Marshland Wildlife Drive and Fishing Loop

Seney National Wildlife Refuge was one of the recipients of the Great American Outdoors Act. This will allow us to complete much needed work on several refuge structures which have been on a maintenance backlog awaiting funding. The largest portion of the project effects the wildlife drives, current visitor center, office, and the campus surrounding these buildings. The Marshland Wildlife Drive and Fishing Loop will be closed in 2022 as several bridges are repaired or replaced. The visitor center and office buildings as well as the surrounding campus will be closed while a new visitor center is being constructed. A temporary visitor center will be located off River Road south of Germfask. As we break ground in the spring of 2022, we will post regular status updates on our website. Watch our progress and stay informed on current projects and closures.

The Marshland Wildlife Drive is normally open annually from May 15 to October 20 to vehicular traffic and to biking, walking, snowshoeing or skiing the rest of the year. The Fishing Loop is open to vehicular traffic from May 15 to September 30 then closed to all traffic through October 20th then biking, walking, snowshoeing or skiing the remainder of the year. Plan a minimum of one hour for the drive or pack your lunch and make several stops as you make your way around the seven-to-eight-and-a-half-mile tour routes. The slower you go the more you will see.

The drives are known hotspots for common loon, trumpeter swan, ring-necked ducks, wood ducks, mallards, Caspian terns, sandhill cranes, bald eagles, ospreys, American bitterns, belted kingfishers, eastern kingbirds, cedar waxwings, merlins and many other birds. The best time to visit the refuge depends on your goals. Spring and fall are best for migratory birds, however if you would like to see resident birds raising their families, summer is the best. Canada geese goslings and eaglets have usually hatched and are active by the time the drives open. Ospreys, swans and loons usually hatch around Father's Day. For your best chance at seeing a loon chick on its parent's back, plan your visit between the second and fourth week of June. Other bird babies can be located by determined birders including grebes, ducklings, kingbirds, woodpeckers, and bitterns. As the summer progresses these babies enter their gawky teen phases and be awkwardly flying around the refuge begging their parents for food.

Rarities such as black-backed woodpeckers, spruce grouse, yellow rail and LeConte’s sparrows have been seen or heard from time to time along the drive. In all, over 200 species of birds have been recorded at Seney National Wildlife Refuge many of which you can see from the drive.

The bridge closures in 2022 will affect our regularly scheduled tours. Please check our website for upcoming tours. We hope we can restart our regularly scheduled tours in 2023. Most years we offer Twilight Tours where we focus on locating secretive marsh birds. In June, July and August we host Wildlife Wednesday evening tours starting at 7pm. From July to October, we also offer morning tours.