Missouri State Parks will host a First Day Hike in Owensville Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. as the first official local celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Participants will meet at the trailhead by City Hall for a two-mile guided hike on the Rock Island Trail.

Event promoters encourage all who are interested to participate as the terrain is flat, packed gravel making it suitable for all ages and abilities. Dogs are also welcome but must be leashed.

First Day Hikes are promoted by America’s State Parks and are held throughout the country. Registration for the free event is required and can be completed at mostateparks.com/event/first-day-hike/RITSP-2026. Additional semiquincentennial activities are expected to take place in Owensville as discussed during the most recent city meeting.

Chrysa Niewald, a visitor at the city’s Dec. 15 meeting and chair of the local tourism committee, informed city officials of several local celebratory initiatives during the Board of Aldermen meeting. She first advised the board that she applied for Owensville to be recognized through the Missouri Humanities Small Town Showcase — a digital storytelling initiative that highlights the heritage and culture of Missouri towns with a population of less than 25,000, sharing their unique stories through podcasts and short films. Featured towns in 2025 were Elsberry, Potosi, Prairie Home, Ste. Genevieve and Tarkio. Voting for this contest begins tomorrow (Thursday) at mohumanities.org/small-town-showcase/.

Mayor Kevin McFadden thanked Niewald for taking on the project after Owensville Parks and Recreation Department Director Angela Lairmore shared it with her via email.

“It’s just a matter of getting people to vote online (if selected as a contestant)…if we don’t…I’ll be back later to talk about some activities and things for next summer, probably for the turn of the anniversary,” Niewald said.

She also shared that in honor of America’s semiquintencentennial, the quilt guild will be sponsoring a patriotic quilt contest with a $250 prize that will be open to all residents of southern Gasconade County and that a pet parade on the Rock Island Trail is being considered at the request of state representative Bruce Sassmann.