Experience the full Hunter's Moon by kayak or on a hiking trail on these nighttime tours

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI – Howl at the moon on two guided night tours this week as a supermoon lights up the sky.

You have the choice of viewing this month's full Hunter's Moon by the water or in the forest at Ottawa County Parks and Recreation.

According to NASA, the full moon will rise late Wednesday, October 16, and will be visible until early Friday.

This is the third of four consecutive supermoons and the closest supermoon to date. After October 17th, the last supermoon of the year is November 15th.

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Ottawa County is conducting tours of its newest park, Ottawa Sands, whose grand reopening party is Thursday, Oct. 17, at 18280 North Shore Dr., Ferrysburg.

The 353-acre park stretches along the Grand River channel known as “The Sag.”

On Wednesday, October 16th, a paddling tour starts at 7 p.m. for a two-hour kayak trip on the Sag.

The canal has minimal current, but this tour requires some kayaking experience.

This weekend is also the last Colors by Kayak daytime tour on Saturday.

Advance registration is required and includes a kayak and life jacket. The price is $25 for residents and $30 for non-residents. The registration deadline is Tuesday, October 15th at 12:00 p.m.

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If you'd rather look up at the sky while on land, take part in this week's night hike.

On Friday, October 18, at 8 p.m., a guided moonlight tour will take hikers through Ottawa Sands for a two-hour hike. Admission is $5 for residents and $6 for non-residents.

Registration and further information can be found at www.miottawa.org.

The full moon after the Harvest Moon is the Hunter's Moon. The earliest written use of the term “Hunter's Moon” was in the 1710 Oxford English Dictionary.

The Farmer's Almanac described the Hunter's Moon as symbolizing the time of year when the leaves have fallen and the deer have fattened, meaning it is time to hunt.

Indigenous peoples named the moon for similar reasons, suggesting plants were being cut down, birds were migrating, and it was time to store meat for the winter.

Algonquin tribes known around the Great Lakes called the October moon the “Traveling Moon,” the “Dying Grass Moon,” or the “Sanguine Moon,” or the “Blood Moon.”