Goose Creek State Park is offering a full schedule of free programs over the next month, and the park’s new superintendent is issuing an invitation to the public.

“I highly encourage you to come out and learn a little about the cultural resources of the park,” said Doug LeQuire, who recently assumed leadership of the park. “The beauty of Goose Creek is unmatched in eastern North Carolina, but we can’t forget the cultural uniqueness that is also right in our backyard.”

Next up on the Goose Creek schedule of events is a one mile hike down to Mallard Creek, according to LeQuire. The ranger leading the hike will talk about the ecology of the forest, creek and river as well as share information about how the area may have looked when early settlers arrived. The hike, scheduled for Tuesday, begins at 10 a.m.; participants should meet in the last parking lot.

The park’s Discovery Room is the setting for an Aug. 8 program suitable for the entire family. Parents and grandparents are urged to bring their youngsters to see critters up close and personal thanks to the park’s extensive collection of taxidermy mounts. The program begins at 10 a.m. in the visitor center.

The park will host Movies with the Stars: “Paddington” Aug. 14 beginning at 9 p.m. The movie will be shown at Flicker Field, across from the visitor center. Some picnic tables are provided, but participants are also welcome to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets.

Early industry in Beaufort County will be discussed Aug. 18 during the Tar Kiln Hike, set to begin at 10 a.m. Evidence from naval stores that supplied tar, pitch and turpentine remain in the park and can be seen along this particular trail. Hikers should wear comfortable shoes and meet at the Ivy Gut Trail parking lot.

Another hike, planned for Aug. 30 at 10 a.m., will offer participants the chance to learn about the history of the area, including the establishment of Bath as North Carolina’s first incorporated town. Anyone wishing to join the half-mile hike should meet at the last parking lot.

In observation of Labor Day, Goose Creek will host Tar Kilns and Turpentine Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. Appropriately, the program will discuss how early settlers labored to survive. Rangers and park visitors will even have the opportunity to “work” a real tar kiln left over from the era when such fixtures were a survival staple. The program will last approximately one hour and has been one of the park’s more popular activities in the past.

“I really encourage people to get out and do the Tar Kiln hike and then come back for the Tar Kiln program,” LeQuire said.

*For more information on Goose Creek State Park and its events schedule, visit the “Friends of Goose Creek” Facebook page or call 252-923-2191.