I kind of like using a photo instead of a title. Hooray!

Saturday afternoon I was on my way to Sand Dunes State Forest (near Big Lake) when I remembered that Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge is right next to it. I realized I didn't have enough time to do both, so instead of driving all the way there and missing out on one of them, I decided to turn around, go home and try again in the morning.

I got up before 7 am (crazy!) and was on the road for real about 45 minutes later. I was slightly lost on the way to the refuge but found it without too much trouble. I wanted to start there and save the state forest for later, hoping I'd see some animals running around as I drove through. There's a nice 6-7 mile loop road through part of the refuge called the Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive. I think the wildlife were on vacation today and made the birds stay behind.

The prairie part of it was OK, not incredibly scenic but I doubt the animals care. The first couple miles were a bit boring. I got out and walked the appropriately named Prairie Trail (about 0.4 miles). Decent number of flowers and lots of grasshoppers but that's about it.



Things picked up after that as the drive winds past wetlands and ponds. The scenery definitely improved - I apologize for including the scummy brown stuff near the shore in this photo.


I saw a pair of sandhill cranes and various waterfowl, including a family of trumpeter swans. I don't think I've seen those in the wild before. And I got a phone call from Terp while I was watching them, so he probably heard me taking photos while we were talking.


Beyond that, there's a short little trail through a patch of woods, which thankfully wasn't overrun with mosquitoes and biting flies. I finished up the drive, then got back on the county roads and drove through the refuge to the other side. It looks like it'd be a good place to visit in spring and later in the fall.

Just south of the refuge is Sand Dunes State Forest. Boy howdy did that suck. I wanted to hike a trail towards the middle and get into the SNA (Scientific and Natural Area) because that looked to be the most interesting part with the actual sand dunes. There's also a campground, lake with a swimming beach and of course, lots of forest. The trail was predictably sandy and not much fun to walk, the trail junctions were almost completely unmarked so I didn't know exactly where I was and which one would take me to the SNA, and it was hot. I did make it to the SNA but saw no sand dunes. I gave up shortly thereafter, declaring this a stupid hike which I won't do again. And then I left, stopping for Arby's (yay!) on my way home.

More photos are here.