7 great ideas to get outdoors
Give the gift of the great outdoors

These gift ideas will thrill novice and veteran outdoors men, women and kids alike at a price you like. Some are free and all are a great bargain: a small price to pay for the pleasure, memories and other benefits these gifts will bring for a lifetime.

1. Non-stop fun at 60 special places

Wisconsin state park admission stickers and trail passes are the ticket to fun. The $25 annual resident park sticker provides unlimited vehicle admission to 60 state parks and forests across Wisconsin. An annual state trail pass gives access to more than 30 scenic trails throughout Wisconsin.

2. Where the Wild Things Are

Give six gifts delivered throughout the year. A subscription to Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine brings our natural world and emerging environmental issues to their doorstep. Stories highlight year-round outdoor activities and our outdoor environment. For more than thirty years Wisconsin Natural Resources has delighted readers with stories about Wisconsin's wild things. Get 1 year (6 issues) for $8.97 and print off a beautiful gift card.

3. For seven generations

Give your loved one a gift that will help preserve Wisconsin's priceless natural heritage for generations to come. Buy a license plate featuring some of the state's favorite endangered species, or donate directly to the effort to help protect more than 200 endangered and threatened Wisconsin plants and animals and our finest remaining examples of prairies, forests and wetlands. Here's how you can help with a gift that will keep on giving.

4. Give the Gift of Green

Give a Gift of Green, a packet of 300 tree seedlings from DNR's Griffith State Nursery, to someone to plant on his or her land to contribute to a greener, healthier environment. Call the Griffith State Nursery at 715 424-3700 to order; after the nursery receives your payment, they'll send you a gift certificate to present.

5. Books to get hooked on

"People of the Sturgeon" is published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press and written by Kathleen Schmitt Kline, Ronald M. Bruch, Frederick P. Binkowski, with photographs by Bob Rashid.

• The Magic Goggles: Discovering the Secrets of the Lake.
  - Maggie and her little brother Tate are visiting their grandparents? lake cabin when they discover two pairs of really weird, old goggles. Join the two down at the lake as they explore the underwater forest beneath the lily pads. Written by Lynn Markham, of the UW-Extension?s Center for Land Use Education, and illustrated by Anne Horjus of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Learn more and order the book for $8, including shipping and handling.
• People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin's Love Affair with an Ancient Fish
  This glossy, 292-page hard cover book is available online and in local stores. Co-authored by Ron Bruch, the Department of Natural Resources senior sturgeon biologist, the book shares Wisconsin families' photo albums, newspaper clippings and personal recollections to show how the huge, homely lake sturgeon found in the Lake Winnebago system captured their hearts, and with their help, returned from the edge of extinction. Order the $29.99 book or find it in a local bookstore.
• Stories from the Shore
  Memories treasured by Wisconsin residents and visitors are shared in this book. This collection of artwork, stories, poems, photographs, Native American lore and even recipes from high school students, shoreline property owners and others is available for $10 plus shipping.

6. Safety first

No one ever thinks about getting hurt when they?re having fun. That's why our recreation safety wardens say the best gifts you can give the boaters, anglers, ATVers and others in your life is safety equipment.

• A Life Jacket: Modern lifejackets are comfortable and come in a wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Many are thin and flexible. Some are built right into fishing vests or hunter coats. Others are inflatable - as compact as a fanny pack or suspenders until they hit water, when they automatically fill with air. Inflatables start at $60.
• A Helmet. Helmet hair is a small price to pay for safety on the trails for you or a loved one. A must-have piece of equipment that can save an operator's life.
• More safety gift ideas: Fire Extinguisher, Flares or Type IV PFD for the boat owner on your list; Pick for Life or Ice safety devices for the ice anglers on your list.

7. Just add water and a bobber

Give the gift of fishing this holiday season! What better gift to give than time spent together with family and friends. Just download and print the Fishing Trip Coupon and you've got your holiday shopping done!