Walking Trails
TRAIL MAP
Wood Lake has over two miles of crushed limestone trails (stroller- and wheelchair-accessible). The trails wind through three natural habitats (cattail marsh, mixed lowland forest, and restored prairie) and pass along a floating boardwalk, viewing benches and docks, two amphitheaters, a nature play area, and a picnic area with shelter.
In the winter, the walking trails are packed and groomed for snowshoeing and tracked for cross-country skiing (ski/snowshoe page).
Birding & Wildlife Viewing
Common wildlife spotted at Wood Lake include:
- Birds: See the bird checklist (pdf) for a list of bird species seen at Wood Lake. Keep track of birds you see while contributing to science and conservation on the Wood Lake page of eBird, which keeps up-to-date sightings for locations around the world.
- Reptiles: Painted turtle, Snapping turtle, Garter snake
- Mammals: muskrat, coyote, deer, fox, racoon, squirrel, chipmunk, rabbit, mice, vole, mole
- Fish: goldfish (invasive), Black bullhead, minnow
- iNaturalist: Track the life you see at Wood Lake (insects, mammals, birds, plants, fungi and more!) and add your observations to the Wood Lake Project at iNaturalist.
Please do not remove any wildlife or plants from the park.
Self-Guided Activities
- Nature Play Area: Wood Lake's Nature Play Area is open daily from dawn to dusk, year-round, and free for visitors of all ages and abilities!
- Nature Scavenger Hunts
- Ski and Snowshoe Rentals
- Geocaching: Geocaching uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates to find the location of "caches" like hide-and-seek containers. To start your geocaching adventure, download the Geocaching® app on your mobile device.
- Hammocking: Wood Lake has three uprights that allow up to three hammocks to be connected.
- Pollinator-Friendly Garden
- Wildlife Viewing/Photography
- Picnics (picnic area with tables and the Emily Day Shelter)
- Chronolog: Visitors can capture and upload photos at stations located at the boardwalk, the prairie overlook, and the east forest pond inlet. The photos can be shared through Chronolog to create long-term, time-lapse records of the park.
