Swim in an old quarry, bike among quilt gardens and learn cast iron cooking. Plus more.

The month of August brings a once-a-year chance to swim in a former quarry, do a bike tour of quilt gardens and dine at a cookout that immerses you in cast-iron cuisine. Not to forget a cool, wooded hike. And free, early hours at a popular park.

Also, the state of Indiana is counting on you to help make its parks and public lands more accessible, as well as to report wild turkeys.

Here's how to get started.

Warren Woods hike

The Harbor Country Hikers will lead a two-mile hike at 10 a.m. Aug. 3 on the trails of Warren Woods State Park in Three Oaks. It will include a brief talk by Nick Sanchez, network manager for the national nonprofit Old-Growth Forest Network.

From Three Oaks, drive north on Three Oaks Road, turn left on Elm Valley Road, and after 0.7 miles, look for the trailhead parking lot on the north (right) side.

Rock the Quarry Triathlon and Mile Swim

This ninth annual triathlon returns Aug. 10 to Fidler Pond, a former quarry that is now a city park in Goshen with a flat trail circling around it. But there’s also an option to compete in just a one-mile swim in the clean, calm pond. Swimming is only permitted on this day. The triathlon includes a 500-yard swim, 15.8-mile bike ride to Millersburg and back and 3.1 mile run on the Fidler trail (two laps).

The triathlon costs $55 per individual, $100 per three-person relay team and $90 per two-person relay team. The one-mile swims costs $40. Find details and registration at rockthequarrytriathlon.com.

Early bird hours and paddle at St. Pat’s

St. Patrick’s County Park at 50651 Laurel Road, South Bend, will offer its last early-bird opening of the summer on Aug. 10, opening the gates at 7 a.m. for folks who want to hike and otherwise use the park. There will be no entry fee until 10 a.m.

Early kayak trips will also be offered during that time, with the shuttle van departing the brown barn to Keller Park at 7:30 a.m. Cost is $20 per kayak; preregistration is required at 574-654-3155.

The park’s normal Saturday hours are from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Quilt gardens bike tour

Bike Elkhart County’s annual tour of quilt gardens on Aug. 17 will start from the Elkhart Environmental Center, 1717 E. Lusher Ave., Elkhart, and include the new Elkhart River Greenway.

The three routes include just more than nine miles around Elkhart city parks, almost 33 miles to Wakarusa and back and almost 61 miles reaching Shipshewana, Middlebury and Goshen. Food and refreshment stops will be in Wakarusa and Shipshewana.

Cost is $65 per adult (or $55 by July 31), $25 for ages 17 and younger and $80 per family of one adult and one youth. Find details and registration at www.bikeelkhart.org/quilt-garden-ride.

Cast iron cooking

Want to share your skills in cooking in cast iron over a fire? The annual Dutch Oven Gathering, or DOG, returns Aug. 24 to Bonneyville Mill County Park in Bristol. Park staff are seeking cooks and swap-meet vendors.

The public event, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Feedlot Shelter, will offer kettle soup and cornbread and swap-meet vendors.

DOG will start at 5 p.m. Samplings of the variety of dishes that cooks make will go from 6 to 7 p.m.

Starting at 4:30 p.m., there will be a session to introduce you to cast-iron cooking, including how to care for cast iron.

There isn’t a cost for cooks, but vendors pay $15 to set up, with registration due Aug. 22. General admission costs $4, payable at the event by cash or credit. Find details at elkhartcountyparks.org.

Accessibility at Indiana parks?

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to take a brief, five-minute survey online about the accessibility of state-owned parks, forests, fish and wildlife areas and nature preserves.

Link to the survey at on.IN.gov/dnr-accessibility, which is a webpage the DNR created this year as a guide to accessible state trails, parks, hunting and fishing sites, motorized trail wheelchairs, beaches and wildlife viewing spots. The page itself has maps, photos and basic information to scout out where you may be able to go. Officials admit it isn’t comprehensive.

The DNR says it’ll update that page as more accessible activities are added.

DNR Director Dan Bortner says the agency will use the survey to improve accessibility and overcome barriers to the state’s outdoor recreation sites.

Report wild turkeys and their young

You can help the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to keep track of the state’s wild turkey population and reproduction. If you observe wild turkey hens with or without poults (turkey chicks) through Aug. 31, report them at on.IN.gov/turkeybrood. It takes a few minutes, and no log-in is required.

The reports will be used to estimate the state’s poult-to-hen ratio. Information from the survey will eventually be made public in an annual Wild Turkey Brood Report. Find prior survey reports at the webpage above.

Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Swim in Fidler Pond quarry Bike Elkhart quilt gardens cook on cast iron