Wetlands come in many shapes and sizes, and they go by many names: bog, slough, fen, marsh, swamp and more. Visiting these incredible landscapes in person is a good way to explore their subtle differences, and, lucky for us, many are easy to get to. Public and protected wetlands offer a great opportunity to witness the ecological diversity and value of these unique ecosystems, often close to where you live. Patience isn’t just a virtue when visiting wetlands; it’s a good strategy for wildlife viewing. Find a place where you can settle in and watch for a while, and you’re far more likely to spot animals than if you just drive around. Keep in mind that many of these places will flood in spring (or after heavy rains), and some close for a few weeks during migration season. Don’t forget to bring your preferred bug repellent!
Some offer more amenities than others. State parks and federal wildlife refuges typically offer comforts such as visitor centers, modern restrooms, and regularly maintained trails. State wildlife or natural areas, on the other hand, may only offer pit toilets and irregularly tended trails and probably won’t provide drinking water. Another difference: state parks and federal refuges attract far more visitors. You can get to most of the places below by car and on foot.
Louisiana
Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
61389 Highway 434, Lacombe, LA, 70445; 985-882-2000
Big Branch Marsh NWR protects a range of coastal habitats, including a section of rare pine savanna, but the marshes are also outstanding. Take a slow stroll on the winding boardwalk at the Boy Scout Road Trail, which passes through the middle of a lush coastal marsh. If you continue on the dirt path after the boardwalk ends, you’ll pass through the pine savanna and near a landform known as a chenier, a sandy ridge built up by decades of waves crashing against the shore.
Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge
17160 Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans, LA, 70129; 985-882-2000
It’s not easy to find wild places so close to a big city, which is one reason Bayou Sauvage NWR is special. Coastal wetlands of varying salinity abound within the NWR but the boardwalks at the Ridge Trail and Joe Madere Marsh offer the easiest access. The marshes are chock full of life, and not just birds. On one visit, a bobcat crossed a parking lot right after I got out of my car.
Barataria Preserve, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
6588 Barataria Blvd., Marrero, LA, 70072; 504-689-3690
The Barataria Preserve at Jean Lafitte NHPP—an easy half-hour drive from the French Quarter—offers a chance to get a close look at several different types of brackish coastal wetlands. The boardwalk trail around the visitor center, for example, circles through swamp and marsh habitats. The nearby Bayou Coquille trail traverses bottomland forest, swamp, and marsh in just one mile (one-way) and ends with a view of a flotant, an unusual wetland composed of unanchored plants that float on the surface of the water.
Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area and Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Pass-a-Loutre WMA: 337-735-8667
Delta NWR: 985-882-2000
You can’t get much deeper into coastal wetlands than with a visit to one of these two places, but you’ll need a boat to reach them. Both protect offshore wetlands, mostly brackish or saltwater marshes, flush with life far from the bother of cars, trains, and people. At Delta NWR, shore birds love the buffet offered in the mud flats, and wading birds are common throughout. Roseau cane mark the channels of Pass-a-Loutre, where you’ll find marshes thriving in varying levels of salinity.
Mississippi
101 State Park Road, Rosedale, MS, 38769; 662-827-5436
A quiet place in a remote corner of the state, Great River Road State Park offers easy access to the Mississippi River and a nice mix of ecosystems. Floodplain forests dominate but you’ll also find swamps and small ponds. After the water levels recede in summer, you can walk from the park out onto an expansive sandbar in the river.
Sky Lake Wildlife Management Area
1090 Simmons Road, Belzoni, MS, 39038; 662-335-2422
While Sky Lake isn’t directly on the Mississippi, it’s on the short list of must-see places. The WMA preserves one of the last remaining tracts of old-growth cypress-tupelo swamp that once ranged far and wide along the lower Mississippi. A long, tall boardwalk winds through the swamp, providing easy access deep into the interior of the swamp inhabited by some very old trees.
St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge
21 Pintail Lane, Natchez, MS, 39120; 601-442-6696
A gem that doesn’t get the love it deserves, St. Catherine Creek NWR—just a 30-minute drive south of Natchez—offers lush wetlands and good wildlife viewing. The 4-mile-long Magnolia Trail meanders through floodplain forest and passes by swamps and small lakes. It’s a fun place to observe how plant life can radically change in the floodplain with a change in elevation of just a few feet. The road to Gilliard Lake ends at a lush cypress-tupelo swamp that you can paddle around (there’s a modest boat ramp).
Arkansas
Mississippi River State Park and St. Francis National Forest
Visitor Center: 2955 Highway 44, Marianna, AR, 72360; 870-295-4040
The St. Francis River ends its run flowing through dense deciduous forests and rolling hills as it nears the Mississippi. Most of this area is managed either as national forest or state park, although the state park is the primary contact for visitors. Inside the forest, you’ll find swamps and lakes, but one of the most interesting places to visit is where the two rivers meet (St. Francis Overlook), which includes a mix of sandbars and wetlands that vary with the water levels.
Arkansas Post National Memorial
1741 Old Post Road, Gillett, AR, 72055; 870-548-2207
Arkansas Post, built near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, was one of the earliest sites inhabited by Europeans along the lower Mississippi. Europeans had a hard time adjusting to life in the area because of the regular inundations and the prolific mosquito population. The national memorial today is surrounded by wetlands similar to what those early Europeans cursed. The trails and benches along the water’s edge offer good wildlife viewing. You may even encounter armadillos wandering around the site as they feed.
Freddie Black Choctaw Island Wildlife Management Area
Access the WMA from Arkansas City via either Sprague Street or President Street; 833-363-7638
This WMA includes two discontinuous units. I prefer the east unit, a sprawling, isolated 9,500 acres of bottomland forest in the Mississippi River batture. Mowed trails wind through the bottoms and past concentrations of wetlands, mostly marshes and ponds. If you bring a boat, there’s a ramp along Thane Road where you can put in and paddle across a narrow channel to Choctaw Island and explore a landscape continually remade by the big river.
Tennessee
Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge
4343 Highway 157, Union City, TN, 38261; 731-538-2481
A series of massive earthquakes rolled through the central Mississippi Valley in 1811-1812, sparking chaos and reshaping the land. Reelfoot Lake emerged when the ground sunk as much as 50 feet, creating a shallow body of water that today spreads over 15,000 acres. The area in and around the lake offers a good mix of cypress swamps, marshes, and open water. Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge protects 10,000 acres east of the lake, which includes a mix of short hiking trails and canoe trails. There’s also a 3.5-mile driving tour along Walnut Log Road that ends near a towering overlook of the surrounding wetlands.
Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge
1505 Sand Bluff Road, Ripley, TN, 38063; 731-635-7621
The expansive floodplain forests of 25,000-acre Chickasaw NWR can sometimes feel foreboding and impenetrable, but refuge trails offer great opportunities to go deep into the world sculpted and nourished by the Mississippi River. The most accessible places to view wetlands are at the boat ramps scattered throughout the refuge, such as the cypress swamps at Wardlow’s Chute Boat Ramp.
Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge
234 Fort Prudhomme Road, Henning, TN, 38041; 731-738-2296
The lower reaches of the Hatchie River are rich with cypress swamps and sloughs that attract a wide range of wildlife. You’ll find one impressive tract of cypress swamp at the Champion Lake Boat Ramp, which you can paddle around if you bring a boat. During migration season, many waterfowl are easily observed from the overlook next to the refuge headquarters.
Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park
910 Riddick Road, Millington, TN, 38053; 901-876-5215
A popular state park for good reason, Meeman-Shelby offers amenities including campgrounds and cabin rentals, as well as an impressive range of ecosystems in a relatively compact area. The 7-mile drive from the visitor center to the Mississippi River boat ramp cuts through floodplain forests often dense enough to darken the midday sun, but the road also passes by marshes and swamps. The road ends at a boat ramp next to the river that is a popular spot to catch a summer sunset.
Kentucky
Ballard Wildlife Management Area
Follow U.S. Highway 60 to Kentucky Highway 1105 to Kentucky 473 (Refuge Road) to Wildlife Lodge Road; 270-224-2244
Ballard WMA, 18 miles north of Wickliffe, covers 8,000 acres of bottomlands along the Ohio River just east of its confluence with the Mississippi. Nearly half of the WMA consists of wetlands, and much of that is cypress-tupelo swamp. Some parts of the WMA are closed to visitors from Oct. 15 to March 15 to protect migrating waterfowl.
Doug Travis Wildlife Management Area
From Wickliffe, Kentucky, follow US Highway 51 for 8 miles to Bardwell, then turn right and follow Highway 123 to the WMA; 270-488-3233
At the 4,000 acres of Doug Travis WMA, you’ll find thick forests, cypress swamps and open ponds that are managed primarily for hunting and fishing. While the WMA doesn’t maintain hiking trails, you can view wildlife from the road as you drive around or freestyle your way through the area.
Obion Creek Wildlife Management Area
270-753-6913
Obion Creek WMA covers multiple tracts in three counties. The Travis Slough, Mathis and Wallace tracts border each other along Obion Creek and include a high concentration of wetlands, including cypress swamp. They are just southwest of Milburn, Kentucky. Check the WMA website for directions on how to access these tracts.
Missouri
Follow State Highway 79 for seventeen miles south of Hannibal, turn east on Highway TT and follow it into the conservation area; 573-248-2530
Sprawling over 6,700 acres, this conservation area consists primarily of wetlands in various stages of being rehabilitated. You can walk along the levee that parallels the main channel (it’s nearly 9 miles long), you’ll have the Mississippi River on one side and ponds and marshes on the other. If you follow the main road to the southern and eastern ends of the conservation area, you’ll find multiple mature wetlands and ponds.
Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge
37599 Pike 206, Annada, MO, 63330; 573-847-2333
Clarence Cannon NWR has a smaller footprint than other refuges in the area (3.750 acres), but its wetlands support an abundant and diverse range of plant and animal life. Most of the refuge is situated on the river side of the levee, so its wetlands are regularly replenished by seasonal rises. There’s only one trail in the refuge, a 4-mile path through woods and along wetlands, but the wildlife viewing can be just as good from the road if you park your car to sit and watch for a while.
13640 S. Highway 102, East Prairie, MO, 63845; 573-649-3149
Big Oak Tree State Park is one of the last places we can experience the type of old-growth cypress swamp that once predominated this part of the Mississippi River’s floodplain. The park protects some of the oldest and tallest oak trees in Missouri, which you can view from the boardwalk trail that runs deep into the old forest. You’ll also find a relict cypress swamp in the middle of the park.
Illinois
Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge
364 Wildlife Conservation Road, Brussels, IL, 62013; 618-883-2524
The confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers creates a lush area filled with wetlands and wildlife. Much of the area is protected by state and federal agencies. One of the best places to observe wildlife is at the 9,200-acre Two Rivers NWR. You can take a leisurely stroll on the 6-mile (one-way) Swan Lake Levee Trail, where you’ll pass marshes and ponds along the Illinois River.
Shawnee National Forest/Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District: 618-658-2111
Follow Illinois State Highway 3 from Grand Tower to Muddy Levee Road on the south side of the Big Muddy River and turn left, then turn right when the road ends at the bluff.
While most visitors head to Snake Road for the biannual migration of 17 species of snakes between the bluffs and wetlands, Otter Pond itself is a beautiful area brimming with wildlife. Wildflowers fill the floor of the floodplain forest in spring, and muskrats, turtles, birds, and yes, snakes, are common sights.
Horseshoe Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
21759 Westside Drive, Miller City, IL, 62692; 618-776-5689
When the main channel of the Mississippi River shifts, it often leaves behind isolated bodies of water known as oxbow lakes. Horseshoe Lake is one of those oxbows left behind by a fickle Mississippi River. Over time, much of the lake evolved into swamps populated with cypress, tupelo, and other swamp-loving species. You can view the swamps easily from the roads, but it can also be a rewarding place for a leisurely paddle in a canoe or kayak.
Iowa
Green Island Wildlife Management Area
Green Island Road (County Road Z40); 563-927-3276; follow U.S. Highway 52 8 miles north of its intersection with State Highway 64, then turn right into the WMA.
A quiet location far from major highways, the marshes and sloughs of Green Island WMA teem with birds during migration seasons, but you’ll also find plenty of birds that stick around through summer, especially herons, egrets, and hawks. You can observe wildlife by parking along one of the gravel roads that run through the WMA, but you can also hike along the dikes. If you have a small boat such as a canoe or kayak, you can get deeper into the wetlands, where you’re likely to see the best variety of wildlife.
4220 Wapello Ave., Davenport, IA, 52802; 563-336-3370
A rousing environmental success story, this former shooting range, once polluted with lead pellets, is bursting with life today. Its marshes and open water provide habitat for a variety of birds and mammals. Short walking trails crisscross the property, and you can hide out in a blind to watch wildlife without alerting them to your presence.
Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge
10728 County Road X61, Wapello, IA, 52653; 319-523-6982
Port Louisa NWR protects 24,000 acres of Mississippi River habitats across parts of southeast Illinois and southwest Iowa. Many areas offer views of wetlands, but the hiking trails at the Louisa Division south of Muscatine make it possible to go deeper into the floodplain forest and get close to marshes and other sloughs. The Muscatine Slough Trail, for example, loops 1.5 miles down to river level from a blufftop, then back up, and it can be paired with other trails for a longer walk.
Wisconsin
Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge
W28488 Refuge Road, Trempealeau, WI, 54661; 608-539-2311
Located in a quiet part of the river far from highways and railroad tracks, the wetlands at Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge—marshes, mostly—attract wildlife including beavers, muskrats and birds. In fall, migrating waterfowl fill the refuge’s wetlands.
N8327 Amsterdam Prairie Road, Holmen, WI, 54636
Van Loon Wildlife Area is best known for preserving a series of unique bowstring arch truss bridges built in the early 1900s, but the trails pass through a floodplain forest rich with wetlands near the confluence of the Black and Mississippi rivers. The marshes and swamps in its 4,000 acres support a diverse range of wildlife, and the trees dazzle with color in fall.
W6488 County Road GI, Stoddard, WI, 54658; 608-788-7018
Located at the southern end of La Crosse, the marshes and swamps around Goose Island are accessible by boat (follow the signed 7-mile canoe trail) and on foot. It’s also a good place to catch the sun setting over the wetlands, especially from the trails in the southern third of the island.
Minnesota
3401 State Park Road Northeast, Bemidji, MN 56601; 218-308-2300
Bogs dot the landscape across northern Minnesota and provide habitat for some unique flora, including orchids and pitcher plants. At Lake Bemidji State Park, located on the north shore of Lake Bemidji, a boardwalk trail offers close-up views of those plants and more. Visit from late May through June to catch orchids in bloom.
Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge
17076 293rd Ave. NW, Zimmerman, MN, 55398; 763-389-3323
Oak savannas predominate at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, but the seven-mile wilderness drive loops around marshes and ponds rich with wildlife. You’re likely to see sandhill cranes, pelicans, ducks, and bald eagles, as well as the occasional beaver, depending on the season. Take your time and stop often.
81 Fish Hatchery Road, Saint Paul, MN, 55106; 651-266-6400
This old industrial area in Saint Paul is slowly reverting to its natural state with marshes, floodplain forests, and prairies. It’s a great place for birding, especially during the spring and fall migration seasons. To get to the parking lot, enter the Pig’s Eye Wood Recycling Center from the third gravel entrance, then turn right and follow the gravel road.
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge/Winona District, 102 Walnut St., Suite 205, Winona, MN, 55987; 507-454-7351
Part of the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, this 11-mile route passes through narrow channels of shallow water and wetlands set between islands, a chance to experience what the upper Mississippi River was like before it was engineered with dams and levees. If you don’t have a boat, you can walk along the dike toward Lock and Dam #8 to view the area. Bald eagles are common here.
This story is part of the series Down the Drain from the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting collaborative based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.