Just wanted to give this amazing winter/spring trail an extra shout out. We ventured here on a sunny Sunday as that's an easier day for I5 traffic. Arriving around 9:30 meant there were still a choice of parking spots. Later on cars were stalking returning hikers. We hiked all the board walk sections all the way out to the viewing platform at the very end. The further out you go the thinner the crowd. There are several interpretive boards along the way and we read them, but really we were there to enjoy the sunshine and wide open vistas. Lots of bird life and folks with BIG binoculars and even bigger cameras. I was surprised to see swallows here already making themselves at home near the big white barns. We walked through lots of different temperature zones, sunny and warm, sunny and chilly, shady and cold, depending on how the breeze was catching. The tide was mostly out, need to do better on planning that part as walking the board walk over the water would be beyond scenic. The board walk itself made for easy hiking but if this hike is on your list I would do it sooner rather than later. Lots of pink flagging marks where the boards are just starting to rot out, and if/when this starts to cause a hazard I'm sure it will be closed. It's such an extensive structure I'm not sure how long it will be, or even if they would reopen it.
For lunch we returned around the ponds on the board walk to the car, grabbed our picnic, and then hiked back on the gravel road to the big barns. There are some picnic tables there and we got to enjoy the wetland views from the gravel path. A bald eagle came to sit in the huge maple and that meant lots of chatter from the waterfowl. Finally we had a quick stop at the visitors center before we headed out. Final mileage was 5+.
Comments