Marsh Attractions

Why Come to the Horicon Marsh?
Why for a "NATURALLY" good experience of course!
.....then onto what's already there.....

Look for Forsters and black terns, sora rails, American coots, common moorhens, American wigeon, mallards, northern shovelers, blue-winged teal, killdeer, kingfishers, yellow-headed blackbirds, and much more! Listen to leopard frogs croaking, or watch one jump just past your eyes.

Feast those very same eyes on a carpet of yellow flowers which brightly blanket the exposed mud in late summer. Another carpet, this time green duckweed, floats over the surface of the water. Watch tiny fish quickly leap out of the water like miniature breaching whales. Their splashes will tickle your ears! The first time I walked on this boardwalk, a muskrat swam next to me, disappeared under the decking, and popped up on the other side. Stroll up a ramp to an elevated platform for a wide view over the tops of the cattails. Can you find the barn swallow nest in the rafters?

Use the spotting scopes for a close-up look at green-winged teal, great egrets, or, if you’re lucky, a bald eagle. The best time to enjoy the area is sunrise and sunset, but it seems like there’s always something interesting happening at the boardwalk. Even when we go there in the middle of the day with a large group of children, we see so much that we have to tear ourselves away to get back to the bus in time. Bring a small net — an aquarium net will do — dip it in the water, and you will be amazed and the diverse plant and animal life living under your feet.

This is the only true marsh trail, as all other trails at the marsh course over higher and drier ground and alongside wetland habitat. (It is rather costly and difficult to put a trail over water as you can imagine. And most of the refuge’s acreage is wet!) One of the first questions people of all ages ask me as we start hiking there is, “How deep is the water?” We can feel the boardwalk gently undulating under us, and I think folks wonder if they may be going for a swim! The water is actually quite shallow, no more than about two feet deep. But the muck is much deeper. If you stepped off the boardwalk, the water would come up to your chest, or even higher right next to the boardwalk as a trench was scooped out underneath it. Not to worry, though, as the boardwalk is secure and strong. This one works with the help of many hollow, plastic floats under each section of decking. A special type of Styrofoam was sprayed into the floats, filling them. Our contractor reassured us that the recycled plastic is muskrat, water, and weather-proof. Each end of the boardwalk is attached to dry ground with concrete pilings, and wheels help the whole length of the trail rise and lower with changing water levels. If you lookon the curbing of the boardwalk, you’ll occasionally see rounded ends of hollow anchor tubes which screw into the muck deep below the surface. That’s why the configuration of the boardwalk stays the same despite strong winds. Everyone should be comfortable on the boardwalk as it was designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. The decking measures eight feet across — enough space for two wheelchairs to pass. The ropes and curbing help guide a person with little or poor vision. No steps, just ramps to transition from place to place. During 2001, the gravel trail sections leading to and from the boardwalk will be paved, as will the entire auto tour route.

You can access the Egret Trail and the boardwalk in several ways. From April 15-September 15, the quickest way is to drive directly to it up the auto tour route.

Like all of the refuge hiking trails, the boardwalk is open daily, year-round for hiking. We are so lucky to have this unique water trail, and I encourage you to take advantage of it. Get away from it all and out into the marsh!