(WXYZ) — The immersive night walk at Glenlore Trails has something for everyone. Co-founder Scott Schoeneberger says the fun turns up when the sun goes down.
It's Michigan's largest illuminated night walk.
"We are the longest, but we are the most interactive and the most immersive. Ours is an accumulation of years of experience and years of just passion from a team that has been doing this commercially and now is doing this in a more of a B to C setting," said Scott.
A team of around 30 helps put on this family-friendly trail for the holiday season, and Scott says the concept came during the pandemic.
"Our primary business, Bluewater, is half in the events space and half in permanent installation. In 2020, the event world shut down. And so we had to figure out how to keep all of our employees working and keep them busy, and keep them sane, and so we came up with the idea of this night walk," said Scott.
With an overwhelming response, the half-mile trail expanded to the current 1-mile-long trail. It welcomes nearly 100,000 customers per season. It's something Scott never expected.
"So after 2020, it just didn't make sense to shut it down. A lot of families would be saying this is our new family tradition. We love this place so much," said Scott.
"But you also stumbled upon something else, which is helping people with sensory challenges?" asked WXYZ's Faraz Javed.
"My wife and I oversee this program. One of the biggest reasons we keep doing it is because of the community. There is also a big segment of the community that has sensory needs. The feedback we hear is that these children may not have a lot of places to go or that kind of experience, but now they find it here," said Scott.
Julia Dapkus has been coming here since its inception. Her 12-year-old daughter Isabel is why this has become a family tradition.
"Isabel has special needs, and it's really a fun place to come without any preconceived expectations. She can be herself. We can walk. We can be interactive. They can touch. Kids can just be kids without any concerns," said Julia.
Julia said Isabel had speech issues as a toddler. That's why Julia and her husband devised a system for Isabel to communicate using preprogrammed buttons on an app. This eventually gave birth to their non-profit called Communication Is Key AAC (https://www.communicationiskey.org/) , which helps children with sensory challenges express themselves using communication boards.
"In the state of Michigan alone, we have gifted out over 200 communications boards. We have also gifted out probably over $200,000 of resources in the last three years," said Julia.
Plus, after experiencing this sensory-friendly space, Julia hopes to partner with Glenlore Trails to build further something Scott, a father of two, stumbled upon.
"All the interactives we build are intentionally very simple. We also make sure the trail is manicured, which helps with being wheelchair-accessible and stroller-friendly. Being able to create something that is accessible to families that are in need like that, is just pretty incredible," said Scott.
The enchanted experience wraps up on November 3, but don't worry, November 15, it's the Aurora experience that kicks in all throughout the holiday season. To learn more, head to www.glenloretrails.com
