Local Conservation Groups to Benefit from Bass Pro Shops Opening

Hanover County, Virginia—An all-star cast that reads like a who’s who in the world of sports, entertainment and the great outdoors joins together to help Bass Pro Shops celebrate a spectacular Evening for Conservation, Wednesday, October 1st at the new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.  On hand will be NASCAR® drivers Martin Truex, Jr., Tony Stewart and Virginia’s own Denny Hamlin.  Professional anglers scheduled to appear include legendary angler and TV host Jimmy Houston, Rick Clunn, voted Greatest Angler of all Time, Bassmaster Classic Champion Woo Daves, Fly Fishing legend Lefty Kreh and Bass Pro Shops Pro Staffer Chris Daves.

Other celebrity guests include host of “Grand Slam Adventure” TV show and 15-year Major League Baseball veteran Ryan Klesko, and Miss Hanover Caressa Cameron.
Bass Pro Shops was recently named the #1 Outdoor Retailer in America by Sporting Goods Business Magazine.  The newest Bass Pro Shops store, equivalent in size to 3½ football fields and is the signature tenant for the new 186-acre Winding Brook development project located at the intersection of I-95 and Lewistown Road in Hanover County.

The store will officially open its doors for a preview celebration during the fundraising event and ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, October 1st from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  The event is free and open to the public.

For every $1 spent during the Evening for Conservation fifty cents will be donated to the “More Fish” campaign of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to save fish and their habitats for our kids and grandkids.  Local conservation groups will sell food and drinks courtesy of Johnsonville® and Coca-Cola® with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting those organizations.

Local conservation groups on hand Wednesday evening include the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Quail Unlimited, Izaak Walton League, US Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, Quality Deer Management, Safari Club and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  They will have booths and displays set up to help educate and communicate to customers their ongoing efforts and local projects.

Though far from exhaustive, these suggestions are solid bets to catch a rainbow of turning leaves as they sweep from New England and the upper Midwest, and down through the South. To locate a great rail-trail near you, log on to RTC’s rail-trail search engine, http://www.TrailLink.com, to explore more than 15,000 miles of pathways, with trails in all 50 states:

1. Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail, Vermont

One surefire recommendation for early-season peepers—often ready by early September, in fact—is the 26-mile Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail in northern Vermont, nearly touching the Canadian border. This gentle, crushed-limestone pathway begins in St. Albans and winds through rolling hills and dairy farmland, generally following the Missisquoi River. Daytime temperatures should still be comfortable (nights quite a bit chillier), and the autumn landscape radiates color and wildlife. Careful moose-seekers, as well, can hope for an extra batch of good fortune.

2. Paul Bunyan Trail, Minnesota

Farther west, northern Minnesota usually reaches its autumn heyday between late September and early October. One great stretch for the adventurous is the burly, 110-mile Paul Bunyan Trail, which simply screams of tall trees and thick leaves. The pathway offers an at-times rugged route—partly paved, partly ballast—suited for hikers and mountain bikers, and the foliage views are as epic as the trail’s lumberjack namesake. You’ll pass the shorelines of 21 lakes, through deep forests and welcoming communities like Hackensack and Bemidji.

3. North Central State Trail, Michigan

From late September through mid-October, the newly minted, 62-mile North Central State Trail in northern Michigan offers an arresting backdrop for fall—and on more than one canvas. More than 10 miles of the pathway, heading north from Indian River (a good base for trip accommodations) toward Cheboygan and Mackinaw City, streak along Mullet Lake, where birch and maples pop firecracker yellow and glow red and orange like coals in a campfire through mid- to late October.

4. Hudson Valley Rail Trail, New York

New York’s paved Hudson Valley Rail Trail is about 100 miles due north of New York City, and is well worth a stroll for anyone eager to feel awash in golden leaves. At just over two miles long, the Hudson offers an easygoing trip from Highland to Lloyd, where the woods begin to glow by mid- to late October. Wide, richly forested and offering access to the Black River, the popular pathway bathes visitors in dramatic waves of foliage.

5. Virginia Creeper Trail, Virginia