Seeking Refuge: Wisconsin's Horicon Marsh
At top wildlife-viewing areas like Horicon Marsh, spring arrives with throngs of migrating birds.
More Midwest refuges
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio (pictured) East of Toledo, Ottawa is great for beginners, with a flashy visitors center, boardwalks and a lively chorus of birds and bullfrogs. (419) 898-0014; fws.gov/refuge/ottawa Magee Marsh is more rugged, but the park offers free binoculars, and a boardwalk crosses beds of lily pads where turtles sunbathe. (419) 898-0960; dnr.state.oh.us
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie City, Iowa It's hard to know what's the bigger attraction here: the restored tallgrass prairie where a small herd of bison graze or the outstanding Prairie Learning Center, with its "underground" tunnel and Native American artifacts. In May, migrating songbirds join the grassland species that will stay all summer. (515) 994-3400; tallgrass.org
Platte River Valley, Nebraska Thousands of Sandhill cranes migrate through central Nebraska each March (drawing an equally impressive flock of bird-watchers). You can see the birds from public bridges, but Rowe Sanctuary offers guided dawn and dusk bird-blind tours. (308) 468-5282; rowesanctuary.org
Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Great Bend, Kansas The nation's largest inland marsh is a key stop on the Central Flyway. The excellent Kansas Wetlands Education Center at Cheyenne Bottoms has easy walking trails right out the door. (877) 243-9268; wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu And if you've made the trip here, don't skip Quivira, where residents include a prairie dog colony. (620) 486-2393; fws.gov/quivira
Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Seney, Michigan Topnotch amenities, including photography classes and free binoculars, make this huge Upper Peninsula preserve feel more like a friendly state park. Two popular driving tours have marked stops where you can see baby birds and nests. Watch for trumpeter swans. (906) 586-9851; fws.gov/refuge/seney
(A version of this story appeared in Midwest Living® March/April 2012. Prices, dates and other details can change, so please check specifics before making travel plans.)
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