participants the fundamental skills needed to safely and ethically engage in the exhilarating and environmentally conscious sport of bowfishing.

For more information about other classes offering expert instruction, gear and hands-on learning for a range of outdoor activities, visit Michigan.gov/OutdoorSkills for Outdoor Skills Academy and Michigan.gov/BOW for Becoming an Outdoors Woman.

The Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit has tons of fall fun queued up for October. Highlights include:

• FestiFall, Saturday, Oct. 4. A day of Halloween and harvest programming, from drop-in crafts, activities and games to zombie archery.
• Deer Processing Workshop, Saturday, Oct. 11. Learn the steps it takes to process a deer, including a cooking demonstration, where participants will enjoy venison backstraps and take-home recipes.
• Train Expo: Detroit on Track, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18. Discover the rich history of railroads on the Detroit riverfront in this celebration of local railways. Explore a model train exhibit, activities and displays, enjoy a "train" ride on the front lawn (Saturday only) and experience Bosco's Trainload of Fun Show, a ventriloquist show packed with locomotive music, magic tricks and tons of audience participation (Saturday only; registration required).

For a full calendar of events – including archery, yoga, birding, education programs for seniors and kids, and more – see the OAC activity schedule.

Delve into our state’s stories with these special programs at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing this month:

• Michigan Archaeology Day, Saturday, Oct. 18. Have you ever wondered what it's like to be an archaeologist? Here’s your chance to talk with archaeologists about investigations and artifacts that tell the story of 14,000 years of Michigan history! Plus, you can pick up a free archaeology poster and enjoy activities like making a clay pinch pot, watching a flintknapper make stone tools, throwing a spear using an atlatl, a scavenger hunt, showing an artifact to Archaeology Roadshow experts, a special presentation about the Edmund Fitzgerald and more.
• The Impact of Urban Renewal, Thursday, Oct. 23. Twentieth century urban renewal practices had a profound impact on neighborhoods across Michigan. Two of them, Lansing’s Westside and Detroit’s Black Bottom, saw the destruction of homes, businesses and community institutions for the building of new highways. Learn the stories of those neighborhoods during “From Lansing to Black Bottom: The Impact of Urban Renewal,” a program including screenings of oral history interviews and a panel discussion with former residents from both neighborhoods.

Keep an eye on the Michigan History Center events calendar for upcoming opportunities to discover more Michigan stories.

Several state parks in southern Michigan will host stewardship workdays, where volunteers are needed to help remove invasive plants that threaten high-quality ecosystems or to collect native wildflower seeds for replanting. Workdays will take place at:

• Warren Dunes State Park (Berrien County), Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. to noon.
• Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), Saturdays, Oct. 4, Oct. 11 and Oct. 25, and Sunday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Pinckney Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), Sunday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Fort Custer Recreation Area (Kalamazoo County), Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Saugatuck Dunes State Park (Allegan County), Sunday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to noon.
• Bald Mountain Recreation Area (Oakland County), Saturday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Barry County), Sunday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. to noon.

Learn more about individual workdays and registration info on the DNR volunteer events calendar. Additional October workdays in southeast Michigan will be posted soon – please check back for details.

If you’re an avid trail rider and looking to help maintain state-designated motorized trails, several off-road vehicle and snowmobile organizations across the state could use your help! Whether you have time to volunteer on a weekend or for a season, assistance is always appreciated.

Interested in finding an ORV or snowmobile group to support through volunteering? Contact Jessica Roehrs, who oversees the state motorized trails program for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, at [email protected].

Prescribed burns, timber harvests, tree planting and other activities are carefully planned to keep Michigan’s nearly 4 million acres of state forest thriving. Plans for these activities are currently being made for 2027, but public input is welcome now.

Find out what activities are planned and how to offer your feedback at Michigan.gov/ForestInput. You can submit online comments during designated 30-day periods or attend an open house or compartment review meeting, where plans are finalized. See all scheduled comment periods, open houses and compartment review meetings for the 2025 season.

Due to the effects of the March 2025 ice storm in the northeastern Lower Peninsula, the public review periods for the Atlanta, Gaylord, Grayling and Pigeon River Country forest management units have been postponed. The schedule will be updated when the comment periods and open houses are rescheduled.