MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Usually parks are off limits after dark, unless you are there on a night to celebrating a full moon and a classic sport.

On certain nights each month during the winter months, Three Rivers Park District wants to make sure we take advantage of the snow.

It might seem kind of creepy to be out in the woods at night, but when you strap on a pair of snow shoes and add a tour guide, the fear melts away.

Lee Ann Landstrom is a naturalist at Eastman Nature Center in Dayton. On Monday night, she led a group of nearly 40 people in snow shoes on a walk under a full moon.

“I feel comfortable in the woods at night, but a lot of people don’t. They don’t have the opportunity to  get out in the forest or prairie,” Landstrom said. “They are just happy to have someone take them out who knows where they are going, telling them interesting things about the animals and wildlife. They get to watch to moon coming up. It is just kind of magical.”

She maintains that anyone who can walk can snowshoe.

The trails here are even more serene under the moonlight. WCCO talked with Brian Preuss, one of the people who signed up to go on this walk.

“I certainly enjoyed myself,” he said. “We came out with a couple of friends who invited us and met some new people as well. I think it a great opportunity to meet people and get some exercise as well.”